Oregon Labor Bureau Faces Crisis: Audit Reveals ‘Strategic Neglect’ and Massive Worker Claims Backlog
An in-depth audit released by the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office has sharply criticized the Oregon Labor Bureau (also known as BOLI) for significant backlogs in wage and civil rights claims, attributing the crisis to years of poor management and a lack of essential resources. The audit, which paints a grim picture of an agency struggling to fulfill its core mission, found that thousands of worker complaints have been stalled for years, undermining the state’s ability to protect its workforce and eroding public trust in the Oregon Labor Bureau.
Audit Reveals Deep-Seated Management Failures at the Oregon Labor Bureau
The comprehensive review found that BOLI has failed to implement fundamental management principles, leading to what is described as “strategic neglect.” Auditors identified critical issues including outdated software, a lack of clear operational plans, and policies and procedures that were either outdated or nonexistent. These structural weaknesses have allowed backlogs to grow across all of BOLI’s major program areas, including wage and hour complaints, civil rights violations, and apprenticeship program compliance, impacting the effectiveness of the Oregon Labor Bureau.
According to the audit, as of August 2025, BOLI had approximately 2,500 wage and hour complaints awaiting initial review and another 2,084 claims pending investigation. This immense workload was being handled by a mere 14 employees in the wage and hour division. Similarly, over 3,000 civil rights intake forms were pending with only 16 employees. The Oregon Labor Bureau is clearly understaffed to handle the volume of worker claims.
The problems are not new, with auditors noting that “prior leadership failed to maintain basic agency operations, leaving BOLI in crisis.” The audit highlighted that important decisions were often not documented, clearly communicated, or thoroughly considered, contributing to instability and policy reversals, especially during frequent leadership changes. For example, it remains unclear why a prior administration decided to cease federally required compliance reviews of apprenticeship programs. Auditors also found 122 administrative prosecution case files unassigned and numerous instances of incomplete federal compliance materials for apprenticeship programs, further demonstrating the issues within the Oregon Labor Bureau.
Workers Face Years of Waiting for Justice from the Oregon Labor Bureau
For many Oregonians, particularly those without the financial means to hire an attorney, BOLI is their primary or sole recourse for resolving issues such as wage theft, discrimination, and other workplace rights violations. The audit’s findings reveal a harsh reality: workers are being forced to wait years for resolutions from the Oregon Labor Bureau. Some wage and hour complaints had been pending for over a year and a half, with the longest wait for an investigator exceeding 1,000 days. This prolonged delay leaves workers in limbo, unable to secure owed wages or justice for civil rights infringements, and can exacerbate financial hardship. A BOLI audit highlighted this critical delay in addressing the worker claims backlog.
In an effort to manage the overwhelming caseload, BOLI had previously implemented measures such as placing an income threshold on wage claim investigations, meaning claims from workers earning above a certain amount were de-prioritized or not investigated. This move, while intended to address backlog, was cited in the audit as an example of management failing to plan for the full impact of its decisions on both staff and the Oregonians they serve, underscoring the need for improved labor law enforcement by the Oregon Labor Bureau.
Legislative Response and the Oregon Labor Bureau’s Path Forward
Recognizing the severity of the situation, Oregon lawmakers in the 2025 legislative session significantly boosted BOLI’s biennial budget by over 50%, allocating nearly $82 million for the 2025-27 period. This funding is intended to support the hiring of 46 new staff positions, which will bring the agency’s total headcount to just over 200 employees. This investment aims to address the decades of underinvestment and staffing shortages that have plagued the bureau, hopefully improving Oregon worker protection and enhancing labor law enforcement.
BOLI’s current administration, led by Labor Commissioner Christina Stephenson, has acknowledged the audit’s findings and is actively working to implement corrective measures. The agency has already begun filling new positions and is focused on rebuilding its foundational management structure. BOLI has outlined ambitious goals for clearing the backlogs, aiming to resolve civil rights investigations by mid-2026, process new wage theft reports by mid-2027, and clear the entire backlog of wage and hour investigations by mid-2029. Addressing the worker claims backlog is a primary objective for the Oregon Labor Bureau.
However, the audit cautioned that increased funding alone will not solve the deep-seated structural failures. A fundamental overhaul of BOLI’s internal systems, policies, and management practices is deemed essential for sustainable improvement. Secretary of State Tobias Read emphasized that the agency “must do better” and prioritize fixing its managerial issues to effectively enforce Oregon’s strong worker protections. The path forward involves not only hiring more staff but also establishing clear priorities, documented procedures, and consistent, transparent enforcement efforts to restore public trust and ensure all Oregon workers receive the timely justice they deserve, and to prevent future occurrences of strategic neglect within the Oregon Labor Bureau, particularly concerning civil rights claims Oregon and wage theft Oregon.
