Oregon Statutes - Chapter 652 - Hours; Wages; Wage Claims; Records - Section 652.610 - Itemized statement of amounts and purposes of deductions; timely payment to recipient of amounts deducted.

(1) All persons, firms, partnerships, associations, cooperative associations, corporations, municipal corporations, the state and its political subdivisions, except the federal government and its agencies, employing, in this state, during any calendar month one or more persons, and withholding for any purpose any sum of money from the wages, salary or commission earned by an employee, shall provide the employee on regular paydays with a statement sufficiently itemized to show the amount and purpose of the deductions made during the respective period of service that the payment covers.

(2) The itemized statement shall be furnished to the employee at the time payment of wages, salary or commission is made, and may be attached to or be a part of the check, draft, voucher or other instrument by which payment is made, or may be delivered separately from the instrument.

(3) An employer may not withhold, deduct or divert any portion of an employee’s wages unless:

(a) The employer is required to do so by law;

(b) The deductions are authorized in writing by the employee, are for the employee’s benefit and are recorded in the employer’s books;

(c) The employee has voluntarily signed an authorization for a deduction for any other item, provided that the ultimate recipient of the money withheld is not the employer and that the deduction is recorded in the employer’s books;

(d) The deduction is authorized by a collective bargaining agreement to which the employer is a party;

(e) The deduction is authorized under ORS 18.736; or

(f) The deduction is made from the payment of wages upon termination of employment and is authorized pursuant to a written agreement between the employee and employer for the repayment of a loan made to the employee by the employer, if all of the following conditions are met:

(A) The employee has voluntarily signed the agreement;

(B) The loan was paid to the employee in cash or other medium permitted by ORS 652.110;

(C) The loan was made solely for the employee’s benefit and was not used, either directly or indirectly, for any purpose required by the employer or connected with the employee’s employment with the employer;

(D) The amount of the deduction at termination of employment does not exceed the amount permitted to be garnished under ORS 18.385; and

(E) The deduction is recorded in the employer’s books.

(4) When an employer deducts an amount from an employee’s wages as required or authorized by law or agreement, the employer shall pay the amount deducted to the appropriate recipient as required by the law or agreement. The employer shall pay the amount deducted within the time required by the law or the agreement or, if the time for payment is not specified by the law or agreement, within seven days after the date the wages from which the deductions are made are due. Failure to pay the amount as required constitutes an unlawful deduction.

(5) This section does not:

(a) Prohibit the withholding of amounts authorized in writing by the employee to be contributed by the employee to charitable organizations, including contributions made pursuant to ORS 243.666 and 663.110;

(b) Prohibit deductions by check-off dues to labor organizations or service fees when the deductions are not otherwise prohibited by law; or

(c) Diminish or enlarge the right of any person to assert and enforce a lawful setoff or counterclaim or to attach, take, reach or apply an employee’s compensation on due legal process. [Amended by 1977 c.618 §1; 1980 s.s. c.1 §2; 1981 c.594 §5; 1995 c.753 §2; 2001 c.249 §78; 2003 c.779 §5; 2007 c.676 §1]

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Last modified: August 7, 2008