Oregonians: Kitzhaber signs bills extending unemployment benefits to thousands

Great article although vague as to who these benefits are extended for. It doesn't really say those who have exhausted 99 weeks. Although I think it's interesting that there is money in a Federal Unemployment fund not being used at present.

6 Weeks for 99ers.

Text from State of Oregon's Employment website:

Senate Bill 637 allows for the continuation of the extended benefits (EB) program. The bill does not add additional weeks to the program; it allows the state to continue paying EB.

Senate Bill 638 allows for Oregon Emergency Benefits, an extension of unemployment insurance benefits for individuals who have exhausted all other extensions.

The first payable week will be the week of April 17-23, 2011. The department will send notice to all individuals potentially eligible. Be sure to keep your address current. Address changes can be made using the Online Claims System.

It is not necessary to contact your UI center at this time, as you cannot file for the extension early.

Thank you

From: http://www.oregon.gov/EMPLOY/UI/extensions_overview_12-16-08.shtml

Overview
There are currently three benefit extensions available.

EB

EB provides an additional 13* weeks of additional benefits to claims that expire after May 1, 2007.

*High EB expanded EB from 13 to 20 weeks of benefits starting February 15, 2009.


EUC

EUC Tier 1 provides up to 20 weeks of additional benefits to claimants exhausting regular benefits, or whose regular claim expired after May 1, 2007. The last week to apply for EUC Tier 1 benefits is the week of December 25 - 31, 2011.



EUC Tier 2 provides up to 14* weeks of additional benefits to claimants who exhaust Tier 1 benefits with the payment of the week December 25 - 31, 2011 or before.



EUC Tier 3 provides up to 13 weeks of additional benefits to claimants who exhaust Tier 2 benefits with the payment of the week December 25 - 31, 2011 or before.



EUC Tier 4 provides up to 6 weeks of additional benefits to claimants who exhaust Tier 3 benefits with the payment of the week December 25 - 31, 2011 or before.



OEB-3

OEB-3 provides between 1 and 6 additional weeks of benefits to individuals who have used up all other available benefits. OEB-3 begins with payment for the week of April 17-23, 2011.


The weeks add upto 105.

It also states: "OEB-3 provides 23% of your regular claim’s maximum benefit amount. The weekly benefit amount is the same as your regular claim. OEB-3 starts with the week of April 17-23, 2011, and ends July 2, 2011, or when the money allocated to the program runs out. The Oregon state legislature has allocated $30 million for the payment of all OEB-3 claims; therefore, your benefits could stop before you receive the maximum amount of your OEB-3 claim.

OEB-3 is precluded by any regular, EUC or EB benefit eligibility. In other words, OEB-3 cannot be paid until all other benefit programs are exhausted. However, unlike EB and EUC, OEB-3 does not require base year wages of 40 times your weekly benefit amount. Therefore, claimants who exhaust regular benefits, and don’t qualify for EUC or EB, may qualify for OEB-3."

Confirmed. SB 638 is for the 99ers, I've been one for about six months. I just got off the phone with my unemployment office (2hrs on hold) and I will be able to claim this week on the 24th and get a check next week. It will last up to six weeks or until the 30 million runs out, I don't see it going the whole six weeks but anything is better than nothing. When I was talking to the person on the phone she said they've been adding “ thousands” of people, it's going to be interesting to see how much higher the unemployment rate goes and we get a more real picture of whats going on.

I've always admired Oregon. Now, I downright love it. It's nice to see a state that cares about its own citizens. And, one that understands the importance of this action to its economy...
Bravo.

That's good news for Oregonians but 6 weeks isn't going to solve the problem. I guess it's better than nothing though.

I forgot to say I would urge all my fellow 99ers in Oregon to call their unemployment office and find out if they are eligible. This is a quote from the Oregon employment site a few weeks ago.

“It is not necessary to contact your UI center at this time, as you cannot file for the extension early. The department will send notice to all individuals potentially eligible. Be sure to keep your address current. Address changes can be made using the Online Claims System.”

I never received a notice in the mail, and why would I? Don't they delete you after 99 weeks? The last time I talked to them they had my current address and still no notice. And when I called them today they asked for my current address.

I feel this is a blessing (at least the government/state of Oregon cares) for US with no income, I just want to make sure as many people as possible can get a little help.