Oregon · Compliance · Updated April 2026

Oregon BOLI: 6-year statute of limitations, broad enforcement scope.

The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) Civil Rights Division is the primary state-level wage and hour enforcement agency. It investigates wage claims, discrimination complaints, sick time violations, Fair Workweek violations, Equal Pay Act claims, and more. Oregon's 6-year statute of limitations under ORS 12.080 is among the longest in the country — much longer than federal FLSA's 2-3 years. Workers can also bring claims in small claims court for amounts up to $10,000.

Statute of Limitations
6 years (ORS 12.080)
Small Claims Limit
$10,000
Authority
ORS 651, 652, 653, 659A
Active

BOLI Compliance Audit Trail

Maintains 6-year audit trail of pay records, classifications, schedules, and policy acknowledgments. Surfaces complaint risk indicators and bond requirements.

Flag · audit retention 6 years
Avoid · repeat lateness triggering bond requirement
Always running

What those rules do as records accumulate.

The hero card configuration: Flag on retention windows, Avoid on repeat-violation patterns.

Flag · 6-year audit retention

Pay records, schedules, classifications, and policy acknowledgments are retained for 6 years to align with Oregon's wage claim SOL. Records are searchable and exportable for BOLI investigations.

Avoid · repeat lateness triggering BOLI bond

When an employer repeatedly fails to pay wages within 5 days of scheduled payday, BOLI may require a bond under ORS 652.125. Teambridge surfaces the cumulative pattern and the bond risk before BOLI escalation.

Skip the configuration

Deploy Oregon BOLI compliance in your Teambridge.

Tell us about your Oregon workforce. We'll spin up 6-year audit retention, BOLI-ready records export, repeat-violation pattern detection, and bond risk surfacing — and 21 other Oregon policies in a sandbox tenant.

Or book a 30-min walkthrough. We respond within 4 business hours.

The rule, plainly stated

BOLI is the wage and hour cop. The 6-year SOL is the accountability window.

BOLI's Civil Rights Division is one of the more active state enforcement agencies. The 6-year SOL means past missteps remain claimable for years.

ORS 12.080 — 6-Year Wage Claim Statute of Limitations: An action upon a contract or liability, express or implied, excepting those mentioned in ORS 12.070 and 12.110, shall be commenced within six years.

BOLI's Civil Rights Division scope

BOLI's Civil Rights Division enforces wage and hour law (ORS 651-653), employment discrimination (ORS 659A), sick time (ORS 653.601), Fair Workweek Act (ORS 653.412-485), Equal Pay Act (ORS 652.220), and other employment statutes. Workers can file complaints administratively; BOLI investigates and may issue determinations, civil penalties, or refer to court.

6-year statute of limitations

Oregon's general SOL for wage claims under ORS 12.080 is 6 years — longer than most states. Federal FLSA claims have 2 years (3 for willful). The 6-year window means a worker can claim unpaid overtime from 2020 in 2026. Records retention should match the SOL: 6 years minimum for wage records.

On autopilot

Teambridge maintains 6-year retention and surfaces escalating risk patterns.

The 6-year retention is a baseline; the proactive risk surfacing is what prevents BOLI escalation.

01 · Records retention

Pay, schedule, classification, policy acknowledgments.

All wage and hour records — pay rates, hours, classifications, schedules, policy acknowledgments, sick time accrual, Fair Workweek compliance — are retained for 6 years.

02 · Wage claim defense

Records exportable for BOLI investigation.

When BOLI requests records for an investigation, Teambridge can export the complete worker record set in a single workflow. Audit trail includes timestamps and revision history.

03 · Pattern detection

Repeat lateness, repeat misclassification flagged.

Patterns of repeat violations — late paychecks, classification disputes, missed breaks — are surfaced before they accumulate into BOLI bond requirements or class actions.

04 · Annual compliance review

Year-end review of wage compliance.

An annual compliance review aggregates the year's wage records, surfaces any latent issues, and produces an audit-ready summary for executive review.

Free · No commitment

Still evaluating? Get a free Oregon compliance audit.

Send us your existing Oregon scheduling and pay configuration. Our compliance team returns a written audit within 5 business days — every Oregon-specific exposure ranked by risk and back-pay liability.

FAQ

People also ask.

What is BOLI?
Bureau of Labor and Industries — Oregon's primary state-level employment enforcement agency. The Civil Rights Division enforces wage and hour, discrimination, sick time, Fair Workweek, and Equal Pay Act statutes.
How long do workers have to file wage claims in Oregon?
Six years from the date of the violation under ORS 12.080. This is one of the longest SOLs in the country. Federal FLSA claims have 2 years (3 for willful violations) — Oregon's longer state SOL extends the practical claim window for most wage disputes.
Can workers file claims in court instead of with BOLI?
Yes. Workers can bring private actions in court for unpaid wages, equal pay claims, retaliation, and other violations. For amounts under $10,000, small claims court is also available — faster but without BOLI's investigative support.
What's the BOLI bond requirement?
Under ORS 652.125, BOLI may require an employer to post a bond ensuring future wage payment if the employer repeatedly fails to pay wages within 5 days of a scheduled payday. Triggered by a pattern, not a single late paycheck. Once posted, the bond can be drawn against to satisfy claims.
How long should employers retain wage records?
At least 6 years to align with Oregon's wage claim SOL. Federal FLSA recordkeeping (29 CFR Part 516) requires 3 years of payroll records, but Oregon's longer SOL effectively extends the retention requirement for Oregon employers.