On May 15, 2008 the Oregon Supreme Court published an opinion in the case Gafur v. Legacy Mount Hood Health Center, in which it held that employees did not have a private right of action to sue for missed rest periods. The case only considered Oregon law, and not federal law. The plaintiffs in the case, which was dismissed by the trial court, alleged that they were not provided with required rest periods by Legacy, their employer. They sued for wages for the missed break periods, and penalty wages. Under Oregon law, non-exempt employees must be provided with a rest period of not less than ten minutes for every four hours worked, with some very limited exception. OAR 839-020-0050 (1)(b). The parties in the Gafur case stipulated that plaintiffs were paid the normal wage rate for each four hours of work.

The Oregon Supreme Court held that although the employers were required to provide the referenced breaks, the employees could not sue for additional wages for missed lunch breaks.

The case should not provide too much solice to employers, however. Even if failure to provide rest breaks were the only wage violation, employees can still make a complaint with BOLI. BOLI can issue a fine for up to $1000 for each rest break violation. ORS 653.261(1). Additionally, BOLI is authorized to seek criminal prosecution for wilfull violation of the rules. ORS 653.991.

Under both Oregon and Federal Law an Employer is obligated to pay overtime wages to non-exempt employeees.

In general, overtime is calculated based upon the work week (which also is defined under Oregon law), or the hours worked in a day over a certain amount. Overtime claims are fact-specific, and should be evaluated with an attorney.  Both federal and state law exempt certain classifications of employees from the overtime rules. If an employer had illegally failed to pay overtime an employee is entitled to recover the unpaid wages, statutory penalties and attorney fees.

There is a requirement that employers pay employees everything that is owed promptly upon cessation of employment. While the application of the law can vary depending upon particular circumstances, and union collective bargaining agreements can alter the legal obligations of the employer, the following are general principles: (more…)