NEWS
Waiting Week Payouts Begin for Unemployed Oregonians By Nicole Vulcan
WWW.BENDSOURCE.COM / NOVEMBER 26, 2020 / BEND’S INDEPENDENT VOICE
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early 250,000 Oregonians who have received unemployment benefits this year have another payment on the way and another 170,000 will see an additional benefit in the coming weeks. The Oregon Employment Department announced Nov. 23 that it had begun issuing “waiting week” payments for Oregonians who received “regular” unemployment insurance benefits since the start of the pandemic. When someone submits a claim for unemployment benefits in Oregon, they typically have to wait one week before they start receiving unemployment funds. For those who found themselves out of work unexpectedly and without a savings cushion, that “waiting week” can mean they fall behind in making payments for rent, utilities and other necessities. Under the new
pandemic-era Oregon Employment Department guidelines, claimants can now get benefits for the week they waited—meaning if someone filed a claim on March 8, 2020 or after under regular unemployment insurance, they get that payment, equal to the amount of their other regular weekly payments. People who are receiving—or received—unemployment benefits through the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, or the Disaster Unemployment Assistance programs will not receive a new waiting week payment since those programs already paid claimants during their first week. OED issued 246,300 payments on Nov. 23, and said those people should receive their waiting week benefit within three business days. Payments owed to another 170,000 people will have to
be manually processed and thus will take longer to disburse. “The Department estimates that while most will people will receive their waiting week benefit by the end of December, it may take until the end of January for claimants receiving Pandemic Unemployment Emergency Compensation (PEUC), Extended Benefits (EB), or benefits through Workshare to receive their waiting week payment,” according to an OED press release. “Eligible claimants whose waiting week falls between March 29, 2020 and July 25, 2020 also will receive the $600 Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation payment in addition to their weekly benefit amount.” Sen. Ron Wyden (D), who represents Oregon in Washington, D.C., said he his monitoring the waiting-week change:
“I’ll keep pressing the department to ensure it distributes every eligible waiting week check in a timely manner and resolves claims stuck in adjudication for thousands of Oregonians so they too can get the benefits they are entitled to. And I will continue pushing my legislation to extend into 2021 my Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program for self-employed and gig workers facing the ongoing economic fallout from this public health crisis.” Starting next year, waiting weeks will once again be part of the OED program. The waiting week has been waived for regular UI initial claims filed from March 8 through Jan. 2, 2021. People can check on the status of their claim by visiting the Online Claim System at unemployment.oregon.gov.
Push to Extend Eviction Moratorium By Nicole Vulcan
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hroughout the pandemic, Oregonians struggling to pay the rent have had some relief in the form of a statewide moratorium on evictions. With the COVID-19 crisis far from over and a deadline looming for the end of that eviction ban, stable housing advocates are pushing to extend that eviction moratorium. On Nov. 23, Oregon’s House Interim Committee on Housing heard testimony in favor of the Rental Housing Stabilization Proposal, which would offer extended relief for people in danger of losing their rental housing when the current moratorium ends Dec. 31. The new proposal, supported by the Oregon Housing Alliance, the Stable
Homes for Oregon Families coalition and other housing advocates, would extend the current eviction moratorium to July 1, 2021 for renters experiencing a qualified financial hardship. Renters would have until July 1 to pay back any missed rent during the COVID crisis. The proposal would also set up a landlord compensation fund that could see landlords recouping up to 80% of back rent owed to them. Over half of renters have resorted to borrowing, dipping into savings or reducing spending on food or medicines in order to pay the rent this year, according to a September Housing Insecurity Report issued by Portland State University’s Homelessness Research
& Action Collaborative. As of the date of that report, 34.8% of tenants overall owed back rent, with 56% of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color tenants owing back rent. “At least two-thirds reported paying their rent in full each month since March. But the number has declined from over 90% in March to 67% in July,” reads a summary of the report. “The statewide eviction moratorium expires in five short weeks, which means that parents living on the edge will have to find a new place to stay during the most difficult school year of our lifetimes,” stated Alison McIntosh of Oregon Housing Alliance in a Nov. 23 press release. “Lawmakers can prevent more students trying to do remote learning in
a shelter by taking action now to protect both renters and landlords.” On Nov. 19, Oregon House Speaker Tina Kotek called for Gov. Kate Brown to declare a “catastrophic disaster” in the state, which would allow the legislature to convene a remote special session in December. “We need to utilize some portion of the state’s reserves as soon as possible to help struggling Oregonians and small businesses through the winter months,” Kotek wrote in a press release. “I am particularly interested in seeing the state spend $100 million to keep Oregonians housed and stabilize the rental market as the pandemic continues into 2021.”
With a Spike in Cases, Capacity Concerns for Oregon’s ICUs By Nicole Vulcan
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he spike in Oregon’s COVID-19 numbers that began in early November is causing Oregon’s Intensive Care Units to also see an increase in patients. According to the most recent data from the Oregon Health Authority, Region 1, which includes the majority of the Portland metro area, had 337 staffed ICU beds available, with 278 occupied as of Nov. 24. Region 7, which includes Bend, Central Oregon and much of eastern Oregon, had 47 beds available as of Nov. 20, with 41 occupied. Data from St. Charles Health System, which services Bend, Redmond, Prineville and the surrounding areas, showed that 21 of St. Charles Health System’s 30 ICU beds were full (or 70% occupied) as of Nov. 23.
Courtesy Oregon Health Authority
On Nov. 20, the Oregon Health Authority reported it was changing the way it tracks cases in COVID-19 testing. Now, instead of reporting the number of new people tested, it is tracking the number of tests administered. “Early in the pandemic, we measured the number of new people tested,” OHA explained in an email. “People who tested negative were counted only once, no matter how many negative tests were administered to them. That provided an accurate count of people with COVID-19, but it has had the effect of undercounting the number of COVID-19 tests that were actually performed. “Since then, testing has expanded and the state’s capacity has increased significantly, and that is leading to a
Occupied hospital beds as of Nov. 24, the most recent statewide data available as of press time.
recalculation of testing that will be based on the number of tests administered.” That change moved Oregon’s most recent percent positivity calculation from 12.9% to 6.7%.
“While the percentage is lower now, it’s still above the level that would indicate declining spread and a safe level to fully reopen schools and businesses,” said OHA Director Patrick Allen.
