6/16/2016
by Kelly Riggs
The State of Oregon has enacted a new law, SB 1587, designed to increase transparency with respect to employee pay, prevent wage theft, and expose wage and hour violations. Generally, the law will require employers to provide additional details on itemized pay stubs and allow employees to inspect and request copies of their time and pay records. The law also provides increased enforcement measures and prohibits wage theft by public works contractors and subcontractors. Employers must comply with the new requirements, summarized below, beginning January 1, 2017.
Itemized Pay Stubs
Under the new amendments to the current pay stub statute, ORS 652.610, employers will be required to provide much greater detail on itemized, written pay stubs, including:
- the date of the payment;
- the dates of work covered by the payment;
- the employee’s name;
- the name and business registry number or business identification number of the employer;
- the address and telephone number of the employer;
- the rate or rates of pay;
- whether the employee is paid by the hour, shift, day, or week or on a salary, piece, or commission basis;
- gross wages;
- net wages;
- the amount and purpose of each deduction made during the period of service that the payment covers;
- allowances, if any, claimed as part of minimum wage;
- unless paid on a salary basis and legally exempt from overtime pay, the regular hourly rate or rates of pay, the overtime rate or rates of pay, the number of regular hours worked and pay for those hours, and the number of overtime hours worked and pay for those hours; and
- if paid on a piece rate, the applicable piece rate or rates of pay, the number of pieces completed at each rate, and the total pay for each rate.
Employers may provide itemized pay stubs to employees in electronic form, but only if (1) the employee expressly agrees to receive them in electronic form; and (2) the employee has the ability to print or store the statement at the time of receipt.
Oregon law already provides that itemized pay stub violations constitute a Class D criminal violation, potentially punishable by a fine of up to $250 for individuals or $500 for corporations. Beginning on January 1, 2017, violations of these new pay stub provisions will also constitute a Class D criminal violation.
