PORTLAND (LN) — U.S. District Judge Amy Baggio on Monday denied Home Depot’s motion for reconsideration, adhering to her March 17 ruling that Oregon law requires interest to accrue on each payday where employees received less than they were owed due to rounding.
The dispute centers on whether Home Depot satisfied its obligation to pay all wages due when it stopped its rounding practice on Jan. 16, 2023, and paid putative class members the net wages allegedly due.
Home Depot argued that Baggio failed to consider that plaintiff Kathleen Eisele had conceded at a 2022 hearing that the class should include only those employees who experienced a net loss over their entire employment.
The retailer contended that because some employees were overpaid in certain pay periods, it was impossible to determine when interest should begin accruing on underpayments.
Baggio found that argument unpersuasive, noting that Oregon’s wage payment statutes set minimum amounts that must be paid on specific dates without providing for offsetting overpayments against underpayments.
“The Court explained that ORS 82.010(1)(a) provides the required method of calculation of prejudgment interest and states that interest ‘is payable on... (a) [a]ll moneys after they become due,’” Baggio wrote.
She distinguished Home Depot’s reliance on a 2024 district court case involving unpaid wages, noting that case did not address the calculation of prejudgment interest when wages fluctuate across multiple pay periods.
Baggio also rejected Home Depot’s claim that she failed to address the burden of proof, noting that the retailer bore the burden of proving its affirmative defense at summary judgment.
The court found that Eisele provided sufficient calculations based on data supplied by Home Depot to establish a genuine dispute of material fact regarding the interest calculation.
Home Depot’s attorneys did not immediately return a request for comment on Monday’s order.
The case remains pending for further proceedings on damages.