The Joint Emergency Board held a virtual meeting in order to allocate over $200 million to support COVID-19 relief efforts, specifically targeting investments to struggling workers, small businesses and Oregonians facing the deepest and most disparate impacts of the pandemic.

Among the worthy causes is $35 million to fund $500 Emergency Relief Checks to Oregonians who are still waiting for unemployment benefits. Now, to receive that $500, a one time payment, the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) will work with financial institutions to develop a simple process for Oregon workers to apply. DAS will report to the Legislative Fiscal Office on behalf of the Emergency Board once this process has been structured on eligibility, application requirements, public access and notification of the program, coverage of financial institution administrative costs, and mechanisms to prevent fraud while protecting public health and ensuring the emergency relief is provided to eligible applicants as quickly and efficiently as possible.

You read that right, legislators actually think a process of application, checking for fraud and notifying eligible parties can be done quickly and faster than simply processing the unemployment benefit. The number waiting has been whittled down from 440,000 to 60,000 and the employment department says these are newly eligible self-employed workers that haven’t been paid. A policy change to deal with the remaining applicants is to allow the closed Gresham office to work remotely from home. Steve Demarest, president of SEIU Local 503, said, “adjudicators who could not work in the office because of health concerns will begin working remotely adding experienced staff to resolve more claims.”

Was $35 million to appease a lawsuit filed last week by 13 jobless Oregonians? They imply that a lot of the remaining applicants are non-English speakers and self-employed workers and the outdated computer system only accommodates English. Then there are those that will receive the $500 payment simultaneously with unemployment and those that will just miss the check because unemployment was processed. And where will the state get funds to prop up the economy when the CARES payments end in August?

Senate Majority Leader Rob Wagner (D-Lake Oswego) said, “The Emergency Board also provided support to music, culture and community venues. These entities have taken necessary steps to postpone or cancel their programs in order to prioritize public health. We want to ensure our communities can still benefit from their cultural contributions when they can safely reopen. The Board also put funds toward small businesses who did not receive support through the Paycheck Protection Program. These allocations of federal Coronavirus Relief Fund dollars will help address some of the economic strain caused, and deepened, by this public health crisis. However, there is no question Oregon needs additional federal assistance in order to ensure we can provide support and services individuals and families across our state rely on.”


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2020-07-14 17:33:59

Last Update: 2020-07-15 08:17:30