Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries Lifts Income Threshold Following Historic Legislative Investment
Portland, OR – Today, the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) announced that it is lifting the income threshold on wage claims, restoring investigations for all Oregonians who believe they have not been paid what they are owed.
The income threshold, instituted in late 2024 amid unprecedented backlogs and severe underfunding, limited investigations to workers earning below $25.34 an hour. It was designed as a temporary measure to prioritize workers facing the most immediate economic hardship. Beginning October 1, 2025, Oregonians of all income levels can once again access investigations into their wage claims by BOLI.
This change is made possible by the historic investment in BOLI passed by the Legislature in the 2025 legislative session. The budget increases BOLI’s capacity by 30% and begins to reverse decades of disinvestment in Oregon’s enforcement of workplace and civil rights laws.
“Instituting the wage claim threshold was the hardest decision of my career,” said Labor Commissioner Christina Stephenson. “I am deeply grateful to Governor Kotek, the Legislature, and every business and worker advocate who recognized that Oregonians deserve an enforcement agency that can enforce the laws on the books and keep up with their needs.”
The additional investment will also allow the Bureau to reopen any claims it was not able to investigate while the threshold was in effect. Those claimants affected by the threshold were given information by the Bureau on how to protect their claims while the Bureau could not investigate.
With its expanded capacity, BOLI projects it will eliminate intake backlogs in both its Wage and Hour and Civil Rights Divisions by mid-2027 and clear the Wage and Hour investigation backlog by mid-2029.
Before this investment, BOLI’s resources had lagged far behind demand for decades. In the 1980s, the agency had one employee for every 5,750 Oregon workers; by 2024, that ratio had fallen to one for every 20,000. In a five-year period, wage claims increased by more than 200% while staffing remained flat, leaving thousands of Oregonians without timely recourse when wages were stolen.
“This investment doesn’t erase decades of underfunding overnight,” Stephenson added. “But it marks a turning point. We are rebuilding the state’s capacity to enforce the laws on the books, and we are committed to making sure no worker has to wait years to be paid what they’re owed.”
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