Oregon Minimum Wage 2026: $15.55 Standard, $16.80 Portland Metro

(1) Except as provided in subsections (2) and (3) of this section, ORS 652.020 and the rules of the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries issued under ORS 653.030 and 653.261, for each hour of work time that the employee is gainfully employed, no employer shall employ or agree to employ any employee at wages computed at a rate lower than: (a) For calendar year 2003, $6.90. (b) From January 1, 2004, to June 30, 2016, a rate adjusted for inflation as calculated by the commissioner. (c) From July 1, 2016, to June 30, 2017, $9.75. (d) From July 1, 2017, to June 30, 2018, $10.25. (e) From July 1, 2018, to June 30, 2019, $10.75. (f) From July 1, 2019, to June 30, 2020, $11.25. (g) From July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021, $12. (h) From July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022, $12.75. (i) From July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023, $13.50. (j) After June 30, 2023, beginning on July 1 of each year, a rate adjusted annually for inflation as described in subsection (5) of this section.

Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-07-29 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at oregonlegislature.gov

(1) Employers may deduct from the minimum wage to be paid employees under ORS 653.025, 653.030 or 653.261, the fair market value of lodging, meals or other facilities or services furnished by the employer for the private benefit of the employee. (2) Employers may include commission payments to employees as part of the applicable minimum wage for any pay period in which the combined wage and commission earnings of the employee will comply with ORS 653.010 to 653.261. In any pay period where the combined wage and commission payments to the employee do not add up to the applicable minimum wage under ORS 653.010 to 653.261, the employer shall pay the minimum rate as prescribed in ORS 653.010 to 653.261. (3) Employers, including employers regulated under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, may not include any amount received by employees as tips in determining the amount of the minimum wage required to be paid by ORS 653.010 to 653.261.

Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-07-29 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at oregonlegislature.gov

ORS 653.010 to 653.261 do not apply to any of the following employees: (1) An individual employed in agriculture if: (a) Such individual is employed as a hand harvest or pruning laborer and is paid on a piece-rate basis in an operation which has been, and is customarily and generally recognized as having been, paid on a piece-rate basis in the region of employment and is employed by an employer who did not, during any calendar quarter during the preceding year, use more than 500 piece-rate-work-days of agricultural labor; (b) Such individual is the parent, spouse, child or other member of the employer’s immediate family; (c) Such individual: (A) Is employed as a hand harvest or pruning laborer and is paid on a piece-rate basis in an operation which has been, and is customarily and generally recognized as having been, paid on a piece-rate basis in the region of employment; (B) Commutes daily from a permanent residence to the farm on which the individual is so employed; and (C) Has been employed in agricultural labor less than 13 weeks during the preceding calendar year; (d) Such individual, other than an individual described in paragraph (c) of…

Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-07-29 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at oregonlegislature.gov

The Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries shall issue rules prescribing the employment of other types of persons at fixed minimum hourly wage rates lower than the minimum wage rate required by ORS 653.025, when the commissioner has determined that the application of ORS 653.025 would substantially curtail opportunities for employment for specific types of persons. The types of persons for whom a minimum hourly wage rate may be set are limited to persons who are student-learners, as defined in ORS 653.070.

Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-07-29 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at oregonlegislature.gov

(1) Any employer who pays an employee less than the wages to which the employee is entitled under ORS 653.010 to 653.261 or 653.272 is liable to the employee affected: (a) For the full amount of the wages, less any amount actually paid to the employee by the employer; and (b) For civil penalties provided in ORS 652.150. (2) Any agreement between an employee and an employer to work at less than the wage rate required by ORS 653.010 to 653.261 or 653.272 is no defense to an action under subsection (1) of this section. (3) The Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries has the same powers and duties in connection with a wage claim based on ORS 653.010 to 653.261 and 653.272 as the commissioner has under ORS 652.310 to 652.445 and in addition the commissioner may, without the necessity of assignments of wage claims from employees, initiate suits against employers to enjoin future failures to pay required minimum wages or overtime pay and to require the payment of minimum wages and overtime pay due employees but not paid as of the time of the filing of suit.

Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-07-29 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at oregonlegislature.gov

(1) An employer may not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against an employee because: (a) The employee has inquired about the provisions of ORS 653.010 to 653.261 or 653.265 or has reported a violation of or filed a complaint related to ORS 653.010 to 653.261 or 653.265. (b) The employee has caused to be instituted or is about to cause to be instituted any proceedings under or related to ORS 653.010 to 653.261 or 653.265. (c) The employee has testified or is about to testify in any such proceedings. (2) A violation of this section is an unlawful employment practice under ORS chapter 659A. A person unlawfully discriminated against under this section may file a complaint under ORS 659A.820 with the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries.

Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-07-29 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at oregonlegislature.gov

Also relied on in: Oregon Whistleblower Laws: Protections and How to Report

(1) As used in this section: (a) “Bona fide professional training program” includes any professional training program approved by the Superintendent of Public Instruction pursuant to rules of the State Board of Education which provides for part-time employment training which may be scheduled for a part of the workday or workweek, for alternating weeks or for other limited periods during the year, supplemented by and integrated with a definitely organized plan of instruction designed to teach technical knowledge and related information given as a regular part of the student-learner’s course by an accredited school, college or university. (b) “Student-learner” means a student who is receiving instruction in an accredited school, college or university and who is employed on a part-time basis, pursuant to a bona fide professional training program. (2) Notwithstanding ORS 653.025, employers shall pay student-learners at least 75 percent of the minimum wage prescribed by ORS 653.025.

Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-07-29 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at oregonlegislature.gov

(1) Except as provided in subsections (2) and (3) of this section, if an employer willfully fails to pay any wages or compensation of any employee whose employment ceases, as provided in ORS 652.140 and 652.145, then, as a penalty for the nonpayment, the wages or compensation of the employee shall continue from the due date thereof at the same hourly rate for eight hours per day until paid or until action therefor is commenced. However: (a) In no case shall the penalty wages or compensation continue for more than 30 days from the due date; and (b) A penalty may not be assessed under this section when an employer pays an employee the wages the employer estimates are due and payable under ORS 652.140 (2)(c) and the estimated amount of wages paid is less than the actual amount of earned and unpaid wages, as long as the employer pays the employee all wages earned and unpaid within five days after the employee submits the time records.

Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-07-29 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at oregonlegislature.gov

Also relied on in: Oregon Final Paycheck Laws: One of the Fastest Deadlines in the Country

(1) As used in this section, for purposes of a complaint alleging an unlawful practice under ORS 659A.145 or 659A.421 or discrimination under federal housing law, “person claiming to be aggrieved by an unlawful practice” includes, but is not limited to, a person who believes that the person: (a) Has been injured by an unlawful practice under ORS 659A.145 or 659A.421 or a discriminatory housing practice; or (b) Will be injured by an unlawful practice under ORS 659A.145 or 659A.421 or a discriminatory housing practice that is about to occur. (2) Any person claiming to be aggrieved by an unlawful practice may file with the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries a verified written complaint that states the name and address of the person alleged to have committed the unlawful practice. The complaint must be signed by the complainant. The complaint must set forth the acts or omissions alleged to be an unlawful practice. The complainant may be required to set forth in the complaint such other information as the commissioner may require.

Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-07-29 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at oregonlegislature.gov

Also relied on in: Oregon Background Check Laws (2026 Guide), Oregon At-Will Employment Laws: Exceptions and Your Rights

As used in this chapter— “Person” means an individual, partnership, association, corporation, business trust, legal representative, or any organized group of persons. “Commerce” means trade, commerce, transportation, transmission, or communication among the several States or between any State and any place outside thereof. “State” means any State of the United States or the District of Columbia or any Territory or possession of the United States. “Employer” includes any person acting directly or indirectly in the interest of an employer in relation to an employee and includes a public agency, but does not include any labor organization (other than when acting as an employer) or anyone acting in the capacity of officer or agent of such labor organization. Except as provided in paragraphs (2), (3), and (4), the term “employee” means any individual employed by an employer.

Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-07-28 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at uscode.house.gov

Also relied on in: Federal Minimum Wage 2026: $7.25 an Hour Since 2009, Minimum Wage by State 2026: All 50 States and DC, Alabama Minimum Wage 2026: $7.25 Federal, No State Rate

Every employer shall pay to each of his employees who in any workweek is engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce, or is employed in an enterprise engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce, wages at the following rates: except as otherwise provided in this section, not less than— $5.85 an hour, beginning on the 60th day after May 25, 2007; $6.55 an hour, beginning 12 months after that 60th day; and $7.25 an hour, beginning 24 months after that 60th day; if such employee is a home worker in Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands, not less than the minimum piece rate prescribed by regulation or order; or, if no such minimum piece rate is in effect, any piece rate adopted by such employer which shall yield, to the proportion or class of employees prescribed by regulation or order, not less than the applicable minimum hourly wage rate. Such minimum piece rates or employer piece rates shall be commensurate with, and shall be paid in lieu of, the minimum hourly wage rate applicable under the provisions of this section.

Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-07-28 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at uscode.house.gov

Also relied on in: Ohio Debt Collection Laws: Garnishment Formula, the 6-Year Consumer Debt Rule, and Repossession, South Dakota Debt Collection Laws: The 20% Garnishment Cap and 120-Day Lien, Wage Theft in the U.S.: Your Rights Regardless of Immigration Status

Any person who willfully violates any of the provisions of section 215 of this title shall upon conviction thereof be subject to a fine of not more than $10,000, or to imprisonment for not more than six months, or both. No person shall be imprisoned under this subsection except for an offense committed after the conviction of such person for a prior offense under this subsection. Any employer who violates the provisions of section 206 or section 207 of this title shall be liable to the employee or employees affected in the amount of their unpaid minimum wages, or their unpaid overtime compensation, as the case may be, and in an additional equal amount as liquidated damages. Any employer who violates the provisions of section 215(a)(3) or 218d of this title shall be liable for such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to effectuate the purposes of section 215(a)(3) or 218d of this title, including without limitation employment, reinstatement, promotion, and the payment of wages lost and an additional equal amount as liquidated damages.

Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-09-03 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at uscode.house.gov

Also relied on in: Federal Whistleblower Laws: Protections and How to Report, Unpaid Wages: How to File a Claim and Recover What You're Owed, Employer Threatening to Call Immigration? Your Rights in the U.S.

No provision of this chapter or of any order thereunder shall excuse noncompliance with any Federal or State law or municipal ordinance establishing a minimum wage higher than the minimum wage established under this chapter or a maximum work week lower than the maximum workweek established under this chapter, and no provision of this chapter relating to the employment of child labor shall justify noncompliance with any Federal or State law or municipal ordinance establishing a higher standard than the standard established under this chapter. No provision of this chapter shall justify any employer in reducing a wage paid by him which is in excess of the applicable minimum wage under this chapter, or justify any employer in increasing hours of employment maintained by him which are shorter than the maximum hours applicable under this chapter.

Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-07-28 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at uscode.house.gov

Also relied on in: Alaska Minimum Wage 2026: $14.00 an Hour, $15.00 in July 2027, Arizona Minimum Wage 2026: $15.15 Per Hour, $15.65 in 2027, Arkansas Minimum Wage 2026: $11.00 an Hour, Tip Credit Rules

Any action commenced on or after May 14, 1947, to enforce any cause of action for unpaid minimum wages, unpaid overtime compensation, or liquidated damages, under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended [29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.], the Walsh-Healey Act, or the Bacon-Davis Act 1  See References in Text note below.  — if the cause of action accrues on or after May 14, 1947 —may be commenced within two years after the cause of action accrued, and every such action shall be forever barred unless commenced within two years after the cause of action accrued, except that a cause of action arising out of a willful violation may be commenced within three years after the cause of action accrued; if the cause of action accrued prior to May 14, 1947 —may be commenced within whichever of the following periods is the shorter: (1) two years after the cause of action accrued, or (2) the period prescribed by the applicable State statute of limitations; and, except as provided in paragraph (c), every such action shall be forever barred unless commenced within the shorter of such two periods; if the cause of action accrued prior to May 14, 1947, the action shall not be barred by paragraph (b)…

Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-07-28 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at uscode.house.gov

Also relied on in: Independent Contractor vs. Employee: The IRS, DOL and ABC Tests, Colorado Minimum Wage 2026: $15.16, $15.71 in 2027, Connecticut Minimum Wage 2026: $16.94 an Hour ($17.48 in 2027)