Pay days are often one of the happiest days of the month for Oregon workers. It is that special day where all of your hard work is recognized and turns into something useful. While most workers don’t think anything of this process, there are special rules that apply to when and how Oregon workers can get paid.
The first question is when does a worker get paid? In Oregon, employers are given a lot of latitude as to when to pay their employees, but there are still some standards and rules employers must follow. In general, under Oregon law, employers must maintain regular paydays, no more than 35 days apart. The key here is that the payday must be regular.
For example, an employer could choose to pay their workers on the 1st and 15th of a month, or they could choose to pay their workers every two weeks, but they could not go back and forth between those options repeatedly. This same idea holds true if an employer decided to pay monthly, weekly, or even daily.
This also means that an employer is in general not allowed to withhold paychecks as a punishment or discipline. Ultimately, the workers must get their pay on a reliable schedule and that pay can not be withheld.
The second question becomes how does a worker get paid? In Oregon, both cash and checks can be used to pay workers. If a check is used there has to be an avenue to cash the check without paying a fee (often involving going to the bank where the check is issued). If the workers choose to, they can authorize the employer to deposit that check in the worker’s bank account, resulting in direct deposit. It should be noted, a worker must be able to opt out of direct deposit, if they do not want to go that route. As for pay cards, they are authorized in Oregon, but have unique rules outside the scope of this blog post.
As with everything else in the law, the details and facts of each unique situation matter and become very important. As such, your situation will be unique and require individual analysis. If you are having problems either with your employer paying you and would like your unique situation evaluated, feel free to call the office and schedule your free initial consultation today.