Oregon labor laws go beyond federal baselines in several areas that matter to workers’ paychecks and schedules: a three-tiered minimum wage running from $14.05 to $16.30 per hour, mandatory paid sick time, meal and rest breaks, family and medical leave under two overlapping programs, and predictive scheduling for large employers in retail, hospitality, and food service. Most of these rules are enforced by the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI), which also takes worker complaints.1State of Oregon. BOLI Investigations
Minimum Wage by Region
Oregon’s minimum wage depends on where you actually perform the work, not where your employer’s office sits. As of July 1, 2025, the rates are:2State of Oregon. Minimum Wage Increase Schedule
- Portland Metro (inside the Metro service district’s urban growth boundary): $16.30 per hour.
- Standard (most of the state): $15.05 per hour.
- Nonurban counties (mostly eastern and southern Oregon): $14.05 per hour.
Each July 1, the standard rate adjusts with the Consumer Price Index. The Portland Metro rate stays $1.25 above standard, and the nonurban rate stays $1.00 below.3Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 653.025 – Minimum Wage Rate; Rules If you split shifts between regions, your employer has to track that and pay the correct rate for each location.
All three Oregon rates sit well above the federal $7.25 minimum, which hasn’t moved since 2009. When state and federal minimums differ, the higher one controls.
Overtime and Daily Hour Limits
Most Oregon employees earn overtime at one and a half times their regular rate for every hour over 40 in a workweek.4Oregon Revised Statutes. Oregon Code 653.261 – Minimum Employment Conditions; Overtime; Rules; Meal Periods; Exemptions; Penalty The 40 hours can’t be averaged across two weeks, and private employers generally can’t substitute comp time for cash.
Manufacturing is stricter. Workers in mills, factories, and similar operations hit overtime after 10 hours in a day or 55 in a week. An employee can agree in writing to work up to 60 weekly hours, but the daily overtime trigger still applies past 10 hours.5Oregon Revised Statutes. Oregon Code 652.020 – Maximum Working Hours in Certain Industries With up to 3 hours of allowed daily overtime, a manufacturing shift generally cannot exceed 13 hours.6State of Oregon. BOLI Overtime Agriculture and canneries have their own schedules.
Not every job qualifies for overtime. Federal rules exempt executive, administrative, and professional employees who earn a salary of at least $35,568 per year ($684 per week) and meet duties tests, with a separate exemption for highly compensated employees earning at least $107,432 per year.7U.S. Department of Labor. Earnings Thresholds for the Executive, Administrative, and Professional Exemption
BOLI can assess civil penalties of up to $1,000 per willful minimum wage or overtime violation.8Oregon Revised Statutes. Oregon Code 653.256 – Civil Penalty for General Employment Statute or Rule Violations That penalty runs per violation, so a pattern of underpayment across multiple workers and pay periods adds up quickly.
Meal and Rest Breaks
Federal law requires neither meal periods nor rest breaks for adults.9U.S. Department of Labor. Breaks and Meal Periods Oregon requires both.
If your shift runs six hours or more, your employer must give you an uninterrupted 30-minute meal period during which you are completely relieved of duties, scheduled between the second and fifth hours of the shift.10Oregon Secretary of State. Oregon Administrative Rules 839-020-0050 – Meal and Rest Periods If you have to stay on-call or do any task during that time, the whole meal period becomes paid.
You are also entitled to a paid 10-minute rest break for every four hours worked, scheduled as close to the midpoint of each four-hour block as practical. Rest breaks can’t be combined with meal periods, used to arrive late, or used to leave early.
Paid and Protected Sick Time
Every Oregon employer must provide sick time. Employees accrue at least one hour for every 30 hours worked, capped at 40 hours per year. Whether that time is paid depends on employer size:11State of Oregon. Sick Time – For Workers
- Employers with 10 or more employees (or 6 or more if the employer has a Portland location) must pay sick time.
- Smaller employers must still protect the time, but it is unpaid.
Sick time covers your own illness or injury, caring for a family member, and safety needs related to domestic violence, harassment, or stalking. Retaliation for using accrued sick time is prohibited, and that includes counting it against you under an attendance policy or performance review.
Family and Medical Leave: OFLA and Paid Leave Oregon
Oregon runs two separate programs, and many workers qualify for both at once.
Oregon Family Leave Act
OFLA applies to employers with 25 or more employees and provides up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave in a one-year period.12State of Oregon. Oregon Family Leave Act13Oregon Secretary of State. OAR 839-009-0240 – OFLA: Length of Leave and Other Conditions of OFLA Leave You generally need to have averaged at least 25 hours per week during the 180 days before leave starts. Parental leave uses a looser standard (180 days of employment, no hours threshold), and a declared public health emergency drops the requirement to 30 days of employment. OFLA leave is unpaid, but your job (or an equivalent one) is held for you.
Paid Leave Oregon
Paid Leave Oregon is a state insurance program paying benefits for family, medical, or safe leave for up to 12 weeks, with up to two additional weeks for pregnancy-related conditions.14Paid Leave Oregon. Paid Leave Oregon You qualify if you earned at least $1,000 in Oregon wages during your base year.
The program is funded by payroll contributions totaling 1% of wages up to $176,100 for 2025, split 60/40 between employee and employer at businesses with 25 or more workers. Smaller employers don’t have to pay the employer share but may choose to.15Paid Leave Oregon. Employees and Paid Leave Oregon Weekly benefits are based on your base year wages and cap at 120% of the state average weekly wage, updated each July.
When you qualify for both, Paid Leave Oregon pays the benefit while OFLA holds your job. Self-employed workers and independent contractors aren’t automatically covered but can opt in.
Final Paychecks and Late-Pay Penalties
Oregon’s final paycheck deadlines are tight, and the penalty structure gives teeth to them. Timing depends on how the job ended:16Oregon Revised Statutes. Oregon Code 652.140 – Payment of Wages on Termination of Employment
- Fired or laid off: final paycheck is due by the end of the next business day.
- Quit with at least 48 hours’ notice: payment is due on your last working day (or the next business day if that falls on a weekend or holiday).
- Quit without 48 hours’ notice: payment is due within five business days or by the next regular payday, whichever comes first.
The final check must cover all wages, commissions, and other compensation earned through your last day.17State of Oregon. Paychecks
When an employer willfully misses the deadline, penalty wages accrue at the employee’s regular rate for eight hours per day, starting on the due date and capping at 30 days.18Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 652 – Hours; Wages; Overtime; Working Conditions For a worker earning $20 an hour, that’s up to $4,800 on top of the unpaid wages. Sending written notice of nonpayment gives the employer 12 days to pay before the full penalty kicks in. Without written notice, the penalty is capped at 100% of the unpaid amount. Late-pay disputes are the most common issue BOLI sees in wage complaints.
Predictive Scheduling for Large Retail, Hospitality, and Food Service
Oregon’s predictive scheduling law applies only to employers with at least 500 employees worldwide in retail, hospitality, or food service.19Oregon Revised Statutes. Oregon Code 653.422 – Covered Employees; Integrated Enterprises; Rules If you work for one, you are entitled to a written good-faith estimate of your expected schedule at hire and to a posted work schedule at least 14 calendar days before the first shift on it.20State of Oregon. Predictive Scheduling
Changes inside that 14-day window trigger predictability pay:
- Added or rescheduled hours: one extra hour at your regular rate when the employer adds more than 30 minutes, changes the date or time of a shift, or schedules an additional shift.21Oregon Revised Statutes. Oregon Code 653.455 – Compensation for Work Schedule Changes; Exceptions
- Reduced or cancelled hours: half your regular hourly rate for each scheduled hour you don’t end up working.
Covered employers must also provide at least 10 hours of rest between shifts. If you’re scheduled for a back-to-back inside that window, the second shift is paid at time-and-a-half.
Discrimination Protections
Oregon’s anti-discrimination statute, ORS 659A.030, bars employers from discriminating in hiring, firing, pay, or other terms of employment based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, marital status, or age for anyone 18 or older. It also prohibits discrimination based on an expunged juvenile record.22Oregon Revised Statutes. Oregon Code 659A.030 – Discrimination Because of Race, Color, Religion, Sex, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, National Origin, Marital Status or Age
Federal law protects against discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and sexual orientation), national origin, age (40 and older), disability, and genetic information.23U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Prohibited Employment Policies/Practices Oregon explicitly adds marital status and gender identity as standalone categories and extends age protection down to 18. Oregon has separate disability discrimination protections as well.
Retaliation for reporting discrimination or taking part in an investigation is illegal under both state and federal law. You can file at the state level with BOLI or at the federal level with the EEOC. Because Oregon has a state anti-discrimination agency, the EEOC filing deadline runs 300 days from the discriminatory act instead of the standard 180.24U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Time Limits for Filing a Complaint
Workplace Safety
Oregon runs its own safety program through Oregon OSHA, a division of the Department of Consumer and Business Services, with standards that must be at least as protective as federal OSHA and sometimes go further.25Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Oregon State Plan Employers have a general duty to keep the workplace free from recognized hazards that could cause serious injury or death, and Oregon OSHA conducts inspections, responds to complaints, and investigates fatalities and serious injuries. You have the right to report unsafe conditions without retaliation and to file a complaint if your employer refuses to address a hazard.
Filing a Complaint With BOLI
If your employer violates Oregon’s wage, hour, or leave rules, you can file a complaint with BOLI through its online portal or by mailing a paper form to a regional office.1State of Oregon. BOLI Investigations Have your employer’s legal name, the dates and hours you worked, and the specific amounts you believe you are owed. Pay stubs, schedules, text messages about shifts, and written communications about pay all strengthen the claim.
Straightforward wage claims take several weeks; cases involving multiple violations or many employees take longer. Successful claims can recover back wages, penalty wages, and civil penalties. Discrimination complaints run through BOLI’s Civil Rights Division on a separate track with its own timelines.