Oregon minimum wage and tip laws (2026)

The minimum wage in Oregon is $15.55 an hour. It went up from $15.05 on July 1, 2026.

Minimum wage

$15.55

For a 40-hour week

$622.00

Source: ORS 653.025 (standard rate $15.55 July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027; Portland metro urban growth boundary $16.80; nonurban counties $14.55) Read the rule

Oregon does not let employers count your tips toward the minimum wage. You are owed the full $15.55 an hour before tips, and every tip you receive is on top of that.

Tips can count toward the wage

No

Tipped cash wage

$15.55

Source: ORS 653.035(3) (an employer may not include any amount received by employees as tips in determining the minimum wage; BOLI: tip credits are illegal in Oregon) Read the rule

• Hours past 40 in a workweek are paid at 1.5 times your regular rate.

Overtime rate at minimum wage

$23.325

Source: 29 U.S.C. 207(a)(1); 29 CFR 778.107; Fact Sheet #15 (overtime for tipped employees is computed on the full minimum wage, not the cash wage) Read the rule

Meal break

30 minutes when you work more than 6 hours

Rest break

10 paid minutes for every 4 hours

Extra pay for a missed break

No

Oregon requires these breaks but does not set a fixed premium, like an extra hour of pay, when one is missed. If you work through a meal break, that time has to be paid.

Source: ORS 653.261; OAR 839-020-0050 (30-minute duty-free meal period for work periods of 6 hours or more, second meal period at 14 hours; paid 10-minute rest break for each 4-hour segment or major portion over 2 hours; no statutory premium for adult workers outside hospital staff) Read the rule

Taxes and deductions you agreed to, like health insurance, are normal. These are the ones that cause trouble in restaurants and bars, and what Oregon allows:

Required uniforms

Not allowed

Register or cash shortages

Not allowed

Broken dishes or equipment

Not allowed

Card processing fee on card tips

Only if pay stays above minimum

Customers who walk out

Not allowed

"Only if pay stays above minimum" means the deduction cannot take your pay for the week below minimum wage. For a worker paid a tipped cash wage, that usually leaves no room for a uniform, shortage, breakage or walkout deduction. A card fee works differently: only the fee on the card tip itself, taken from that tip.

Source: ORS 652.610(3) (deductions are lawful only in the listed categories: required by law, employee-benefit items with written authorization, written authorizations where the employer is not the recipient, collective bargaining agreements, and limited final-paycheck loan repayments; BOLI: payroll deductions may not be taken for till shortages, bad checks, breakage or negligent damage, or any item required to perform the job; a signed admission does not make a prohibited deduction valid) Read the rule

Managers and owners can share in the pool

No

Kitchen staff can share when a tip credit is taken

Not applicable

Kitchen staff can share when no tip credit is taken

Yes

In most states, an employer can require tipped staff to pool tips with others who serve customers, like bussers, runners and bartenders. Managers, supervisors and owners can never take a share. Under federal law, cooks and dishwashers can share only when the employer takes no tip credit, and some states do not allow it at all. The answers above show the rule in Oregon.

Source: 29 U.S.C. 203(m)(2)(B); 29 CFR 531.54 Read the rule

Under federal law, a mandatory service charge, like an automatic 20% on large parties, is not a tip. It belongs to the business unless it is paid out, and when it is paid to you it counts as wages. It cannot be used to cover the tip credit, and it should not be reported as tips on your stub. Some states give the charge to the staff when customers were not clearly told it is not a tip, so if a charge was presented as a gratuity, it is worth asking where it went.

Source: 29 CFR 531.55 (a compulsory service charge is not a tip) Read the rule

Oregon requires employers to give paid sick leave.

You earn

1 hour for every 30 hours worked

Yearly use can be capped at

40 hours

Source: ORS 653.601 - 653.661; OAR 839-007 (1 hour per 30 hours worked, use may be limited to 40 hours per year; paid for employers with 10 or more Oregon employees, 6 or more with a Portland location; protected but unpaid for smaller employers) Read the rule

Some parts of Oregon law depend on things a pay stub does not show. A TruWage result for Oregon can be off if any of these apply to you:

• If you work inside the Portland metro urban growth boundary, your minimum wage is $1.25 higher than the standard rate used here and the result understates what you are owed. In a nonurban county it is $1.00 lower.

Start with your manager or payroll and show them the numbers. Many mistakes get fixed that way. If it is not fixed, you can file a wage claim. It is free and you do not need a lawyer.

Agency

Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI), Wage and Hour Division

Phone

971-245-3844

Wage claims are filed through BOLI's online complaint portal; help line 971-245-3844, email boli_help@boli.oregon.gov. Read BOLI's investigation-limitations notice before filing. Minimum wage differs by region (Portland metro, standard, nonurban); this file carries the standard rate.

How to file a wage claim