Workers in Oregon should know that they have many legal rights when they are on the job. One of those rights is mandatory meal and rest breaks. As an employee you should have proper breaks in the workplace.
How does Oregon law protect workers?
Oregon law requires employers to allow meal and rest breaks and pay for the time. Employees who work an 8-hour shift should receive two 10-minute breaks. This should increase to three breaks if they are working over 10 hours. An employee should also receive a 30-minute unpaid meal break.
Employers can be held liable if they do not allow employees to take meal breaks and also if they fail to ensure that an employee takes a meal break. An employee may hold their employer liable if:
- they did not receive a full 30-minute lunch break
- if the employer deducted a 30-minute lunch break from their paycheck for lunch breaks they didn’t take
- if the employee’s boss made them come back from lunch early
An attorney who specializes in wage claim disputes in Oregon can help their client understand their legal rights and options when it comes to workplace breaks. They can help an employee who was not provided their full lunch break or whose employer deducted the full lunch break from the employee’s paycheck despite not providing the break. An employee can sue for the damages outlined above in addition to their costs, disbursements and attorney fees incurred in filing the claim.