BOLI publishes a digest of summaries of substantive and procedural principles of law set out in volumes of BOLI Orders.
Currently, two cumulative Digests have been published in hard copy, the first covering BOLI Orders vols. 1-28 and the second covering BOLI Orders vols. 29-31. The supplemental Digest for BOLI Orders vols. 32-35 is now available online. All three volumes are downloadable from the table below.
Table of Cases for BOLI Orders
Each chapter is prefaced by a detailed table of contents, followed by summaries listed under the same topic and subtopic headings in the table of contents. For example, the table of contents in the Wage Collection chapter in Digest to BOLI Orders vols. 1-28 contains the following listing for the topic “Deductions From Wages”:
- 6.0 Deductions from Wages
- 6.1 --- Generally
- 6.2 --- Authorization of Deductions
- 6.3 --- Deductions Required to be for Employee's Benefit
- 6.4 --- Specific Deductions and Setoffs
- 6.4.1 --- Draws, Advances, Loans
- 6.4.2 --- Meals, Lodging, Facilities
- 6.4.3 --- Tools, Equipment, Uniforms
- 6.4.4 --- Breakage, Damage
- 6.4.5 --- Other Deductions, Setoffs, or Counterclaims
Suppose you want to find out if any Final Orders have decided whether the employer or employee is responsible for paying to have the employee’s uniform cleaned. You can scroll to “6.4.3 Tools, Equipment, Uniforms,” where you will find the following entries:
- 6.4.3 --- Tools, Equipment, Uniforms
When respondent failed to pay all wages due to a wage claimant upon termination because claimant had allegedly failed to turn in a cleaned uniform, the commissioner found an unauthorized withholding in violation of ORS 652.610. ----- In the Matter of Danny Jones, 15 BOLI 96, 103 (1996).
When respondent’s answer suggested that the wage claimant was indebted to respondent for using respondent’s equipment on a job of his own, but the evidence established that the equipment was used by claimant at respondent’s request and direction and that claimant was paid for his time by the customer, the forum disallowed any setoff for use of the equipment and deducted the hours involved. ----- In the Matter of Samuel Loshbaugh, 14 BOLI 224 (1995).
In addition, topic and subtopic headings in each primary subject area are cross-referenced to similar topics that appear in other places in the Digest. For example, the table of contents in the Wage Collection chapter in the Digest to BOLI Orders vols. 1-28 lists the following:
- 7.0 PAYMENT OF WAGES
- 7.1 --- Agreed Rate (see also 12.1)
- 7.2 --- Reimbursable Expenses
- 7.3 --- Paydays, Pay Periods
- 7.4 --- Employers' Duty to Know Law and Amount Due Employee (see also 12.2)
* * * * *
- 12.0 OTHER MATTERS CLAIMED AS DEFENSES
- 12.1 --- Contract Exempting Employer from Wage and Hour Laws/Agreed Rate Less than Minimum Wage (see also 7.1)
- 12.2 --- Ignorance or Misunderstanding of the Law (see also 7.4)
- 12.3 --- Unconstitutionality
- 12.4 --- Arbitration Agreements
- 12.5 --- Other
Each summary is accompanied by a citation to a Final Order, complete with any appellate history. Summaries are listed chronologically, from newest to oldest. Although the summarized text in the original Final Order may cite specific statutes or administrative rules, those references have generally been deleted in the summaries except when necessary to provide context. When a principle of law has been articulated in more than one Final Order, summaries are followed by a primary citation to the most recent case, followed by string citations to other BOLI Final Orders standing for the same principle. Summaries followed by multiple string citations typically reflect longstanding, settled principles of law. For example:
- 9.2 --- Payroll Records, Time Records & Itemized Statements
It is an employer’s duty to keep an accurate record of the hours worked by its employees. ----- In the Matter of Computer Products Unlimited, Inc., 31 BOLI 209, 225 (2011). See also In the Matter of Mark A. Frizzell, 31 BOLI 178, 206 (2011); In the Matter of Paul Samuels, 31 BOLI 146, 158 (2010); In the Matter of Laura M. Jaap, 30 BOLI 110, 131 (2009).
Employers are required to keep and maintain proper records of wages, hours and other conditions and practices of employment. ----- In the Matter of 82nd Street Mall, Inc., 30 BOLI 140, 147 (2009). See also In the Matter of Kurt E. Freitag, 29 BOLI 164, 201 (2007), aff’d without opinion, Freitag v. Bureau of Labor and Industries, 243 Or App 389, 256 P3d 1099 (2011); In the Matter of Joseph Francis Sanchez, 29 BOLI 211, 220 (2007).
IMPORTANT NOTE: The statutes and administrative rules enforced by BOLI have changed considerably over the years. Parallel federal laws, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, which often provide guidance to BOLI’s decision makers, have also evolved through legislative amendment and court decisions. In many cases, this will not be evident from the Digest because a particular issue has not been litigated, or litigated recently, in a BOLI contested case. Consequently, the reader is advised to use the Digest as a starting point, not a stopping place, for research into a particular subject. BOLI has attempted to ensure that all summaries accurately reflect the principle of law for which a cited Final Order stands. However, the reader bears the responsibility of reading Final Orders in their entirety to determine the accuracy and context of each summary.