Any wage earner who has not been paid in full may file a claim on a form provided by BOLI´s Wage and Hour Division. The Wage Claim form requires information such as dates work was performed, rate of pay, reason wages haven´t been paid in full, and a close estimate of the balance of money due.
 
If you have a wage and hour-related complaint regarding an employer and are not claiming unpaid wages, complete a Complaint Form and return it to any Wage and Hour Division office.
 
If you have a valid wage claim, BOLI will attempt to recover all wages owed, but collection depends upon your employer´s financial ability to pay, business closure, bankruptcy filing or location of money and assets. Once a wage claim is assigned to the bureau, the bureau may compromise or adjust any and all wage claim amounts or penalties.
 
Information on a Claim Form may be released to people who request it as required by the public disclosure law.
 
Providing Evidence
To enable BOLI to investigate a wage claim, you will need to provide evidence (records, documents, witness statements) that supports your claim. If your claim is accepted, your employer will also be required to submit evidence. BOLI will evaluate the submitted evidence. Based upon the evidence, BOLI will decide whether or not a violation of the Wage and Hour laws has occurred. We will proceed with your claim only if the majority of the evidence supports your claim.
 
You will be notified if a conference, hearing or trial is scheduled. Your attendance is required in order for the claim to proceed.
 
Claims that Aren´t Accepted
BOLI will not accept your wage claim if any of the following is true:

• More than six months have passed since your date of termination and your claim does not involve minimum wage or overtime.
• More than one year has passed since the date the violation first occurred and your claim doesn´t involve minimum wage and overtime.
• Your claim is over $10,000 and doesn´t involve minimum wage, overtime or prevailing wage rate.
• You were self-employed.
• You were paid on a commission basis and received at least minimum wage for all hours worked.
• You have already begun private legal action to recover the wages claimed.
• You have not yet asked your employer for your wages.
• None of your work was performed in Oregon.
• The claim is against a business in which you were a partner, an owner or had a direct financial interest.
• The claim is against a close relative.
• The claim is against a person you are unwilling to take to court.

 
Filing Advice
When you file a wage claim you should do the following:

• Read all of the questions carefully before answering.
• Provide a complete explanation of why your employer will not pay your wages.
• Attach to the Wage Claim form any evidence, documents or witness statements that support your claim.
• Read the Instructions for Completing the Calendar and then fill out the Calendar form. If you need help in tracking specific dates, use the calendar provided with the form. Finally, sign the Assignment of Wages document. Your claim will not be accepted without turning in these documents. With these, you will also need to provide the documents or witness statements supporting your claim. Mail them to a BOLI office nearest you. Please do not fax.
• Report any change of address or phone number to BOLI. We must be able to contact you to keep your claim open.