Coronavirus Update: Emergency Relief Checks, New Daily Record of Cases

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House Speaker Tina Kotek

Coronavirus Update: Emergency Relief Checks, New Daily Record of Cases

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Too many Oregonians are still waiting to get their first unemployment check. The delays at the Oregon Employment Department are the result of the historically high number of claims filed since the start of the pandemic, the requirements of new benefits designed by the federal government, and the constraints of an inflexible legacy computer system.

My office hears from people every day who are desperate for help and need their claims resolved.

Today, Senate President Peter Courtney and I proposed the immediate distribution of emergency relief checks of $500 per person for Oregonians who have applied for unemployment benefits and have not yet received their benefits from the Oregon Employment Department.

We propose allocating $35 million in federal CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Fund dollars to get $500 payments to the nearly 70,000 Oregonians who are still waiting for their unemployment benefits. The Legislative Emergency Board will meet next Tuesday, July 14, to consider this proposal, as well as other critical funding for Oregonians impacted by the pandemic.

These one-time payments would not be linked to future unemployment benefits. Individuals who have filed for, but not yet received, benefits from either the regular Unemployment Insurance program or the Pandemic Assistance Unemployment program would be eligible.

I know that people need help now. While the Oregon Employment Department works on processing all existing claims, this action can help frustrated Oregonians get some direct cash assistance as soon as possible. More information about the Emergency Board’s actions will be available soon, and I’ll post information about how to access these checks as soon as possible.

This will not solve all the problems facing too many Oregonians, and I’ll absolutely not be satisfied until every eligible person has received the benefits they are owed. But, I hope these emergency checks will provide some relief while the agency continues to work through its backlog.


Weekly Report Data

Oregon set another daily record today for diagnosed coronavirus cases (more on that below in The Latest News).

Prior to today’s new cases, the Oregon Health Authority released its weekly report, which noted that the percentage of positive tests increased from 4.2% to 5.0%. Here is some additional news to highlight from the report:

“The daily number of newly reported infections continued to reach new highs in Oregon since the emergence of COVID-19. Hospitalizations increased for the fifth consecutive week but remained below earlier peaks in March and April because younger people who have lower risk of hospitalization and death predominate among recent cases.”

The report is a stark reminder of just how contagious this virus is, as well as that we must always assess the risks in each activity we do during the pandemic.


Risky Activities 7-9-2020

Reopening on Hold in Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas

Tomorrow will mark three weeks since Multnomah County entered Phase 1 Reopening, meaning it is also the first day the county could be eligible to apply for Phase 2. Because of the recent surges throughout the state, neither Multnomah, Washington nor Clackamas county has applied to enter the next phase, which The Oregonian details here.

While the rising number of infections has been a concern in the Portland metro area, other areas of the state have also seen more cases. For example, hospitals in Umatilla County are near capacity following a number of workplace outbreaks, as Oregon Public Broadcasting reports here.

Here is a reminder of each county’s reopening status:


County Phase Status 7-9-2020

While most of the recent coronavirus news has been bleak, there’s a bit of good news to report: mortality rates at hospitals have been significantly lower as of late, which The Oregonian covers here.


Committee on Policing Reform Sets Fast Pace

The Joint Committee On Transparent Policing and Use of Force Reform held its second meeting today, continuing the quick pace it set on Wednesday, which Oregon Public Broadcasting covered here. Today’s discussion focused on best practices for recruiting, hiring, and maintaining wellness of officers, community policing, qualified immunity, and much more.

You can watch Wednesday’s meeting here, today’s meeting here, and see the agenda for Friday’s 10 am meeting here. I encourage everyone to follow these important ongoing conversations. We all have a stake in creating what policing will look like going forward.


Answering More Unemployment Questions

In Tuesday’s newsletter, I posted some answers from the Oregon Employment Department (OED) to questions frequently asked by applicants. Below is some additional Q&A, primarily about the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program.

How much will I get in PUA benefits? How do you decide how much I get?

The minimum PUA benefit is $205 per week. You will get at least that much if you are eligible. The maximum is $648 per week. Your weekly benefit amount is 1.25 percent of your earnings over the last 12 months. It is net earnings (earnings minus expenses) for self-employed workers, but gross earnings (total earnings) for other workers.

To get more than $205 per week, you must have earned more than $16,480 in the 2019 tax year. You have to provide proof of income for your most recently completed tax year (2019 for most people).

(You can go here for a helpful Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Calculator.)

If you get PUA benefits, you will also get an extra $600 per week because of the CARES Act. This extra $600 per week is called Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC). It is only available March 29, 2020 through July 25, 2020. This does not mean you will automatically get the extra $600 for every one of those weeks. You will only get it for the weeks you are also eligible for PUA.

It can take at least six weeks for OED to process your PUA application. If your application is approved, we will send you your $205 (or more) per week in PUA benefits plus the extra $600 per week for all the past weeks you were eligible. You may get several checks at once.

Am I also eligible for the extra $600 a week while on PUA?

If you are eligible for PUA, you are also eligible for the additional $600 per week. This is part of the new CARES Act, and it’s called Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC). You don’t have to take any action to get it. If you are eligible for PUA in a given week, we will automatically send you the extra $600 that week, too. If you are not eligible for PUA in a particular week, you will not get the $600 payment that week. FPUC is only available for unemployment claims from March 29, 2020 through July 25, 2020.

Why am I only getting the minimum $205 per week when I proved that I qualify for more?

OED is focused on getting as many people their PUA benefits as soon as possible. That means they are starting with sending the minimum $205 payment in most cases. Getting a PUA payment means people can start getting the extra $600 per week FPUC payment as well.

OED will then go back and review claims where people sent in documents to get higher PUA benefits. If you qualify for higher benefits, they will send them to you for all the past weeks you were eligible for. They are already doing this work, and they are paying some people more than the minimum amount.

I am self-employed and still operating, but my business has significantly slowed because of COVID-19. Am I eligible for PUA?

You may be eligible for PUA. If you are getting insurance payments for your business, or you receive payment to your business for work performed in other weeks, please report those on your weekly claims. While you may still be eligible, any business income can impact how much you are eligible to get through PUA.

I have two jobs – one W-2 payroll job for an employer and a 1099 self-employed job on the side. I’ve lost work in both due to COVID-19 closures. Which benefits should I apply for? Can I choose PUA because it has the higher weekly minimum or $205?

Which benefits you should apply for depends on your work history. If you earned enough at your W-2 job to get regular unemployment benefits, you have to apply for regular unemployment. If you are eligible for regular unemployment benefits, then by federal law you are not eligible for PUA. Unfortunately, you can’t choose PUA over regular unemployment insurance benefits. You can only get PUA if you are not eligible for any regular unemployment benefits.

What happens if I run out of Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation(PEUC)?

If you run out of PEUC and are not eligible for a regular claim or other extensions, you may qualify for Extended Benefits or Pandemic Unemployment Assistance.


The Latest News

  • COVID-19 testing capacity continues to be an ongoing challenge across the country. The Oregonian reports here about how Oregon is working to prevent future testing shortages.
  • I continue to be alarmed by how certain communities are being disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. Case in point: The Pacific Islander community has higher rates of coronavirus per capita than any other racial group in Oregon. The Oregonian has more details here.
  • If you’re able to do it, it’s great to support the local restaurants who are still operating, and doing takeout is the way to go. But some delivery services have been charging high fees, so yesterday the Portland City Council took action to help the restaurant industry by placing a cap on fees for third-party delivery platforms. Oregon Public Broadcasting has more information on that vote here.
  • The Oregon Health Authority reported 389 new confirmed cases of coronavirus, bringing the statewide total of new and presumptive cases to 11,188 (yesterday’s numbers were 217 new confirmed and presumptive cases and 10,817 cases overall). Sadly, ten more people have died over the last two days, meaning there have been 230 Oregonians to die of the coronavirus. You can click the images below for links to interactive data tables about coronavirus in Oregon.

OHA Epi Curve 7-9-2020

OHA COVID-19 Update 7-9-2020

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.

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