Oregon Wage and Hour Laws
There are federal and Oregon laws which protect workers’ rights to fair pay. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Oregon’s wage and hour statute both require employers to:
- pay their employees at least a minimum wage for all hours worked;
- pay their employees overtime hours at a rate of time-and-a-half; and
- to allow employees reasonable breaks for meals and use of the restroom or bathroom.
There are three different categories of wage and hour violations where employers frequently underpay employees for their work.
- Unpaid hourly wages – Your employer asks you to “work off the clock.” Often this can occur in situations where your employer informs you that because you did not get all of your work done during normal business hours that you will have to work after hours or after clocking out to get the work done.
- Unpaid Minimum Wage – Your employer structures your compensation in a manner that if you divided your pay by the number of hours you worked, you would actually receive less than the minimum wage.
- Unpaid Overtime – Your employer fails to pay you overtime for hours worked.
Classification of Exempt Employees in Oregon
Not every employee is entitled to overtime pay. Oregon state law and the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) have several employee classification exemptions relating to what types of employees are should receive overtime pay. Exempt workers, not entitled to overtime pay, can include professionals, managers, and certain individuals in sales.
Some employers, though, make mistakes in classifying their employees and under certain circumstances a salaried employee can and should be compensated at an hourly rate for all of his or her hours worked and all of their overtime worked. Other employers intentionally misclassify their employees in an attempt to avoid paying them a fair wage for all hours worked.
Regardless if your employer intentionally misclassified you or not, you still have the right to be compensated for all of the hours you worked and your overtime. An employment lawyer can help you determine whether your employer misclassified you and whether you are entitled to back pay under Oregon laws and the FLSA.
Independent Contractors may be entitled to minimum wage and overtime pay
Just because the company you provide work for designates you as an independent contractor, does not necessarily mean that you are not entitled to overtime pay and a base minimum wage rate of pay. Under certain circumstances, if your employer significantly restricts the manner in which you provide your services for them, you may be considered an employee under the FLSA and Oregon law and subject to overtime pay and minimum wage. A Oregon employment lawyer who understands independent contractor designation law may be able to help you.
Oregon Unpaid Commission Lawyer
Many Oregon employees receive commissions as part of their compensation. Sometimes employers do not pay employees commission that they are owed from a sale or as part of their job performance. If your employer has not paid you the commission that you are owed, has unnecessarily delayed paying you your commission, or has fired or terminated you without paying you the commission you earned, you should immediately contact an Oregon employment lawyer. A Oregon employment lawyer can help advise you of your rights and help you to pursue your unpaid commission.
Oregon Illegal Wage Deductions
Kuhlman Law represents employees who have had unlawful deductions taken from their earned wages or paychecks. Under most circumstances, it is improper and unlawful for an employer to take deductions from their worker’s pay.
Examples of Potential Unlawful Deductions
- damaged company property,
- tip sharing or gratuity sharing,
- cash shortages and register shortages (under certain circumstances);
- monetary losses incurred when a customer does not pay their bill;
- fines;
- other expenses incurred by the business.
If you have experienced a wage deduction from your paycheck, you should immediately contact an Oregon unlawful deduction attorney who can assist you in determining whether the deduction was proper. If the deduction was improper, you may be entitled to recover all of your earned wages and may be entitled to additional monetary compensation given the employer’s conduct.
Oregon tip sharing and tip theft lawyer.
Often in the restaurant and bartending industry, employees receive a great deal of their income from tips or gratuity. Employers within the service industry have illegally forced employees to share tips with ineligible workers or forced them to pay a portion of the tips to the managers or business.
Contact a Bend, Oregon wage theft lawyer if you need help
Kuhlman Law is a Bend, Oregon employment law firm that represents employees who have been forced to illegal pay over a portion of their tips or gratuity by their employer. If your employer or the restaurant you work at has forced you to pay over a portion of your tips or has stolen all or part of your tips, contact us immediately so that we can evaluate your claim and advise you of your rights.
We offer a free initial case evaluation and handle cases on a contingency fee which means that you pay no money unless we recover.
We handle cases throughout the state including Bend and Portland Oregon, Redmond, Central Oregon, Multnomah County, Deschutes County, Salem, Eugene, Corvallis, Lane County, Medford, Gresham, Albany, Medford, Beaverton, Umatilla, Pendleton, and Hillsboro.
Please act quickly, there is a limited time (Statute of Limitations) in which you can bring a claim under the law.