All minimum wage workers in Oregon are getting a pay raise Monday.
Minimum wage is increasing by $0.50 per hour for all counties in Oregon July 1, although where you work will affect the total wage.
Workers making minimum wage in the Portland metro area will now make $12.50 per hour. The minimum wage in “standard counties,” those outside of the metro area, will be $11.25 and the minimum wage in rural counties will be $11.
The increases are part of a law passed by the Oregon Legislature in 2016. That law requires annual minimum wage increases through 2022. After that, the minimum wage will be adjusted based on inflation.
If employers aren’t compliant with the minimum wage increases, employees can contact the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) to file a complaint.
Saul Hubbard, communications director with BOLI, said if it’s an employer’s first time facing a complaint, they will usually receive a written warning from BOLI.
“If they do not pay wages owed after that, employers face paying the unpaid wages owed to their employees, paying penalty wages also paid to the employees (equal to 240-times the employee’s hourly or minimum wage rate, whichever is greater), as well as additional civil penalties potentially imposed by BOLI,” Hubbard said.