• Oregon's state law has special provisions governing excessive overtime hours.horloge image by GERARD DUSSOUBS from Fotolia.com
  
  For most workers, "overtime" refers to any hours worked in a week above and beyond the normal 40--and the higher hourly pay rate that tends to accompany them, usually to the tune of one-and-a-half times the normal pay. Certain employees, however, must work longer hours before hitting overtime. In Oregon, these include firefighters and miners. The state's legislature has established a number of rules and regulations to protect these workers.
  
  

Maximum working hours

• Chapter 652 of Oregon's revised statutes establishes broad guidelines governing the maximum hours to be worked across all industries. According to Section 652.010, "no person shall be hired, nor permitted to work for wages, under any conditions or terms, for longer hours or days of service than is consistent with the person's health and physical well-being." The law qualifies this claim, limiting manufacturing sector workers to days shorter than or equal to 10 hours; this figure is reduced to eight hours for all other workers.
  
  Overtime, according to Section 652.020, shall not exceed three hours in a day--and an individual who works overtime must always be paid one-and-a-half times his or her normal hourly rate.
  
  

Miners

• Section 652.040 limits some miners--namely, those who work in the excavation of precious metals--to shifts less than or equal to eight hours per 24-hour period. This restriction does not apply to those who work in "mines in their first stages of development, such as tunnel work to a length of 200 feet, or shaft work to a depth of 150 feet, or to any surface excavation." The law dictates that these protections may be removed in the event of an "emergency, where life or property is in imminent danger."
  
  

Firefighters

• The law also provides special rules for firefighters, limiting "scheduled" hours to 72 per week for fire departments with three or fewer firefighters on hand. This figure is reduced to 54 for forces of four or more. However, the total may be computed as an average--in other words, firefighters may work more than 72 (or 54) hours certain weeks as long as the weekly mean for each quarter of the fiscal year is equal to or less than 72 (or 54) hours.
  
  By the nature of their job, firefighters need to work overtime intermittently. As is the case with miners and other workers in the state, this rate is one-and-a-half times the normal hourly rate. Additionally, fire departments must provide full-time firefighters "at least 48 consecutive hours off-duty time in each seven-day period."