Oregon penalty wages: 8 hours/day × 30 days on willful late pay.
ORS 652.150 imposes penalty wages of 8 hours per calendar day at the worker's regular rate, up to 30 days, for willful failure to pay wages on time. The maximum exposure is 240 hours of straight-time wages on top of the original underpayment. Plus a BOLI civil penalty of $1,000, plus interest, plus attorney fees. Employers can cap exposure at 100% of unpaid wages by paying within 12 days of written notice from the worker.
Penalty Wage Risk Tracking
Tracks penalty wage exposure on late wages. Surfaces 12-day cure window from written worker notice. Calculates daily accrual at 8 hours × regular rate.
What those rules do when a deadline passes.
The hero card configuration: Critical on late termination pay, Flag on cure window status.
When a final pay deadline passes without payment, Teambridge surfaces a Critical indicator with the daily penalty accrual count and the running exposure total. The risk surfaces every business day the wages remain unpaid.
When the employer receives written notice from the worker that wages remain due, a 12-day cure window begins. Paying in full within the window caps liability at 100% of unpaid wages instead of 240 hours of penalty.
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8 hours per day, every day, up to 30 — even on weekends.
The penalty accrues at 8 hours per calendar day — including Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays — at the worker's regular rate. Maximum is 30 days = 240 hours of additional wages.
Calendar-day accrual, not work-day
The penalty runs at 8 hours per calendar day from the due date until payment. Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays count. A worker who normally works part-time still accrues 8 hours of penalty per day. The penalty is independent of the worker's normal schedule.
Willful failure standard
ORS 652.150 requires the failure to be 'willful' — the employer knew the wages were due and failed to pay. Willfulness is interpreted broadly by Oregon courts and BOLI: ignorance of the law, accounting errors, or 'we didn't get to it' generally do not negate willfulness. The standard is much closer to negligence than intent.
Teambridge surfaces the daily exposure and the cure window when applicable.
Most penalty-wage exposure is preventable with timely payment. Teambridge surfaces the risk before the deadline passes.
8 hrs × regular rate × days late.
When a final pay deadline passes, Teambridge starts the daily exposure clock. Each business day the wages remain unpaid adds 8 hours of penalty wages at the worker's regular rate.
Worker notice triggers 12-day window.
When the employer receives written notice from the worker that wages remain due, the 12-day cure window begins. Full payment within the window caps liability at 100% of unpaid wages.
Maximum 240 hours of penalty.
Penalty wages cap at 30 calendar days = 240 hours of additional wages. Beyond 30 days, no further penalty accrues, but the underlying wages plus BOLI civil penalty plus interest plus attorney fees remain in play.
Final pay risk shown before termination.
Before termination is finalized, Teambridge previews the penalty wage risk if the deadline is missed. Operators see the maximum exposure (30 days × 8 hours × rate) and can ensure timely payment.
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.