labor lawAdivision of labor law center

Under new regulations issued by the Oregon BOLI or Bureau of Labor and Industries, food servers can opt to waive their unpaid meal breaks, but not their paid rest breaks.

Tipped Oregon food service workers over the age of 18 may opt out of their required 30-minute meal breaks if they like. The employee must complete a waiver form, available in English or Spanish from the BOLI website.

Employers cannot require an employee to waive breaks, or coerce employees to do so under the new regulations. Either the employer or the employee can revoke the waiver at any time by written notice.

However, if the employer has a signed, non-revoked waiver on file, the employee (more…)

The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries or BOLI recently issued a new rule clarifying regulations on meal breaks in situations where it is impossible for an employee to be relieved of all duties.

Under the Oregon meal break law, employers must provide a meal break of 30 minutes or more to any employee who works more than 6 hours. Employees who work less than 6 hours are not entitled to a meal break.

Generally, the Oregon meal break must be at least 30 minutes long, and the employee must be relieved of all duties during that period. The meal break may be unpaid.

As in several other states, Oregon permits exceptions to meal breaks (more…)

Roughly a dozen states in the U.S. base their annual minimum wage rate hikes on regional inflation levels.

The state of Oregon is one of these. Because Oregon’s cost of living increased by a dramatic 5.37% between August 2007 and August 2008, the minimum wage rate also increased significantly.

The minimum wage went up 45 cents an hour on January 1, 2009, from $7.95 to $8.40 hourly. The increase is one of the largest such hikes in recent years, and results from the inflation rate.

“This increase is the direct result of the rapidly rising cost of living facing Oregon workers,” said Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian. The Commissioner added, “By helping workers and their families preserve their purchasing power in difficult times, our strong minimum wage law also benefits our local economies, where workers spend most of their paychecks.”

Some question the wisdom of a large increase during recessionary times. The law, however, was (more…)

The Oregon non-compete law prohibits noncompetition agreements between employers and hourly workers, in almost all cases.

However, under this new law, employers are still permitted to have management and sales employees sign non-compete agreements. The agreements limit the employee’s ability to work for a competitor, at least for a period of time.

Such non-compete agreements – even voluntary ones – are illegal when applied to hourly or salaried non-exempt employees under Oregon law.

The law set limits on the (more…)

On January 1, 2009 the Oregon minimum wage will increase from $7.95 to $8.40 per hour. The increase of 45 cents is the largest in recent memory, spurred by high inflation in the past year.

State Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian announced the new rate on September 16, 2008.

The increase is based on the 5.37% increase in (more…)