Oregon’s extended benefits program to end
By Terry Murry on Saturday, January 30th, 2021 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
SALEM – The U.S. Department of Labor has notified the Oregon Employment Department that it is turning off Oregon’s Extended Benefits program because of the state’s declining unemployment rate. Up to 13 weeks of EB will no longer be available after Feb. 20.
“Extended Benefits has been an important safety net that has helped many Oregonians make ends meet,” OED Acting Director David Gerstenfeld stated in a prepared release. “Fortunately, the Continued Assistance Act is providing another safety net and EB claimants will be able to move to the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation Program for an additional 11 weeks.”
EB is a program that extends regular unemployment insurance benefits when a state has a high unemployment rate. If the average unemployment rate for a three-month period is below 8 percent but at or above 6.5 percent, then up to 13 weeks of additional benefits are available.
EB will not end immediately. Claimants can continue receiving EB benefits for three weeks and should continue filing claims through Feb. 20. After that, the OED will move claimants to the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation Program. Claimants will not need to restart their claims. The switch may require manual changes that could delay some PEUC payments, but they will be made retroactively.
If Oregon’s unemployment rate increases to 6.5 percent or higher, OED will not need to meet the statutory 13-week delay period to reactivate the EB program.
