Severance in Oregon: the rules on your way out

Your thinking-it-over clock in Oregon

State rule beyond OWBPA, but narrow and revocation-only: under the Oregon Workplace Fairness Act, when an agreement releases a claim alleging discrimination or sexual assault and includes a nondisclosure, nondisparagement, settlement-confidentiality, or no-rehire provision, those provisions may be included ONLY at the employee's request, and the agreement must provide that the employee has at least 7 days after executing it to revoke it; the agreement may not become effective until the revocation period expires. Oregon imposes NO state consideration period (no 21 days) — for all other severance agreements, federal rule only.

Run the deadline checker — it counts the federal clock and Oregon's clock together and gives you the dates.

Non-competes in Oregon: restricted — enforceable only within limits

Void and unenforceable unless EVERY statutory condition is met (SB 169, for agreements entered on/after Jan. 1, 2022): (1) employee was told in a written offer at least 2 weeks before the first day of employment that a non-compete is required, OR the agreement is entered on a bona fide advancement; (2) employee is an exempt employee described in ORS 653.020(3); (3) employer has a protectable interest (trade secrets or competitively sensitive confidential information, e.g., product development/launch, marketing or sales plans); (4) employer gives the employee a signed written copy of the agreement within 30 days after termination; and (5) the employee's annual gross salary + commissions at termination EXCEED the statutory threshold, CPI-adjusted annually — $119,541 for 2026 (BOLI table: 2022 $100,533; 2023 $108,581; 2024 $113,241; 2025 $116,427; 2026 $119,541). Maximum term is 12 months. Escape hatch: an agreement failing the threshold/exempt tests can still be enforced for up to 12 months if the employer agrees in writing to pay, during the restriction, the greater of 50% of the employee's annual gross base salary + commissions at termination or 50% of the threshold amount. Non-solicitation covenants are outside these limits. SB 951 (2025) additionally voids most non-competes with medical licensees.

Why it matters at the exit table: a non-compete you sign on the way out can matter more than the severance check. If the clause would block your next job, narrowing it is one of the most common — and most granted — negotiation asks.

Your last paycheck in Oregon

When an employer discharges an employee (or employment ends by mutual agreement), all wages earned and unpaid become due and payable not later than the end of the FIRST BUSINESS DAY after the discharge or termination. (Quits: immediately if the employee gave 48+ hours' notice; otherwise within 5 business days or the next regular payday, whichever is first.) Willful failure to pay final wages on time triggers penalty wages of 8 hours per day for up to 30 days (ORS 652.150).

Unused vacation: No statute requires payout of accrued vacation/PTO at separation; unpaid leave is included in final wages only if a collective bargaining agreement or the employer's policy provides for payment of leave on termination (see ORS 652.140(6) sale-of-business context) — the employer's written policy controls.

Final pay is owed whether or not you sign anything. If the date passes without your money, your state labor agency takes these complaints — and many states add penalties for every day of delay.

Layoff notice in Oregon

Oregon has no state layoff-notice law of its own, so the federal WARN Act is the rule: employers with 100+ workers generally owe 60 days' notice of a plant closing or mass layoff (50+ jobs at one site).

Notice failures have their own remedies (back pay for each day of missed notice, in the federal law's case) — separate from the severance agreement, and worth a question if your layoff was large and sudden.