Kate Brown fired Kay Erickson as director and named Gerstenfeld as acting director.A total of $3.6 billion in benefits has been paid out.The agency has begun to advance benefits to some newly eligible workers if their unemployment is related to COVID-19 and they are likely to be eligible for either regular or federal pandemic benefits. Unlike regular businesses, which pay taxes into a trust fund, they do not pay those taxes and had been ineligible to draw benefits since the unemployment insurance system began in the mid-1930s.The number of Oregon claims from these workers tops 100,000. Face masks required; no dogs allowed. Meetings are held at the 7740 N Highway 101[...]Weekly farmers market. "I am very sorry. On Sunday, David Gerstenfeld accepted an unenviable job: director of the state's beleaguered employment agency.The Oregon Employment Department has failed to get timely payments — and clear information about benefits — to thousands of Oregonians out of work because of the coronavirus pandemic.On Sunday, Gov. Oregon Employment Department Contact Phone Number is : 1-877-517-5627 and Address is 875 Union Street, NE Salem, Oregon, United Stated The Oregon Employment Department is a State owned Government agency which is provide a wide range of Services including - accurate information, administration of the State's unemployment Insurance Program, Promote safe, Family-friendly and …
The project has been more than a decade in the making, and Gerstenfeld said the agency has been preparing to announce a vendor.“I am committed to modernization moving forward as quickly and responsibly as possible, and ensuring that we make it easy for the public and our employees to navigate through sometimes complex programs,” Gerstenfeld said.He did not specify it, but the Legislative Fiscal Office issued a report in July summarizing the project’s history and concluded:“Despite having available resources to embark on a modernization project for unemployment insurance taxes and claims, the Employment Department has not yet had the necessary combination of organizational stability and sustained professional and technical capacity needed to ensure project success. By Claire Withycombe, Salem Statesman Journal His time there coincided with the Oregon's long recovery from the Great Recession, and what at the time were "historic high workloads" and a series of new federal programs and changes, he said.Claire Withycombe is a reporter at the Statesman Journal. For most people, that initial processing is what starts benefits going to them.”Self-employed people, freelancers and independent contractors, and gig and temporary workers were made eligible for benefits by the federal CARES Act, which was signed on March 27. Oregon Employment Department officials have now worked through a backlog of 70,000 claims by people whom Congress has made newly eligible for unemployment benefits. “This new approach of benefits-while-you-wait will let us pay benefits while we do the required adjudication process to determine which program they will ultimately get those benefits from.” However, if people are determined later to be ineligible for benefits from either program, they are obligated to pay back the money.Gerstenfeld said that, based on new guidance from the U.S. Department of Labor, which oversees state administration of unemployment benefits, his agency has changed its definition of “gross receipts.” Now they can report gross receipts — the actual amount they receive that week — but subtract 25% of the previous month’s overhead costs, such as rent, utilities, materials and supplies.Gerstenfeld said the new definition would even the flow of money and allow for a more realistic accounting of costs — and more benefits.“We know many self-employed people have been looking for this change,” he said.He said people can apply to make that change retroactive to past weeks, although it will take more time for those changes to show up in additional benefits.On a related matter, Gerstenfeld said the agency is still committed to obtaining a new computer system, which will replace a three-decade-old mainframe that still relies on COBOL, a programming language that dates back to 1959. In April, some people were erroneously told to restart their claims. I know you're frustrated and anxious and that many of you have been unable to reach us or to get the answers and assistance that you need. You will receive news updates directly into your email inbox.How to submit death notices, funeral notices or obituaries to YachatsNews.comOregon Employment Department officials have now worked through a backlog of 70,000 claims by people whom Congress has made newly eligible for unemployment benefits.But the agency’s acting director acknowledges that, while more people are starting to receive payments, tens of thousands are still waiting for benefits because their claims require more detailed review.David Gerstenfeld said the agency reached its target almost a week before its self-imposed deadline of Friday, Aug. 8.“We are hoping more people are seeing relief from their benefits,” he told reporters on a weekly conference call. A new Google-developed application allows the agency staff to link claims to the agency’s mainframe computer system, which handles benefit payments.According to the agency, about 36,000 people have been paid federal pandemic benefits totaling $82 million.Meanwhile, despite more than half a million claims filed for regular unemployment benefits between March 15 and Aug. 1 — the total for a comparable period in 2019 was 57,000 — Gerstenfeld said only about 1,000 claims are pending, and the oldest dates back to July 21. The OED … Many claims for regular and pandemic benefits were duplicates.
Kate Brown asked Director Kay Erickson to resign, appointing Gerstenfeld as interim director.In a call with reporters Wednesday, Gerstenfeld apologized for the department's missteps and committed to being more transparent with Oregonians. Kate Brown Fires State Employment Director After COVID Failures by OPB Staff OPB May 31, 2020 1:13 p.m. | Updated: May 31, 2020 3:21 p.m.