What does Oregon's predictive scheduling law require?
Oregon's law covers retail, hospitality and food services employers with 500 or more employees worldwide2. The written schedule goes out at least 14 calendar days before its first day, and is posted1.
A change the employer asks for inside that period costs extra pay, unless an exception applies4. Adding more than 30 minutes, moving a shift without loss of hours or adding a shift pays 1 hour at the regular rate; cutting hours, cancelling a shift or not using an on-call shift pays half the regular rate per scheduled hour lost5.
Unless the employee asks or agrees, no work may be scheduled in the 10 hours after the previous day's shift; hours worked there pay 1.5 times the regular rate3.
This text does not constitute legal advice. Obligations vary by establishment and change over time. Confirm yours with the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries or a qualified advisor.
What does each late change cost in Oregon?
The bureau counts a change as without advance notice when it is made less than 14 calendar days before the start of the workweek in which it falls5, and the rules measure a multi-week schedule the same way4. The extra pay is due no later than the regular payday for the pay period in which the change was worked6.
| When the employer | The employee is owed |
|---|---|
| Adds more than 30 minutes of work to a shift5 | 1 hour at the regular rate, in addition to wages earned5 |
| Changes the date, start time or end time of a shift with no loss of hours5 | 1 hour at the regular rate, in addition to wages earned5 |
| Schedules an additional work or on-call shift5 | 1 hour at the regular rate, in addition to wages earned5 |
| Subtracts hours before or after the employee reports for duty5 | Half the regular rate for each scheduled hour not worked5 |
| Changes the date, start time or end time of a shift with a loss of hours5 | Half the regular rate for each scheduled hour not worked5 |
| Cancels a shift5 | Half the regular rate for each scheduled hour not worked5 |
| Does not ask the employee to work a scheduled on-call shift5 | Half the regular rate for each scheduled hour not worked5 |
| Has the employee work in the 10 hours after the previous day's shift3 | 1.5 times the regular rate for each hour or portion of an hour worked inside them, whether or not the employee asked or agreed37 |
The regular rate is the hourly rate for the pay period in which the pay was earned, and never less than the minimum wage8.
What changes in the week under Oregon's predictive scheduling law?
When you hire
At the time of hire, a new employee gets a written good faith estimate of the work schedule: the median number of hours they can expect to work in an average month, an explanation of any voluntary standby list, and whether they may expect on-call shifts910.
At hire and during employment, an employee may name limits on their availability, including child care needs, and ask not to be scheduled at certain times or locations. The employer may not retaliate, and is under no obligation to grant the request11.
When you build the schedule
The written schedule includes all work shifts and on-call shifts for the period, and goes out at least 14 calendar days before its first day121. The rules ask for specific start and end times, posting in English and in any language the employer typically uses with its employees, and telling each new hire where the schedule is posted13.
A new employee, or one back from a leave of absence, gets a schedule running through the last date of the posted schedule12.
When the schedule changes
The employer gives timely notice of each change it asks for, and the employee may decline any shift not on the written schedule14.
A change made at the employee's own written request is outside the advance notice rule15. An employee may ask in writing to be added to shifts without triggering extra pay, unless the time falls within 10 hours of their previous shift16.
A schedule reissued while there are still more than 14 calendar days to its first day, or for a multi-week schedule to the first day of the workweek being changed, is not a change for these purposes4.
When you need more hours
An employer may keep a voluntary standby list for unanticipated customer needs or unexpected absences. Each employee on it has asked or agreed in writing, and is told in writing how to leave the list, that offered hours may be refused, and that hours taken from the list carry no extra pay17.
The rules define those needs and absences as ones the employer could not have predicted, or had no notice of, by the day it issued the schedule18. Using the list for any other purpose is a violation the bureau may penalize19.
Between shifts
Unless the employee requests or consents, the employer may not schedule work in the 10 hours after a shift that ended the previous calendar day, or after a shift that spanned two calendar days20. Consent can be given for one time or as a standing choice, and revoked20.
Pay at 1.5 times the regular rate for hours worked inside that rest3 is owed whether or not the employee asked or agreed7. The rest rule does not apply to a split shift that takes place entirely within one calendar day21.
With a union agreement
The extra pay for changes and for work inside the rest period is not owed to an employee covered by a collective bargaining agreement in force at the work site that gives a remedy equal to or better than the law's22.
Watch for
- Who counts toward 500. The bureau counts the average number of employees on each work day during each of 20 or more workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year23. Employees whose primary duties are not retail, hospitality or food service, exempt salaried staff, and workers supplied by worker leasing companies or by businesses that provide services to or on behalf of an employer are neither covered nor counted24. The rules define that last term; for a contractor's staff, see the open question below25.
- Which employers are retail, hospitality or food services. The rules go by the employer's classification under the 2012 North American Industry Classification System, and by each employee's primary duties, meaning the major part of their time26.
- Changes the extra pay does not cover. The bureau names natural disasters and similar events outside the employer's control27. The statute lists further exceptions in ORS 653.455(3); the rules define terms it uses, among them the recommendation of a public official, unanticipated customer needs and unexpected employee absences1828.
- Roadside assistance. Hours spent giving offsite repair help to a motorist with a disabled vehicle carry no rest-period premium3.
What does an employer have to be able to show?
The rules ask for records that show compliance, kept for at least 3 years, on paper or electronically29. They include:
- The written schedules given to employees and the schedules posted29.
- Each employee's written request to change their schedule29.
- The good faith estimate given to each new employee29.
- For a voluntary standby list, the notice to the employee and their request or agreement to be on it29.
- Documents showing just cause when hours were cut for disciplinary reasons29.
The bureau may assess a civil penalty of up to $1,000 for a violation, up to $500 for not displaying the poster, and up to $2,000 for coercing an employee onto the standby list30. The poster goes up in a visible place at the workplace31.
What does the law leave open?
A contractor's staff at a covered store. Workers supplied by businesses that provide services to the employer are not covered or counted24. The rules define such a business as one that is wholly distinct from and ancillary to the employer's retail, hospitality or food services function, and they cover a contracted business whose own classification is food services or retail2526. Whether a given contractor's staff fall inside the law turns on those tests. Confirm it with your counsel.
What do the rules say exactly?
(2) For existing employees who are not returning from a leave of absence, the employer shall provide each employee with a written work schedule at least seven (7) calendar days before the first day of the work schedule. Beginning on July 1, 2020, the employer shall provide each employee with a written work schedule at least 14 calendar days before the first day of the work schedule.
OAR 839-026-0040(1)-(2) rest between shifts
(1) Unless the employee requests or consents to work such hours, an employer may not schedule or require an employee to work: (a) Less than ten hours after the end of the previous calendar day's work shift or on-call shift; or (b) Less than ten hours following the end of a work shift or on-call shift that spanned two calendar days. (2) An employee may request or consent to work shifts separated by less than 10 hours on a situational or on-going basis and may revoke such consent at any time during employment, provided that the employee follows the employer’s usual and customary procedures for making work schedule changes.
OAR 839-026-0040(3) the premium, with or without consent
(3) When an employee works during a rest period established by ORS 653.442(1), the employer shall pay the compensation required by ORS 653.442(2) regardless of whether the employee requested or consented to work shifts separated by less than ten hours. The compensation must be paid to the employee no later than the regular payday for the pay period during which the work was performed.
OAR 839-026-0030(5) notice of changes and the right to decline
(5) If, after the employer has provided advance notice of the work schedule to an employee, the employer requests to make changes to the schedule, the employer must provide the employee with timely notice of any change by in-person conversation, telephone, electronic mail, text message, or some other accessible electronic or written format. The employer’s notice is timely when it represents a good faith effort to contact the employee promptly and without undue delay after learning of the need for changing the employee’s work schedule. The employee may decline to work any shifts not included in the employee's written work schedule.
OAR 839-026-0030(6) changes the employee asks for
(6) The advance notice requirements of ORS 653.436 and this rule do not apply when an employer makes changes to an employee’s schedule as a result of a written request initiated by the employee.
OAR 839-026-0030(8) when the extra pay is due
(8) When an employer is required by ORS 653.455(2) to compensate an employee for changes requested by the employer to the employee’s written work schedule that have occurred, payment of the compensation must be made no later than the regular payday for the pay period during which the change to the schedule was worked.
OAR 839-026-0060 union agreements
An employer is not required to pay an employee the compensation described in ORS 653.442 or 653.455 when the employee is covered by a collective bargaining agreement or other collectively-bargained contract that is in force at the employee’s work site and that provides the employee a remedy equal to or better than the remedy provided by ORS 653.442 or 653.455.
OAR 839-026-0050 records
(1) An employer is required to retain records that document the employer’s compliance with ORS 653.412 to 653.485 and these rules for a period of not less than three years. Records may be printed or stored electronically. […] (a) The written work schedules provided by the employer to employees as required by ORS 653.436(1) and the written work schedules posted as required by ORS 653.436(2); (b) An employee’s written request to change the employee’s work schedule after the employer has provided the employee with a written work schedule as required by ORS 653.436; (c) A copy of the good faith estimate of the employee’s work schedule provided to a new employee as required by ORS 653.428; (d) If, pursuant to ORS 653.432, the employer maintains a voluntary standby list, the employer’s notification to the employee about the list and the employee’s request or agreement to be included on the list; […] (f) Documents demonstrating that the employer had just cause to subtract hours from an employee’s work schedule for disciplinary reasons as required by ORS 653.455(3)(e).
OAR 839-026-0010 covered employees
(1) ORS 653.412 to ORS 653.485 applies to employees who are employed in a retail, hospitality, or food services establishment and whose primary duties consist of performing activities relating to the retail, lodging or food service operations of those establishments. […] For the purposes of this rule, “primary duty” means, as a general rule, the major part of an employee’s time. […] (2) Whether an employer is a retail, hospitality, or food services establishment for the purposes of ORS 653.412 to ORS 653.485 depends on whether the employer’s operations are classified as a retail, hospitality, or food services establishment under the 2012 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). Where, as part of its operations, an employer provides retail, hospitality, or food services but is not classified by NAICS as a retail, hospitality, or food services establishment, the employer’s employees are not employed in a retail, hospitality, or food services establishment. For example, a hospital that, as part of its own operations, also employs employees to provide food services or operate a retail gift store is not a food services establishment or retail establishment. However, if the hospital contracts with another business to provide food services or operate a retail gift store within the hospital, and the NAICS classifies such a business as a food services or retail establishment, the business’s employees are employed in a food services or retail establishment.
Bureau of Labor and Industries compensation for schedule changes
Compensation for work schedule changes. An employer is required to provide compensation to an employee for each employer-requested change that occurs to a written work schedule without advance notice (14 calendar days prior to the beginning of the workweek in which the change occurs) as follows: One hour at the regular rate of pay, in addition to wages earned when the employer: Adds more than 30 minutes of work to the employee’s shift; Changes the date or start time or end time of the employee’s work shift with no loss of hours; or Schedules the employee for an additional work or on-call shift. One-half times the employee’s regular rate of pay, per hour, for each scheduled hour that the employee does not work when the employer: Subtracts hours from the employee’s work shift before or after the employee reports for duty; Changes the date or start time or end time of the employee’s shift, resulting in a loss of work shift hours; Cancels the employee’s work shift; or Does not ask the employee to perform work when the employee is scheduled for an on-call shift.
How does a system hold the hour and rest rules?
In Oregon, the rest between shifts and the weekly hours land on the same schedule and the same timecard. This is how WorkAxle holds them:
- Daily and weekly hours, consecutive days and rest between shifts are set up as rules, each with its start date.
- While the schedule is built, the platform flags each shift that breaks one of those rules and names the rule. The supervisor decides.
- Each clock-in and clock-out is recorded with its time, and at the close of the period hours come out classified by your rules, ready for your payroll system.
The supervisor keeps the last word.
What can you check this week?
- Count your employees the way the bureau does: the average on each work day across 20 or more workweeks of this year or last23.
- Check when last month's schedules went out against the 14 calendar days1.
- Pull every employer-requested change made inside those 14 days and check which ones carried the extra pay5.
- Find any shift that started less than 10 hours after the previous day's shift ended, and check it was paid at 1.5 times the regular rate37.
- If you keep a standby list, check that each employee on it asked or agreed in writing17.
Sending it to finance, operations or your counsel? The link opens this page, and the printed brief carries the rules, the dates and the sources.
This text does not constitute legal advice. Obligations vary by establishment and change over time. Confirm yours with the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries or a qualified advisor.
Frequently asked questions
Who is covered by Oregon's predictive scheduling law?
Employees of retail, hospitality or food services establishments, including chains and integrated enterprises, that employ 500 or more employees worldwide2. Employees whose primary duties are not retail, hospitality or food service, exempt salaried staff, and workers supplied by worker leasing companies or by businesses that provide services to or on behalf of an employer, as the rules define them, are not covered or counted2425. Whether a contractor's staff fall inside that definition is a question for your counsel.
How far in advance must schedules be posted in Oregon?
At least 14 calendar days before the first day on the schedule, in writing, and posted in a conspicuous and accessible location1, with specific start and end times, in English and in any language the employer typically uses with its employees13.
What is predictability pay in Oregon?
Extra pay for a change the employer asks for inside the notice period: 1 hour at the regular rate for adding more than 30 minutes, moving a shift with no loss of hours or adding a shift, and half the regular rate for each scheduled hour not worked when hours are cut, a shift is cancelled or an on-call shift is not used5. Some changes carry no extra pay, such as those the employee asks for in writing15.
Does Oregon have a clopening rule?
Yes, for covered employers. Unless the employee requests or consents, no work may be scheduled in the 10 hours after the previous day's shift, and hours worked inside them pay 1.5 times the regular rate3, whether or not the employee asked or agreed7.
Can an employee pick up extra shifts without predictability pay in Oregon?
Yes, when the employee asks in writing to be added, unless the time is within 10 hours of their previous shift16. Hours taken from a voluntary standby list, used for unanticipated customer needs or unexpected absences as the rules define them, carry no extra pay either1718.
Can an Oregon employee refuse a shift that was not on the schedule?
Yes. After the schedule is out, the employee may decline any shift not included in the written schedule14.
How long must Oregon employers keep predictive scheduling records?
At least 3 years, including schedules, employees' written change requests, good faith estimates, standby list consents and just-cause documents for hours cut for discipline29.
https://www.workaxle.com/compliance-center/united-states/oregon/predictive-scheduling