Loucks v. Beaver Valley's Backyard Garden Products

362 P.3d 277, 274 Or. App. 732, 25 Wage & Hour Cas.2d (BNA) 1473, 2015 Ore. App. LEXIS 1314
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedNovember 12, 2015
Docket132573; A156750
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 362 P.3d 277 (Loucks v. Beaver Valley's Backyard Garden Products) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Loucks v. Beaver Valley's Backyard Garden Products, 362 P.3d 277, 274 Or. App. 732, 25 Wage & Hour Cas.2d (BNA) 1473, 2015 Ore. App. LEXIS 1314 (Or. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion

SERCOMBE, P. J.

ORS 652.140(2) requires an employer to pay unpaid wages within a specified time to an employee who “quits employment” without notice. ORS 652.150(1) provides for a penalty if an employer fails to pay wages within the time specified by ORS 652.140. Plaintiff is the personal representative of the estate of decedent, James Dorsett. Decedent was employed by defendant and died during the course of that employment. Defendant did not pay the wages owed to decedent within the time specified by ORS 652.140(2). Plaintiff brought a penalty claim under ORS 652.150(1) against defendant. Plaintiff claimed that decedent had “quit[] employment” under ORS 652.140(2) by dying on the job, and that defendant owed decedent’s estate a penalty under ORS 652.150(1) because it failed to timely pay decedent’s unpaid wages under ORS 652.140(2).

The trial court dismissed plaintiffs complaint for failing to state a claim for the penalty, concluding that decedent had not “quit[] employment” under ORS 652.140(2). On appeal, we understand plaintiff to argue that the trial court erred for two reasons: first, that a penalty is owed because the term “quit,” as used in ORS 652.140, includes dying; and, second, that we should construe ORS 652.140(2) and ORS 652.150(1) to regulate the timing for the payment of decedent’s unpaid wages under ORS 652.190. We conclude that ORS 652.140 does not apply to employees who die on the job and that the timing for payments under ORS 652.190 is regulated by ORS 652.120(1),1 not ORS 652.150(1) and ORS 652.140(2). Accordingly, the trial court did not err by dismissing plaintiffs complaint.

On review of a dismissal for failure to state a claim, we review for legal error, “taking as true all well-pleaded factual allegations, and giving plaintiff the benefit of all reasonable inferences that can be drawn from those facts ” Nationwide Ins. Co. of America v. TriMet, 264 Or App 714, 715, 333 P3d 1174 (2014) (internal quotation marks omitted).

[734]*734Defendant employed decedent as a semi-truck driver. On or about September 24, 2012, decedent died on the job in a truck accident. Plaintiff, the personal representative of decedent’s estate, asked defendant to pay decedent’s unpaid wages to her as required by ORS 652.190.2 More than 90 days later, defendant sent plaintiff a final paycheck. The check allegedly withheld unauthorized deductions and could not be cashed due to insufficient funds in defendant’s account.

As noted, plaintiff filed an action seeking to recover a penalty under ORS 652.150(1) for failure to timely pay the final paycheck.3 The trial court granted defendant’s motion to dismiss the complaint under ORCP 21 A(8) for failing to state a claim for relief and entered a judgment in favor of defendant. On appeal, plaintiff advances the arguments discussed above. Thus, the first issue in this case is the meaning of “quit” as used in ORS 652.140(2). That statute provides, in relevant part:

“(2)(a) When an employee who does not have a contract for a definite period quits employment, all wages earned and unpaid at the time of quitting become due and payable immediately if the employee has given to the employer not less than 48 hours’ notice, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, of intention to quit employment.
“(b) Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this subsection, if the employee has not given to the employer the notice described in paragraph (a) of this subsection, the wages become due and payable within five days, excluding [735]*735Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, after the employee has quit, or at the next regularly scheduled payday after the employee has quit, whichever event first occurs.”

(Emphases added.)

“In interpreting a statute, the court’s task is to discern the intent of the legislature.” PGE v. Bureau of Labor and Industries, 317 Or 606, 610, 859 P2d 1143 (1993). In discerning that intent, we look at the text and context of the statute, as well as any relevant legislative history. State v. Gaines, 346 Or 160, 171-72, 206 P3d 1042 (2009). The plain text is the best evidence of the legislature’s intent. PGE, 317 Or at 610. Words in common usage, like “quit,” are construed in accordance with their plain, natural, and ordinary meaning. State v. Couch, 341 Or 610, 618, 147 P3d 322 (2006). We may turn to dictionaries in order to determine the plain, natural, and ordinary meaning of a word. See State v. Higgins, 165 Or App 442, 445, 998 P2d 222 (2000) (“[Djictionaries may be consulted to help ascertain the meaning of words within a statute.”). The context of a statutory provision includes other related statutes, PGE, 317 Or at 611, as well as prior versions of the statute, Harris and Harris, 349 Or 393, 402, 244 P3d 801 (2010).

Applying that method of statutory construction, the plain meaning of the word “quit” is “to leave or leave off from: as * * * to terminate (as an action, activity, or employment) esp. with finality : leave” or “ to give up employment: stop working : leave.” Webster’s Third New Int’l Dictionary 1867 (unabridged ed 2002). In light of that plain meaning, plaintiff argues that death constitutes quitting under the statute, because, when an employee dies, he or she stops working.

We disagree.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
362 P.3d 277, 274 Or. App. 732, 25 Wage & Hour Cas.2d (BNA) 1473, 2015 Ore. App. LEXIS 1314, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/loucks-v-beaver-valleys-backyard-garden-products-orctapp-2015.