Articles Discussing Oregon Wage & Hour Issues.

In 2019, the Oregon Legislative Assembly passed the Paid Family Medical Leave Act, which established a paid family and medical leave insurance (PFMLI) program for Oregon employees. On April 27, 2022, the Oregon Employment Department (OED) filed proposed administrative rules with the Oregon Office of the Secretary of State to

Oregon employers feeling the financial strain of economic disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic are bracing themselves for another impact. On July 1, 2020, Oregon’s minimum wage increase will take effect.

Oregon’s state government, ahead of the January 1, 2019, effective date of the state Equal Pay Act (EPA), is conducting an expansive, behind-the-scenes pay equity analysis of its departments to identify and remedy any potential pay disparities between male and female employees.

As we previously advised,1 on March 2, 2016, Oregon enacted the first geographically-tiered minimum wage hike in the country. This new minimum wage law, which becomes effective on July 1, 2016, imposes different minimum wage rates for employers in the Portland, Oregon metro area and for employers located in the more rural parts of the state.

While the federal minimum wage remains stagnant ($7.25 per hour since July 24, 2009), different states have sought to lead with their own minimum wage rulemaking.

An employer that acquired the assets of a defunct bar and restaurant and continued to operate a restaurant on the same premises was liable for unpaid wages owed to the defunct restaurant’s former employees, the Oregon Supreme Court has ruled. Blachana LLC v. Bureau of Labor and Industries, No. S060789 (Ore. Jan. 16, 2014).