Young v. State

Barring contractual provisions to the contrary, only simple interest will be awarded on a judgment. Further, interest does not qualify as “wages” for purposes of ORS 652.150.

Young represents a class of employees that brought suit against the state for unpaid overtime. They won a judgment in 2003, collected it in 2006 and 2007, won post-judgment interest in 2009, and collected it in 2010. Young then sought interest on the post-judgment interest or, for some employees that quit after receiving their overtime payment, but before the interest and statutory penalties. The Court determined that granting interest on the post-judgment interest amount compounded the interest, which is prohibited by ORS 82.010(2). Although that statute has provisions for awarding interest accrued before judgment, the Court determined that none existed. Also, the Court concluded that interest does not count as wages under ORS 652.150, noting that wages are compensation for performance of a service and Young offered no persuasive argument that “wages” encompasses interest.