On August 8th, 2017, Oregon governor Kate Brown signed the Oregon Predictive Scheduling Law which went took effect in July of 2018. The legislation was updated in 2020, with an extended notice period of 14 days as opposed to seven days. Oregon’s Predictive Scheduling Law is meant to protect employees against last-minute scheduling changes that could negatively impact their income.
The Oregon Predictive Scheduling Law applies to all employees in the state who work at companies in the retail, hospitality, or food services industries with 500 or more employees. Predictive scheduling was created with the primary intention of giving employees who need to care for children or other family members a chance to allocate their time appropriately, without sacrificing shifts and the opportunity to work.
Employers must display an Oregon Predictive Scheduling Labor Law Poster that gives notice of the employee's rights and responsibilities as a result of the predictive scheduling law in an easily visible and accessible location at every workplace.
When it comes to predictive scheduling in Oregon, there are some requirements that employers should be aware of.
As of July 1st, 2020, employers must provide a written work schedule to their employees 14 days in advance of the first day included in the schedule, according to predictive scheduling law.
The written work schedule must be displayed in an easily visible and accessible location, at every location owned by the business or company, and where work is performed. It also must include all regular work shifts, as well as any on-call shifts.
Following the 2024 Oregon Labor Law Updates, as of July 1st, 2024, a new exception for short-notice schedule changes due to Paid Leave Oregon, OFLA, and related leave types has been added.
If an employer has to make a schedule change due to an employee starting or returning from Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA), Paid Leave Oregon, or other protected leave, and is given less than 14 days' notice of the need to make a change, the employer no longer owes predictive scheduling pay to the employee covering the shifts of the absent employee. This goes for whether the employee must cover a new shift or is losing out on the shift.
Employers may maintain a voluntary standby list of employees who are willing to work additional hours due to unanticipated customer needs or unexpected absences. Employees must request or agree in writing to be on the list in accordance with predictive scheduling law.
Employers must also notify each employee in writing:
The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries has put together a voluntary standby list template that you can access here.
Employees are allowed to identify any changes that they would like to make to their work schedule. They are also allowed to identify any limitations to their availability in their work schedule.
While it is illegal for employers to retaliate against employees for these types of requests, they are under no obligation to approve the request.
Disapproval of the request is not considered retaliation against an employee. Employees may decline shifts that are not included in the written work schedule.
Unless requested by, or approved by the employee, an employer may not schedule a worker to work during the first ten hours following the end of a previous shift. Whether the shift is a standard work shift or an on-call shift.
No matter what, if an employee is scheduled for a back-to-back shift within ten hours of their previous shift, they must be compensated at time-and-a-half their normal pay rate.
Employers must pay employees one additional hour at the regular hourly rate of pay, in addition to any wages earned during the shift when:
Example of Predictive Scheduling Penalty: If an employee works an eight-hour shift, at $10 an hour, but one of the above conditions is broken, the employee would earn $90 for the shift as opposed to $80. If any employee works more than an additional 30 minutes in a shift, they would receive 80$, plus regular compensation for the additional time, plus an extra $10 on top of that.
Employers must pay employees half their regular rate of pay, per hour, for each scheduled hour that an employee does not work when:
Example of Predictive Scheduling Penalty: An employee, who makes $10 per hour, reports to work and finds out their shift has been cut from eight to six hours, they would receive $70 for the shift as opposed to $60 ($60 for the hours worked, and $5 for each hour they didn’t).
Employers should keep the above requirements in mind when terminating employees as well, so that way final paychecks in Oregon are paid out appropriately, especially since termination, or rather the pondering beforehand, can lead to some of the aforementioned scenarios.
It's important to avoid any penalties for non-compliance, as such penalties can lead to higher labor costs and a more strenuous task when processing payroll in Oregon. Employers should ensure they understand Oregon Minimum Wage Law as well, so that they can properly pay employees.
Employers are required to provide new employees with a written “good faith estimate” of the work schedule.
The “good faith estimate” must include:
The law applies to employers in the retail, hospitality, and food service industries that have 500 or more employees worldwide.
Employers must provide employees with a written work schedule at least 14 days before the first day of the schedule. The schedule must include all regular and on-call shifts and must be posted in an easily visible and accessible location.
Yes. Employers must display an Oregon Predictive Scheduling labor law poster that explains employees’ rights and responsibilities under the law.
A voluntary standby list is a list of employees who agree to work additional hours when unexpected absences or customer needs arise. Employees must voluntarily agree in writing to be included on the list and may decline additional hours when offered.
Yes. Employees may request changes to their schedules or identify limitations to their availability. Employers are not required to approve these requests, but they cannot retaliate against employees for making them.
Employers generally may not schedule employees to work within 10 hours of the end of a previous shift unless the employee requests or agrees to it. If an employee works shifts less than 10 hours apart, they must be paid time-and-a-half for the second shift.
Employers may owe additional compensation when they add hours, cancel shifts, reduce hours, or make certain schedule changes without proper notice. In many cases, employees are entitled to extra pay in addition to their regular wages.
Yes. As of July 1, 2024, employers are not required to pay predictive scheduling penalties for certain short-notice schedule changes related to Paid Leave Oregon, OFLA, or other protected leave situations.
Employees can make a complaint here if they believe their employer is violating this law. If you need more information or have any questions regarding predictive scheduling, you can contact the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI), here.
BOLI also has an employee predictive scheduling FAQ as well as an employer predictive scheduling FAQ.
For more information on Oregon labor laws, you can click here.
Predictive scheduling in Oregon is a complicated compliance task, and one made much easier by an Oregon Scheduling Software Solution, which can help ensure compliance while controlling labor costs and maintaining productivity. Proactive compliance is also the best way to stay out of trouble and be prepared for the BOLI investigation process and any investigations you may face.
However, if you are struggling with compliance, now may also be the best time to switch payroll providers.