How Washington and Oregon Employers Can Reduce Their Risk of Wage and Hour Claims

Washington and Oregon employers continue to be the target of wage and hour litigation. Lawsuit activity is increasing as more attorneys focus on these claims across the region. Employers in the Pacific Northwest should take a closer look at their policies, day-to-day practices and compliance controls to reduce the risk of costly disputes.

Why Wage and Hour Claims Are Changing on the West Coast

Until recently, expensive wage and hour claims were often associated with California. This was at least in part due to California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). In 2024, California passed new legislation to reform PAGA.

Seyfarth Shaw’s Wage & Hour Litigation Blog explains that AB 2288 and SB 92 made significant changes. Among other things, plaintiffs must now show that they personally experienced the Labor Code violations they seek to pursue on a representative basis, subject to applicable limitations periods. AB 2288 also caps penalties in certain circumstances when employers have taken reasonable steps to comply with the law.

As California adjusts to the PAGA reforms, attorneys are shifting their focus north. Oregon and Washington are seeing more wage and hour claims. Miller Nash explains that both states have strict rules for meal and rest breaks as well as statutory penalty provisions that incentivize class actions. As a result, putative class actions have increased in both Washington and Oregon.

For Washington and Oregon employers, California’s pre-reform litigation trends may be an indication of what’s to come. The top wage and hour violations in California in 2025 included meal and rest break violations, timekeeping errors, overtime calculation violations and expense reimbursement for remote workers, according to .

Washington Wage and Hour Requirements

Washington’s labor laws include strict rest break requirements. Employees must have a paid rest period that lasts for at least 10 minutes for each four hours worked, and they cannot be required to work more than three hours without a rest break. The breaks should be scheduled as close to the midpoint of a work period as possible. When calculating hours worked for the purposes of paid sick leave and overtime, rest breaks count as hours worked.

Washington employees are also entitled to a meal period of at least 30 minutes when they work more than five hours in a shift, and the meal period must start between the second and fifth hour. The meal break must be paid in certain circumstances, including when the employer requires them to remain on call on the work premises.

Washington has additional requirements for breaks, schedules, minimum wage, paid sick leave and other workers’ rights. Washington employers should review all requirements and seek legal guidance as needed.

Washington law also provides significant penalties for certain wage-payment violations. Under RCW 49.48.083, a willful violation of a wage-payment requirement may result in a civil penalty of at least $1,500 or 10% of total unpaid wages, whichever is greater. Beginning in 2030, the base penalty will be adjusted periodically for inflation.

Oregon Wage and Hour Requirements

Oregon also has very specific requirements for meal and rest breaks. Employers generally are not required to provide a rest break for shifts lasting two hours or less. Once a shift reaches two hours and one minute, a paid rest break is generally required, with the number of required rest breaks increasing based on shift length. A meal period is generally required when an employee works six hours or more.

Additionally, if an employer requires an employee to remain on the premises and on call, the employee is not considered to have been completely relieved of all duties for the purposes of wage and hour requirements.

Oregon also has rules for minimum wage, time off, paychecks and other workers’ rights. See the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries for details and consult with legal counsel as needed.

According to Miller Nash, employers that operate in both Oregon and Washington may experience claims in both states for the same underlying practices, and these types of filings have been increasing.

How Washington and Oregon Employers Can Reduce Wage and Hour Risk

Employers in all states should be aware of their wage and hour requirements. However, employers in Washington and Oregon should be especially vigilant given the strict meal and rest break requirements and the potential for costly claims involving multiple workers.

• Review state requirements. Watch for changes or additional rules and verify that your policies are in full compliance with all requirements. If you operate in multiple states, ensure that you comply with all applicable laws.
• Check for compliance. Conduct regular reviews of actual break practices, timekeeping and payroll to ensure that your daily procedures reflect your company’s policies and applicable state requirements.
• Maintain accurate wage and hour recordkeeping. If your company faces a claim, strong recordkeeping can support your defense. Accurate recordkeeping is also necessary to ensure that employees are receiving the wages to which they are entitled.
• Take employee concerns seriously. If an employee complains about a violation, even if they do not mention legal requirements, take the complaint seriously and determine whether changes are needed to bring the company’s practices into compliance. For example, employees may complain about not having time to take breaks or being interrupted on unpaid meal breaks. These are the types of complaints that can lead to claims.
• Train your managers. Having a compliant handbook isn’t enough if frontline managers aren’t adhering to it. Your managers are responsible for carrying out meal and rest break policies, so they need to understand exactly what is required and why it is important from a legal perspective. Any manager or shift leader responsible for employee breaks should understand applicable state laws, company policies and how to respond to employee concerns. Provide refresher training as needed.

Even strong compliance practices cannot eliminate the possibility of wage and hour claims. Employers should also understand how their insurance program may or may not respond to a claim. Employment practices liability insurance (EPLI) often excludes wage and hour claims or provides only limited coverage, such as defense costs. Employers should review their policy language and available coverage options with their insurance advisor. For a review of your EPLI coverage, contact Propel.