Oregon: unused vacation when employment ends
Oregon does not require an employer to offer vacation, but it does require the employer to honor an established policy or agreement on paying accrued vacation at termination — and the final-check deadline is the tightest in the country.
| Question | What the source says |
|---|---|
| Payout at separation | Only if the policy says so |
| Use it or lose it | Allowed with conditions |
| Accrual cap allowed | Not established here |
| Rate used for a payout | unverified |
Each answer traces to the lines quoted below.
What the source says
- There is no legal requirement to offer vacation pay, holiday pay, bonuses or severance pay in Oregon.
- An employer is required to honor any established policy or agreement relating to the payment of benefits such as accrued vacation or severance pay upon termination.
- If you are let go or fired, your final paycheck is due by the end of the next business day.
- If you quit with at least 48 hours notice, your final check is due on your last day of employment — unless that day is a weekend or a holiday, in which case it is due the next business day.
- If you quit with less than 48 hours notice, your paycheck and any wages owed are due within five business days or on the next regular payday, whichever comes first.
- The notice you give therefore changes your own deadline: 48 hours of notice moves the check from five business days to your last day.
What we could not establish
These points are not stated on the pages we read. We leave them open rather than guess —
a wrong answer here would send someone into a dispute with the wrong expectation.
- whether unused accrued sick time must be paid at termination
- accrual caps
- the rate used for a payout
Sources
- Benefits, holiday and vacation pay — Oregon Bureau of Labor & Industries — agency
- Paychecks — Oregon Bureau of Labor & Industries — agency
Read on 2026-10-02. Route: WebFetch (oregon.gov — 두 쪽을 각각 열었다).
What 80 hours a year looks like on a biweekly schedule
The bar below is not specific to Oregon law — it shows the mechanic every schedule shares. Eighty hours a year across 26 paychecks is 3.08 hours a period. With no ceiling the balance climbs for the whole year.
Closing balance after a year: 80.08 hours.
- Does Oregon require my employer to pay out unused vacation?
- Oregon does not require an employer to offer vacation, but it does require the employer to honor an established policy or agreement on paying accrued vacation at termination — and the final-check deadline is the tightest in the country.
- Can a policy in Oregon erase vacation I already earned?
- On use-it-or-lose-it, the source read for this page puts Oregon at: Allowed with conditions. The quoted lines on this page are the basis for that, and anything the source did not settle is listed as not established.
- Where did these lines come from?
- From Benefits, holiday and vacation pay — Oregon Bureau of Labor & Industries; Paychecks — Oregon Bureau of Labor & Industries. Each one was opened and read rather than summarised from another site, and the links are on this page.
- Is this legal advice?
- No. This page quotes public sources so you can read them yourself. It is not legal advice and it does not replace your employer’s written policy or a lawyer in your jurisdiction.
Informational only. This page is not legal advice and it does not replace your employer’s
written policy. Where the two differ, the policy document and the current statute govern.