OREGON - Workers’ Rights

Definition of agricultural worker under state law:

• For purposes of certain Oregon minimum wage and working conditions laws (ORS 652.010 to 653.261), “agricultural employment” is employment in “agriculture.” “Agriculture” is defined at Or. Admin. R. 839-020-0004.

Wages and Overtime

Minimum Wage

• There is a state minimum wage law. (Or. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 653.010 – 653.300)
• There are different wage rates for different geographic areas:
  • Date: July 1, 2022 -Standard $13.50
    • Portland Metro $14.75
    • Nonurban Counties $12.50
  • July 1, 2023:
    • Standard (Adjusted annually based on the increase, if any, to the US City average Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers*

*By April 30th of each year, the Bureau will calculate an adjustment of the standard minimum wage rate.)—- Portland Metro ($1.25 over the standard minimum wage)——- Nonurban Counties ($1 less than the standard minimum wage)

• Agricultural workers are covered by the state minimum wage, but with some exceptions. (Rev. Stat. Ann. § 653.020)

Overtime

• In Oregon, agricultural workers will be entitled to overtime pay requirements after 40 hours of work per week at the rate of 1.5 times the employee’s regular rate of pay.
  • Relating to overtime for agricultural workers; and prescribing an effective date, H.B. 4002, Ore. Laws 115 (2022).
• Starting in 2023, the requirements will be phased in: 
  • Starting January 1, 2023, employers will be required to pay overtime to agricultural workers after they work 55 hours in one workweek.
  • Starting January 1, 2025, employers will be required to pay overtime to agricultural workers after they work 48 hours in one workweek.
  • Starting January 1, 2027, employers will be required to pay overtime to agricultural workers after they work 40 hours in one workweek.
• An employer should seek independent legal advice regarding their overtime obligations. If an agricultural worker handles or otherwise works on products not grown by their own employer, or do not work within the definition of agriculture as outlined above, then the employee is due overtime after 40 hours. An employee who processes or handles ANY AMOUNT of another farmer’s crop is entitled to overtime under both state and federal law.

State Enforcement Agency

State of Oregon, Bureau of Labor and Industries

Website: https://www.oregon.gov/boli/Pages/index.aspx 

Relevant Forms: https://www.oregon.gov/boli/WHD/Pages/W_Whhowinf.aspx (also available in Spanish) 

Occupational Safety and Health

Workers’ Compensation

• Agricultural workers are covered by the state workers’ compensation law with no exceptions. (Or. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 656.001 – 656.990)
• It is illegal for employers who employ six or more employees to retaliate or discriminate against employees for filing a workers’ compensation claim or using workers’ compensation. (Or. Rev. Stat. § 659A.040)

State Enforcement Agency:

Oregon Workers’ Compensation Division

Website: https://wcd.oregon.gov/Pages/index.aspx
Relevant Forms: https://wcd.oregon.gov/worker/Pages/file-a-claim.aspx

Field Sanitation

• There is a state law regarding field sanitation. (Or. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 654.174)
• Workers engaged in field activities for growing and harvesting of food crops intended for human consumption are protected by this law. 
• Under Or. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 658.405 et seq, farm labor contractors who employ hand harvesters of crops intended for human consumption must also comply with field sanitation regulations.

State Enforcement Agency:

Department of Consumer and Business Services

Website: https://www.oregon.gov/dcbs/Pages/index.aspx

Pesticide Safety

• There is a state law regarding pesticide use and safety in agriculture. (Or. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 634.005 – 634.992)
• Suspected pesticide poisoning is a reportable illness for health care providers. (Or. Admin. R. 333-018-0015) Health care providers are required to report within 24 hours. (Or. Admin. R. 333-018-0015(4)(b))

State Enforcement Agency:

Oregon Department of Agriculture

Website: https://www.oregon.gov/ODA/programs/Pesticides/Pages/default.aspx

Right to Join Unions and Collective Bargaining in Agriculture

• There is no provision (or judicial interpretation of a provision) in the state constitution that grants farmworkers the right to join and organize labor unions free from retaliation or to engage in collective bargaining with their employers.
• There is a state statute that grants workers the right to join and organize labor unions free from retaliation and engage in collective bargaining. (Or. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 662.810) However, the statute does not give the worker (or the union) a right to file a lawsuit or administrative complaint to challenge retaliation by an employer. The statute creates rules and enforcement mechanisms that regulate collective bargaining in agriculture. There are limits on picketing or strikes on farms.

State Enforcement Agency: 

Oregon Employment Relations Board 

Website: https://www.oregon.gov/Erb/Pages/Index.aspx

State Legal Services Organizations

Legal Aid Services of Oregon

http://www.lasoregon.org/

Northwest Workers’ Justice Project

http://www.nwjp.org

Oregon Law Center

http://www.oregonlawcenter.org