Oregon Employment Department. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter)
An additional $300 a week could be coming to unemployed residents of Salem and the rest of the state.
The Oregon Employment Department announced on Monday it’s applying for the federal Lost Wages Assistance program. Created by the Trump administration, the new program is intended to help people receiving unemployment benefits that are less than what they made while employed. The program adds an additional $300 to payments.
People receiving unemployment previously received an additional $600 weekly benefit as part of the federal pandemic relief package. But the additional payment ended last month, leaving some households unsure how they’ll make ends meet.
The new payments will last for an estimated three to five weeks, according to the Oregon Employment Department.
“While well-intended, this program does not meet the needs of unemployed Oregonians,” said David Gerstenfeld, the department’s acting director, in a statement. “We need Congress to pass a much more robust program to give Oregonians the help they need and deserve in this pandemic. While this program does not provide enough support, the Employment Department is committed to getting all assistance possible to Oregonians.”
The department is currently in the process of applying for the grant to fund the program. It’s also working to resolve “many significant issues,” such as how much money may be required to implement the program, according to the department.
When the program is in effect, payments will be automatic and retroactive, going back to the week ending Aug. 1. Some individuals may have to provide additional information to get the payments.
For the month of July, there were nearly 9,000 ongoing claims for unemployment benefits from Marion County, slightly down from 10,896 from the previous month. For Polk County, there were nearly 2,000 for July, down from the 2,305 the previous month.
Since the pandemic hit Oregon in March, the department has been flooded with a historic number of claims. While the department has processed over half a million of them, many Oregonians have been waiting weeks or months for benefits.
Beginning Sept. 1, an Oregon Senate legislative panel will hold a series of hearings on how the department has processes and delivered its payments.
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Contact reporter Jake Thomas at 503-575-1251 or [email protected] or @jakethomas2009.
