In my role as the State Representative for House District 18, I am privileged to represent portions of Marion and Clackamas Counties. Marion County received the green light to enter Phase 1 of reopening beginning Friday May 22nd. While Marion County has had the second highest rate of infections per capita, we have worked hard to achieve this critical first step.  As noted in the Marion County Commissioners May 21^st newsletter, “Phase 1 of the approved community road-map allows reopening of several types of businesses and services, while keeping sanitation, physical distancing, face covering, and crowd size measures in place. Restaurants and bars, personal care services, and gyms are included in the list of businesses able to reopen in Phase 1, if all safety guidelines are followed. The latest information on reopening guidelines and plans within Marion County can be found here.  Eventually, phases 2 and 3 of the plan will allow for increased gathering sizes and resumption of non-essential travel, nursing home and hospital visits, and additional seating at restaurants, bars, and other venues. The county is required to remain in Phase 1 for at least 21 days, and advancement to phases 2 and 3 will be allowed when public health monitoring indicates it is safe.”

The impacts of COVID-19 have been devastating to our small businesses. As shared in my previous newsletter, the Small Business Navigator has been set up by Business Oregon to help direct Oregon businesses to the resources they need. 

Also, I have recently learned that the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and Small Business Administration (SBA) lone subsidies are not subject to the Corporate Activity Tax (CAT). More information can be found in the “Beyond the FAQ section of the CAT” page on the Oregon Department of Revenue’s website here.  This is good news and offers our small businesses a life-line they need to recover.

More COVID-19 Business/Unemployment resources can be found here.

Oregonians continue to experience frustration and financial hardship as some have waited as many as nine weeks for their unemployment claims to be processed. Please know, we hear you! Your frustrations are valid, and your needs are great.  My staff and I have fielded dozens of constituent emails and phone calls on this issue. We are pressing for the answers that you deserve.

Legislators receive daily updates from various state agencies. Last Thursday, the Oregon Employment Department (OED) announced the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) program has come online. This program is a 13-week extension of Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits for those who have run out of benefits.The application for the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program is much simpler than for the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program and some individuals will be automatically moved into the program. The Extended Benefits Program is another UI extension that is currently being worked on that will hopefully be available in the next few weeks.

Claims are currently being processed for the PUA program, but there are challenges due to the program being new and the process being relatively manual. The OED is working with Google to be able to roll out an easier application process.

Although the department continues to process a vast number of claims, we know there is still a large number of claims that remain unpaid.  We learned that it typically takes 6-8 weeks to train new employees to become claim takers, and while a significant number of new employees have been hired to process claims, there remains only a small number of people capable of tackling the most complex cases. OED is continuing to rapidly train new staff and has focused their experienced staff on the oldest claims. New staff is being directed to focus on incoming calls in the hope of reducing wait times. An automated system is being rolled out for the PUA program to notify individuals that their applications have been received within 1-2 weeks. PUA claims are typically being processed within 3-4 weeks of being filed and benefits under regular UI or PUA will generally be available for those returning to work part-time based on their earnings.

For those in areas that are now reopening, a fear of exposure is not a sufficient reason to not return to work.  Those taking care of a sick family member, diagnosed with COVID-19, caring for a child due to school closures, or staying home on the recommendation of a medical professional will remain eligible for benefits.

Lastly, the Employment Department is in the process of hiring two government relations team members to communicate with legislators to help constituents navigate the UI system.

I appreciate the work my office staff are doing to help people from the District navigate the claims process. They have assisted many and their work will continue as long as there is a need.