The Oregon Labor Law Guide

Minimum wage is the lowest hourly pay rate that employers are legally obligated to pay employees. The federal minimum wage is a wage baseline, but different states, cities, and regions can adopt their own rates. 

In Oregon, the minimum wage is based on the state’s tiered system. 

• $15.95 for most employees in Portland metro area (as of 2024)

• $13.70 for most employees in nonurban counties (as of 2024)

• $14.70 for most employees in standard areas of the state (as of 2024)

You can track here for the next scheduled minimum wage increase.

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Oregon does not have a separate tipped minimum wage rate. In most cases, tipped employees must be paid the standard minimum wage.

Oregon laws indicate that most employees who work more than 40 hours in a workweek or more than 10 hours a day are eligible to be paid one and one-half times their regular hourly rate.

Oregon wage and hour laws generally require employers to provide nonexempt employees with at least a 30-minute unpaid meal period for each work period between 6 and 8 hours. The break must be an uninterrupted period in which the employee is completely relieved of all duties.

• If the work period is less than six hours, each meal period is optional.

• If it is seven hours or less, the meal period will be between the second and fifth hours worked. 

• If it is more than seven hours, the meal period will be between the third and sixth hours worked. 

Tipped employees may waive meal breaks if certain conditions are met. A second meal break is required for shifts of 14 hours or longer.

Oregon employers must also provide nonexempt employees 18 or older with a paid, uninterrupted 10-minute rest break for every four hours worked or major portion thereof (2.5 hours). The rest period must be provided approximately in the middle of each 4-hour work period. Minors must be provided with 15-minute rest breaks rather than 10.

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Vacation leave
Oregon does not require private-sector employers to offer paid vacation leave to their employees. However, employers can provide paid or unpaid vacation leave by state law and company policy.

Paid Sick Leave
Oregon law provides all workers with sick time off. Generally, employees can get 1 hour of protected sick time for every 30 hours they work. Employees can frontload at least 40 sick hours at the beginning of the year. 

Employees must have worked at least 90 days with the employer before they can use their sick leave. If their employer has ten or more employees and six or more of those employees are located in Portland, employees can get paid sick time. 

If an employee does not meet these criteria, sick time is protected but not paid. 

Holidays
In Oregon, employers are not required to offer holiday and vacation pay. However, if there are any company policies or agreements between the employer and employee, those must be honored.

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In Oregon, minors are generally protected by the same laws as adults:

• They must be made the same minimum wage for all hours worked

• They must be covered by overtime laws

• They are protected by the same state and federal anti-discrimination laws

• They must be given a paid rest period for every four-hour work segment; however, their rest periods should be 15 minutes vs. 10 minutes for adults. 

• They must be given at least a 30-minute meal period for any work period of six or more hours. This can be unpaid if the minor is free of all duties. 

  • *Minors who are 14- and 15-year-olds do not apply for meal period exceptions. 

Minors who are 14 and 15 years old cannot work during school hours. They cannot work more than three hours on any school day and cannot work more than eight hours on non-school days. 

They can only work between 7 AM and 7 PM. Between June 1st and Labor Day, they can work until 9 PM. They can work 18 hours per week during the school year and 40 hours per week when school is not in session. 

Minors between 16 and 17 years old can work during the day without restriction on the number of hours worked. They can work up to 44 hours per week.

Hiring
Oregon civil rights laws prohibit any discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, marital status, and age. If the individual is 18 years of age or older, the individual’s juvenile record has been expunged under ORS 419A.260 and 419.262. Employers who have six or more employees cannot discriminate based on uniformed service or disability. 

Firing
Employers in Oregon have the right to terminate employees at will for nearly any reason and no reason at all as long as the reason is not discriminatory.

In June 2017, the Oregon Senate Bill 828-Fair Work Week Act (FWWA) was signed and enforced in the food, retail, and hospitality industries.

The law aims to make work schedules more predictable for employees in these fields, which means a stable income and far less stress when it comes to making ends meet, planning childcare, or balancing their studies. 

Certain employers (with at least 500 employees worldwide) in the retail, hospitality, or food services industries must provide employees with: 

• At least 14 days’ notice of work schedules in written

• Pay a penalty if schedule changes occur without advance notice

• The right to provide input into their schedules

• The right to rest between shifts 

• Provide a good faith estimate of work schedules when hired

For more information, learn more here.