Legal Question in Employment Law in Oregon

Re: paycheck

You state that your employer owes you money, but not whether you are currently still employed or have left employment with that employer. Under federal minimum wage and overtime law, the employer is required to compensate for all time the employee works or is permitted to work. State law is the same, except that state law covers all wages, not just minimum wage and overtime. Under state law, an employee is entitled to collect penalties if the wages remain unpaid after termination and the employer will be required to pay attorneys fees if a court action is required to collect wages owed before termination. If the unpaid work time creates an entitlement to overtime or minimum wage pay, both penalties under state law and double the amount of unpaid wages can be assessed against the employer.

Contact an experienced employment lawyer. Most will take such cases on a contingency basis (i.e., no hourly fees, with compensation to the lawyer taken out of the amount received, or by the separate award of attorneys fees paid by the employer).

No employer may legally retaliate against an employee for demanding or inquiring about unpaid wages. If retaliation occurs, the employee may bring a court action for damages plus attorneys fees.

The above does not constitute legal opinion and is offered for the purposes of discussion only. The law differs in every jurisdiction, and you should not rely on any opinion except that of an attorney you have retained, who has a professional duty to advise you after being fully informed of all the pertinent facts and who is familiar with the applicable law.