If your employer hasn't paid your final wages, this page lays out exactly what Oregon law requires, what it costs your employer to ignore it, and how a properly cited demand letter invokes both. Every deadline, penalty, and citation below was verified against the current statute text or official state guidance.

Oregon's final paycheck deadlines at a glance

If you were fired or laid off End of the NEXT BUSINESS DAY after termination
If you quit With ≥48 business hours' notice: paid ON THE LAST DAY. Without notice: within 5 days (excl. weekends/holidays) or the next regular payday, whichever first
The penalty for nonpayment Waiting-time penalty: wages continue at 8 HOURS PER DAY, every calendar day, up to 30 days — and the worker's written notice controls the ceiling

When your final paycheck is due in Oregon

Fired workers are owed by the end of the next business day after termination (ORS 652.140(1)). Quitting splits by notice: at least 48 business hours' notice (excluding weekends and holidays) means payment ON THE LAST DAY; without that notice, wages "become due and payable within five days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, after the employee has quit, or at the next regularly scheduled payday after the employee has quit, whichever event first occurs" (§ 652.140(2)(b)). No-notice quitters who regularly submit time records get an estimate within 5 days and a full true-up within 5 days after the records come in (§ 652.140(2)(c)).

What late payment costs your employer

Oregon's famous waiting-time penalty (ORS 652.150(1)): willful nonpayment makes wages CONTINUE at the same hourly rate for 8 hours per day — every calendar day, weekends included, even for part-timers — until paid or suit is filed, capped at 30 days (up to 240 hours of pay). Interest on penalty wages accrues 30 days after willful nonpayment, unlawful-deduction penalties STACK on top (Wilson v. Smurfit, 197 Or App 648), BOLI may add a civil penalty up to $1,000, and attorney fees are recoverable (ORS 652.200). The financial-inability defense is nearly dead: paying any other debt while operating kills it (OAR 839-001-0470(5)). A safe harbor exists for the estimate path: a good-faith estimate plus true-up within 5 days of receiving the worker's time records avoids the penalty (§ 652.150(1)(b)). Commission carve-out: vehicle and farm-equipment dealership commission disputes cap penalty wages at the unpaid commission or $200, whichever is greater.

Why the demand letter matters in Oregon

THE WRITTEN NOTICE CONTROLS THE PENALTY CEILING — per BOLI's own guidance, the penalty caps at 100% of unpaid wages if the worker never sends written notice of nonpayment, and also caps at 100% if the employer pays within 12 DAYS of that notice (absent a prior-year willful violation). The letter UNLOCKS the 30-day maximum, and the employer's only cap-preserving move is paying within 12 days of receiving it. No state ties the letter to the penalty math more directly.

Vacation and PTO in the final check

Vacation per policy must ride in the final check; no conditioning on returned property. Seasonal farmworkers have stricter immediate-payment rules under a separate section.

What a strong Oregon demand letter looks like

An effective Oregon letter does the following: send written notice (the ceiling-unlocker), calendar day 12 (the employer's last cap-preserving exit), run the 8-hours-per-day math at the worker's rate, and recite the dead financial-inability defense. Here's how the opening of a strong one reads:

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Oregon Final Paycheck Demand — Preview
[Your Name] [Your Address] [City, OR ZIP] [Date] [Employer Name] [Employer Address] RE: Demand for Payment of Unpaid Final Wages — ORS 652.140, 652.150, 652.200 Dear [Employer Name], This letter is not a request. It is formal notice. I demand payment of my unpaid final wages in the amount of $[AMOUNT], earned through my last day of work on [LAST DAY WORKED]. Under ORS 652.140, 652.150, 652.200, my final wages were due as follows: end of the NEXT BUSINESS DAY after termination. As of today, [NUMBER] days have passed without payment. Be advised of your exposure under Oregon law for continued nonpayment: waiting-time penalty: wages continue at 8 HOURS PER DAY, every calendar day, up to 30 days — and the worker's written notice controls the ceiling... Accordingly, demand is hereby made for payment of $[AMOUNT], together with all amounts the law allows, within ten (10) days of the date of this letter — no later than [RESPONSE DEADLINE]. If payment is not received by that date, I will pursue every remedy available under law without further notice. I would prefer to resolve this without litigation — but I am fully prepared to proceed. Govern yourself accordingly, [Your Name]

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Primary sources

www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors652.html
oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_652.150
www.oregon.gov/boli/workers/pages/paychecks.aspx

This guide is general information about Oregon law, not legal advice. Statutes are paraphrased; verify current law for your situation. For significant or contested claims, consult a licensed Oregon attorney.