Coronavirus Update: Unemployment Update

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House Speaker Tina Kotek

Coronavirus Update: Unemployment Update

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Sometimes progress is contextual. For what it’s worth, Oregon is among the best states in the country when it comes to successfully processing unemployment claims. Even with our old computer system and all the glitches, we are getting benefits out to a higher percentage of applicants than most other states.

That said, my colleagues and I won’t rest until everyone has their benefits. We know that cash is absolutely critical for people’s financial stability.

Below is the latest news from the Oregon Employment Department (OED). As a reminder, you can go to their COVID-19 page here.

The agency is continuing to see initial new claims go down, but they are still getting more than normal. They received around 20,000 new claims last week, which is down from earlier in the pandemic when claims were in the 60,000-80,000 range per week. They have processed 83% of claims and are continuing to increase the speed of processing the backlog of claims. With that said, there are still thousands of claims pending, and the agency is focused on doing all it can to clear its extensive claim backlog, while doing more staff training to address complex issues. There are now more than 600 new staff members working to process claims, and they are hiring more people to process Work Share claims as well.


OED Claims Processed 5-8-2020

OED is also working on an extension program for people who have exhausted benefits. This is likely a couple weeks away, but program testing is happening now. People who have exhausted their benefits should still file weekly claims and those will be handled when the extended benefits program is up and running.

If you have emailed the department with an issue and haven’t gotten a response, you are encouraged to resend the email.

OED has received tens of thousands of claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), which was created through the CARES Act to assist workers who didn’t qualify for traditional unemployment benefits. The agency recognizes that the initial state application has issues and is working on improving this. The current system is not giving acknowledgement that a claim has been received, which I know has been frustrating for many. PUA applicants should do weekly claims.

The agency is working on an FAQ sheet that will answer common questions from workers, including information about going back to work, working less than full-time hours, and more. I will share that when it is available.

I’m glad that more than 310,000 Oregonians have been helped and are getting their benefits. I’m still fighting for the more than 60,000 Oregonians still waiting. I know that help is needed.


Enjoy the Nice Weather – Responsibly, Please

The weather forecast for this weekend looks fantastic. While we should all look to find ways to get outside while maintaining physical distance and covering our faces, we can’t forget that no county has reopened yet and we are still following the Stay Home, Save Lives directive.

It is essential that even if we go outside for essentials or exercise, we should limit travel and stay in our own communities. As Willamette Week details here, some of our best vacation destinations are urging people to stay away.

As we enter another weekend under Stay Home, Save Lives, I want to share this interview about “caution fatigue.” It’s natural that the longer this pandemic lasts and our lives are disrupted, that “caution fatigue” will leave us less energized to follow guidelines we know will keep us safe. So, be aware of this fatigue and help your body and mind stay the course!


And, please, remember these tips when going outside:

Nice Weather COVID-19 5-8-2020

The Latest News

  • The Oregon Shakespeare Festival has cancelled its fall 2020 season. The Oregonian has more details here.
  • California Governor Gavin Newsom announced this week that workers who contract COVID-19 while on the job may be eligible to receive workers’ compensation. The Governor signed an executive order that creates a time-limited rebuttable presumption for accessing workers’ compensation benefits applicable to Californians who must work outside of their homes during their state’s stay-at-home order. This is something being looked at by legislators for Oregon workers.
  • The Oregon Health Authority announced 75 more confirmed cases of coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 3,032. This is the first time Oregon has more than 3,000 confirmed cases. There were also five new presumptive cases. Sadly, three more people have died, meaning 124 Oregonians have died from the coronavirus.

OHA COVID-19 Update 5-8-2020

OHA Hospital Capacity 5-8-2020

Stimulus Direct Deposit Deadline

There’s still time to submit your bank account information to the IRS to get your $1,200 stimulus payment more quickly. The IRS will accept bank account information until 9 a.m. on Wednesday, May 13, for people looking to get stimulus checks via direct deposit. After that deadline, the government will begin sending millions of paper checks that will arrive later this month and in June. You can go here to submit your direct deposit information.


To read past newsletters, you can go to this link. For up to date information, please check this link to the Oregon Health Authority where regular updates are posted: https://www.oregon.gov/oha/ERD/Pages/News-Releases.aspx

Please email me at Rep.TinaKotek@oregonlegislature.gov if you have specific concerns that have not been addressed by the OHA. Our office will do all we can to help and protect all Oregonians.

Thank you for reading! We will get through this together.

We are in this together, we will get through this together: United Oregon

Best,

Tina

Tina Kotek

State Representative
House District 44
Speaker of the House

email: Rep.TinaKotek@oregonlegislature.gov I phone: 503-986-1200
address: 900 Court St NE, H-269, Salem, OR 97301
website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/kotek