Oregon Overtime Laws – OR

Updated on Author: Sergei Lemberg

Updated on Author: Sergei Lemberg

You work hard at your job, pushing past 40 hours in a week. It’s tough, but you have your eye on the prize, a larger check thanks to overtime pay. But how do you know if you qualify for it? What are the overtime laws in Oregon? Understanding these laws will help ensure you receive the proper compensation for your hard work.

Oregon follows both the federally overtime laws provided by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and state overtime laws. Once an employee reaches 40 hours in a single workweek, employers are required to compensate them at a rate of 1.5x their standard hourly pay. There are also daily overtime laws that Oregon wage laws enforce.

Summary of Overtime Law in Oregon

Below is a list of essential provisions to overtime law in Oregon:

State/Federal Statutes
  • Oregon Revised Statutes Section 653.261 (refer to Oregon Administrative Rules 839-020-0030)
  • Overtime provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA)
Methods For Overtime Calculation:
  • Hourly Employees: 1.5 x Normal pay rate for all hours above 40 in a single workweek.
  • Hourly Employees with Plus Bonus and/or Commission: To determine the regular rate, take the total hours worked multiplied by the hourly rate, then add the workweek bonus/commission. Next, divide by the total hours in a single workweek. Finally, pay half of the adjusted rate for every hour of overtime.
  • Salary Employees: To determine the regular rate, take the salary and divide by the number of hours the salary is supposed to cover.
    • Add the regular rate for each hour up to 40 hours if the hours total less than 40. For all hours after 40, 1.5 x the regular rate.
    • Pay 1.5 x the regular rate for each hour over if the total hours worked is above 40.
Overtime Exemptions in Oregon
  • Here is a list of employees exempt from overtime pay in Oregon:
    • Administrative Employees
    • Executives
    • Forest Fighters
    • Irrigation System Employees
    • Supervisors
    • (Others)

Note: New legislation, high court rulings (federal court decisions included), ballot initiatives, and other influences can change state laws. Please refer to a qualified Oregon attorney or complete your own research to verify the laws in your state to ensure accuracy.

What Does “Working Off the Clock” Mean?

Sometimes employers try to find a way around overtime laws in Oregon. One common method involves having employees work “off the clock.” This is where employers have employees complete job-related tasks without recording their time. Here are a few examples:

  • Prep-work (completed to prepare the business for opening hours)
  • After-hour cleaning (completed after the business has closed)
  • Setting up registers (cashiers)
  • Cash Counting at the end of the shift (cashiers)

Employers often try to pass this off as a “favor,” or they argue that setting up doesn’t count towards the hourly rate. However, this is no legal. All work for a job must be documented, and if this puts your weekly hours over 40, then your employer must pay you overtime rates for those additional hours. If this has happened to you, then you can file pay wage claims under Oregon law.

Oregon Overtime Law Exemptions

Oregon labor law classifies all employees as non-exempt, its default setting for employees, and entitles them to overtime pay. Employers must provide proof to change their employees status to exempt. By classifying them as exempt, employers would then be allowed not to pay those employees overtime pay.

The employer can prove this by showing that the employee receives a salary & carries out exempt employee duties.

The following employees are exempt under Oregon State Law:

  • Administrative Employees
  • Company Executives
  • Fire Protection Employees
  • Forest Fires
  • Hospital Employees (in charge of operations)
  • Irrigation System Employees
  • Law Enforcement Officers (including security personnel at corrections institutions)
  • Organized Militia Members (on state active duty)
  • Supervisors

Do You Think You Have a Case? Contact Lemberg Law for Counsel

If you feel that an employer has taken advantage of you or someone you care about, please get in touch with the Lemberg Law legal team. Complete our form for a FREE case evaluation, or call  475-277-2200 NOW. You may be entitled to compensation for damages, injuries, or lost wages for Federal and state wage law violations.

Sergei Lemberg

About the Author:

Sergei Lemberg is an attorney focusing on consumer law, class actions related to automotive issues, and personal injury litigation. With nearly two decades of experience, his areas of practice include Lemon Law (vehicle defects), Debt Collection Harassment, TCPA (illegal robocalls and texts), Fair Credit Reporting Act, Overtime claims, Personal Injury cases, and Class Actions. He has consistently been recognized as the nation's "most active consumer attorney." In 2020, Mr. Lemberg represented Noah Duguid before the United States Supreme Court in the landmark case Duguid v. Facebook. He is also the author of "Defanging Debt Collectors," a guide that empowers consumers to fight back against debt collectors and prevail, as well as "Lemon Law 101: The Laws That Lemon Dealers Don't Want You to Know."

See more posts from Sergei Lemberg
1 COMMENT
  • Eric E

    I was a salary emplyee working 45 to 60 hour a week with out overtime pay in a mostly labor construction Environment.

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