The rule in Oregon
In Oregon, hours over 10 in a single workday are paid at 1.5 times your regular rate. Regular hours over 40 in a workweek are overtime too — but an hour already paid as daily overtime is not counted again toward the 40.
The US Department of Labor's state table adds: “Premium required after 10 hours a day in nonfarm canneries, driers, packing plants, mills, factories and manufacturing establishments — excluding sawmills, planing mills, shingle mills and logging camps. Three regional minimum wage rates apply.”
How daily overtime works
Each workday is checked on its own first. A 12-hour Monday carries 2 overtime hours (if the daily rule covers you), even in a week where you work only 28 hours in total.
Then the week is checked. Once your regular hours pass 40, every further hour that week is overtime as well.
What counts toward your regular rate
Overtime is 1.5 times your regular rate of pay: everything you earned for the week at straight time, divided by every hour you worked.
Counts
- Your hourly pay for every hour worked, at each rate you worked
- Non-discretionary bonuses — attendance, production, safety, or any bonus promised in advance
- Commissions
- Shift differentials for nights, weekends or hazardous work
Does not count
- Discretionary bonuses and gifts, where both the fact and the amount were up to the employer
- Expense reimbursements
- Pay for time not worked: vacation, holidays, sick days
A worked example
Common mistakes employers make in Oregon
- Not paying the daily premium after 10 hours in canneries, driers, packing plants, mills, factories and manufacturing plants. Only sawmills, planing mills, shingle mills and logging camps are excluded.
- Holding a paycheck until keys, tools or a uniform come back. Oregon does not allow pay to be delayed in exchange for employer-owned items.
- Paying a worker who quit with 48 hours' notice on the next payday. With that notice, final pay is due on the last day of work.
Other Oregon pay rules worth knowing
- Final paycheck if fired: By the next business day.
- If you quit: Within 5 business days of your last day or by your next regular payday, whichever comes first.
- Unused PTO: Oregon treats vacation, holiday and severance pay as wage agreements set by the employer's policy or contract. The law does not require payout, but an employer must honor the policy it has established.
- Late final pay: A penalty of 8 hours' pay at your regular rate for each day the final paycheck is late, up to 30 days.
Oregon final paycheck law and deadline calculator →
Oregon overtime: common questions
Does my employer have to pay overtime if they didn't approve it?
Yes. Time your employer knew you were working, or allowed you to work, counts as hours worked, whether or not anyone approved it in advance. An employer can discipline you for breaking an overtime policy, but it still has to pay overtime for those hours — in Oregon as everywhere else under federal law.
Does my bonus change my overtime rate?
Yes, if the bonus is non-discretionary — promised for attendance, production, safety or hitting a target. It is added to your straight-time pay and divided by all the hours you worked, and your overtime is 1.5 times that higher rate. Discretionary gifts, expense reimbursements and paid time off are left out.
Do I get overtime if I work 10 hours but only 30 hours that week?
Not from a 10-hour day. Oregon's daily threshold is 10 hours, so daily overtime starts on longer shifts: a 11-hour day earns 1 overtime hour even in a 30-hour week, if the daily rule covers you. A calculator that applies only the federal rule would show none, because it looks at the week alone.
What is double time and when does it start?
Double time is pay at twice your regular rate. Oregon has no double-time rule, so it is owed only if your employer's policy or your contract promises it. Long shifts in Oregon are paid at time and a half — after 10 hours in a day if the daily rule covers you, and after 40 hours in the week regardless.
Does Oregon's 10-hour daily rule apply to me?
Only if you work in a nonfarm cannery, drier, packing plant, mill, factory or manufacturing establishment. Sawmills, planing mills, shingle mills and logging camps are excluded. In covered workplaces, hours over 10 in a day are paid at time and a half; everywhere else, Oregon overtime starts after 40 hours in a workweek.
If you think you were underpaid
- Keep your own record of the hours you worked — the time card calculator totals them and exports a CSV — plus photos of the posted schedule and messages about shifts.
- Ask your employer in writing to correct the pay. Email beats a conversation because it creates a dated record.
- File a wage claim — File a wage claim with the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI). It is free, and you do not need a lawyer.
- Federal overtime claims must generally be brought within 2 years of the underpayment, or 3 years if the violation was willful.
Spotted something wrong? Report an error.
Other states that also pay daily overtime: Alaska, California and Colorado.
Work across a state line? Idaho overtime rules and Nevada overtime rules.