Oregon's three final-paycheck deadlines
ORS 652.140 establishes a different deadline for each separation scenario. Unlike many states with a single universal rule, Oregon treats each situation separately:
| How employment ended | Final paycheck due |
|---|---|
| Discharged (fired, laid off, or mutual termination) | By the end of the next business day |
| Quit with at least 48 hours' notice (weekends and holidays excluded) | Last day of employment (or next business day if last day is a weekend/holiday) |
| Quit without giving 48 hours' notice | Within 5 business days OR the next regular payday — whichever comes first |
The ORS 652.150 penalty — among the strictest in the country
Oregon's waiting-time penalty is exceptionally severe compared to most states. Under ORS 652.150, if an employer fails to pay final wages on time:
- The employer owes 8 times the employee's regular daily wage for each day wages remain unpaid.
- The penalty accumulates for a maximum of 30 days.
- 100% cap relief: If the employer pays all unpaid wages within 12 days of receiving written notice from the employee that wages are still owed, the penalty is capped at 100% of the unpaid wages — not the 8× formula.
Penalty worked example
What counts as "48 hours' notice"?
BOLI interprets the 48-hour notice period as 48 hours excluding weekends and holidays. A notice given on Friday afternoon that would complete 48 hours on Sunday does not satisfy the requirement; the period continues running on Monday. If the notice period crosses a holiday, that holiday is similarly excluded.
Vacation pay and accrued PTO
Oregon does not have a standalone statute requiring employers to pay out accrued vacation upon separation. Whether vacation or PTO is owed depends entirely on the employer's written policy or a signed employment agreement. If the employer's policy says accrued vacation is paid on termination, those amounts become wages subject to the same ORS 652.140 deadlines — and the same ORS 652.150 penalty for late payment.
How this calculator works
The tool advances the last day worked by the number of business days (Monday–Friday) required under the applicable rule. If you enter a next regular payday for the no-notice-quit scenario, it compares the two deadlines and returns whichever is earlier. The penalty estimate uses the daily-wage formula only if an hourly rate and hours-per-day are entered.
Worked example: discharged on a Friday
Worked example: quit without notice on a Wednesday
What this does not determine
- Whether state holidays extend the working-day deadline.
- Whether all wages owed (commissions, bonuses, expense reimbursements, disputed amounts) are captured.
- Whether the employer's vacation/PTO policy creates a payout obligation.
- The correct "regular rate of wage" when the employee had bonuses, commissions, or multiple pay rates.
- Whether the 12-day written-notice cap applies to a specific situation.
- Any other remedies (attorney's fees, civil penalties, or BOLI enforcement actions).
Sources and verification
All deadline rules and the penalty formula come from the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) verified source atoregon.gov/boli/workers/pages/paychecks.aspx, which citesORS 652.140 (deadlines) andORS 652.150 (penalties). Verbatim quotes from the BOLI page were captured on 2024-01-01 and are stored in the site registry.