Chapter 546
AN ACT
HB 2256
Relating to payment of wages; amending ORS 652.110, 652.200 and
652.900.
Be It Enacted by the People of
the State of
SECTION 1. ORS 652.110 is amended to read:
652.110. (1) [No] A person engaged in any
business or enterprise of any kind in this state [shall] may not issue, in payment of or as evidence of
indebtedness for wages due an employee, any order, check, memorandum or other [acknowledgment] instrument of
indebtedness[,] unless the [same] instrument is negotiable[,] and [is] payable without discount in cash on demand at some bank or
other established place of business in the county where the [same is issued,] employee lives or
works and where a sufficient amount of funds have been provided and are or
will be available for the payment of [such
order, check or other acknowledgment of indebtedness] the instrument
when due. [Such] The person
shall, upon presentation and demand, pay [any
such order, check, memorandum or other acknowledgment of indebtedness,] the
instrument in lawful money of the
(2) This section
does not in any way limit or interfere with the right
of any employee to accept from any person, as an evidence or acknowledgment of
indebtedness for wages due the employee, a negotiable instrument, payable at
some future date with interest.
(3) An employer
and an employee may agree to authorize [an]
the employer to deposit without discount wages due the employee in the
employee’s account in a financial institution, as defined in ORS 706.008, in
this state.
(4) An employer and
an employee may agree that the employer may pay wages through a direct deposit
system, automated teller machine card, payroll card or other means of
electronic transfer if the employee may:
(a) Make an initial
withdrawal of the entire amount of net pay without cost to the employee; or
(b) Choose to use
another means of payment of wages that involves no cost to the employee.
(5) An agreement
described in subsection (4) of this section must be made in the language that
the employer principally uses to communicate with the employee.
(6)(a) Except as
provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection, to revoke an agreement described
in subsection (4) of this section, an employee shall give the employer a
written notice of revocation of the agreement. Unless the employer and employee
agree otherwise, the agreement is revoked 30 days after the date the notice is
received by the employer.
(b) To revoke an
agreement described in subsection (4) of this section, an employee who works
for an employer as a seasonal farmworker as defined in ORS 652.145 or an
employee who is employed in packing, canning, freezing or drying any variety of
agricultural crops shall give the employer notice of revocation of the
agreement either orally or in writing. Unless the employer and the employee
agree otherwise, the agreement is revoked 10 days after the date the notice is
received by the employer.
SECTION 2. ORS 652.200 is amended to read:
652.200. (1) In any
action for the collection of any order, check, memorandum or other [acknowledgment] instrument of
indebtedness referred to in ORS 652.110, if it is shown that the order, check,
memorandum or other [acknowledgment] instrument
of indebtedness was not paid for a period of 48 hours, excluding Saturdays,
Sundays and holidays, after presentation and demand for the payment thereof,
the court shall, upon entering judgment for the plaintiff, include in [such] the judgment, in addition
to the costs and disbursements otherwise prescribed by statute, a reasonable
sum for attorney fees at trial and on appeal for prosecuting [said] the action, unless it
appears that the employee has willfully violated the contract of employment.
(2) In any action for
the collection of wages, if it is shown that the wages were not paid for a
period of 48 hours, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, after the [same] wages became due and
payable, the court shall, upon entering judgment for the plaintiff, include in
[such] the judgment, in
addition to the costs and disbursements otherwise prescribed by statute, a
reasonable sum for attorney fees at trial and on appeal for prosecuting [said] the action, unless it
appears that the employee has willfully violated the contract of employment or
unless the court finds that the plaintiff’s attorney unreasonably failed to
give written notice of the wage claim to the employer before filing the action.
SECTION 3. ORS 652.900 is amended to read:
652.900. (1) In addition
to any other penalty provided by law, the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor
and Industries may assess a civil penalty not to exceed $1,000 against any
person who violates ORS 652.020, 652.110, 652.140 or 652.145 or any rule
adopted pursuant thereto.
(2) Civil penalties
under this section shall be imposed as provided in ORS 183.745.
(3) All penalties
recovered under this section shall be paid into the State Treasury and credited
to the General Fund and are available for general governmental expenses.
Approved by the Governor June 22, 2007
Filed in the office of Secretary of State June 27, 2007
Effective date January 1, 2008
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