How overtime works on Oregon public works projects
Oregon's general overtime rule is weekly: most private employers owe time and one-half only for hours worked over 40 in a workweek, and there is no general daily overtime requirement. Oregon public works projects covered by the prevailing wage rate (PWR) law work differently, and that difference is where most payroll mistakes happen.
On a covered PWR project with a standard five-consecutive-day Monday–Friday schedule, time and one-half is owed for:
- hours worked over 8 in a day;
- hours worked over 40 in the workweek;
- all hours worked on Saturday;
- all hours worked on a covered holiday.
These come from ORS 279C.540(1)(a)(A) and (1)(b), implemented by OAR 839-025-0050(2)(a).
The mistake that costs workers money. A national payroll calculator that only knows the weekly-over-40 rule will look at four ten-hour days — 40 hours total — and report zero overtime. On an Oregon public works job that week contains 8 hours of daily overtime. At a $40 base rate that is $160 of premium pay that simply disappears.
The four-ten exception
An employer may establish a four-consecutive-day schedule within Monday–Friday — Monday through Thursday, or Tuesday through Friday — under OAR 839-025-0034. On a valid four-ten schedule, daily overtime begins after 10 hours instead of 8. If no written schedule has been provided, the schedule is presumed to be the standard five-day one. If the established four-ten schedule is not followed, the 8-hour threshold applies for that week.
Saturdays, Sundays and holidays
All Saturday hours are overtime, no matter how few hours were worked earlier in the week. Sunday is treated as a legal holiday in its own right, so all Sunday hours are overtime too.
The covered holidays under ORS 279C.540(3) are:
- Each Sunday
- New Year's Day — January 1
- Memorial Day — last Monday in May
- Independence Day — July 4
- Labor Day — first Monday in September
- Thanksgiving Day — fourth Thursday in November
- Christmas Day — December 25
If one of those holidays other than Sunday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday is recognized instead. If it falls on a Saturday, the preceding Friday is recognized.
How fringe benefits are treated
This is the second most common error. Under OAR 839-025-0050(2)(c), the hourly fringe rate is not paid at time and one-half, and it is excluded from the base used to compute the overtime premium. It must still be paid on every hour worked, including overtime hours.
So the overtime hourly equivalent is:
With a $40 base and $10 fringe, an overtime hour is worth $70 — not $75, which is what you get if you incorrectly apply the multiplier to fringe as well.
Required zone pay, shift differential, or hazard premium belongs with the base rate before applying the overtime multiplier. For example, if the published base is $40 and a required $2 zone premium applies, overtime is calculated from $42, while fringe remains outside the 1.5 multiplier.
Working more than one trade in a week
The calculator above is for one base/fringe rate. When a worker performs work in more than one classification at different rates, OAR 839-025-0050(2)(b) requires straight-time earnings for all hours actually worked, plus an overtime premium of half the weighted average base rate:
Travel and shop time can matter. Include compensable travel or shop time related to the public contract when totaling daily hours. If that time is paid at a different agreed rate, the single-rate calculator above cannot model the result accurately.
Worked examples
These follow BOLI's own published method. The calculator above reproduces each of them exactly.
Example A — daily overtime, no weekend work
Base $40.00, fringe $10.00, five-day schedule. Monday 9, Tuesday 8, Wednesday 10, Thursday 8, Friday 5 — 40 hours total, but 3 hours of daily overtime (1 on Monday, 2 on Wednesday).
A weekly-only calculator would report $2,000.00 for this week and miss $60.00.
Example B — Saturday work
Base $35.00, fringe $8.00. Monday through Friday 8 hours each, plus 6 hours on Saturday — 46 hours. All 6 Saturday hours are overtime. They are not also counted as weekly-over-40 overtime; no hour is ever paid as overtime twice.
Example C — two trade classifications
16 hours in a trade paying $30.00 base / $5.00 fringe, and 28 hours in a trade paying $42.00 base / $7.00 fringe. 44 hours total, 4 of them on Saturday.
Where the rates come from
Base and fringe rates for each trade classification are published by BOLI in the Prevailing Wage Rate book. Rates are generally updated quarterly — January 5, April 5, July 5 and October 5 — with amendments in between. The rate book in effect when the project was first advertised for bid is normally the one that governs, so check the applicable book rather than assuming the newest one applies. The rate lookup guide walks through the source, classification, location, premium, and amendment checks.
For reference, Oregon's minimum wage from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027 is $16.80 in the Portland metro area, $15.55 standard, and $14.55 non-urban. Prevailing wage rates on public works are far higher than minimum wage and are set per trade.