PORTLAND, Ore. — The Oregon Employment Department announced Monday it started making waiting week payments to eligible Oregonians receiving unemployment benefits.
Last week, OED Acting Director David Gerstenfeld said he was "pretty confident" that the department would be able to start making the payments to people for the waiting week "before Thanksgiving." On Monday, Gerstenfeld thanked Oregonians for their patience.
The OED estimates that payments were delivered to 246,300 Oregonians on Monday, totaling $176 million. Most claimants should receive their waiting week payment within three business days, the OED said. The money will be delivered through the typical method of payment for those who have received regular unemployment insurance benefits since the start of the pandemic.
For those eligible for the $600 Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) payment or the $300 Lost Wages Assistance (LWA) payments, they will receive those payments along with their waiting week check.
About 170,000 claimants will see their payments delayed because they must be manually processed, the OED said. Those people will receive their waiting week payment by the end of December, though for some receiving Pandemic Unemployment Emergency Compensation, Extended Benefits, or benefits through Workshare, they may have to wait until the end of January.
"We know some claimants still have to wait to receive their payments," Gerstenfeld said, "and we want them to know that we're working hard to get them their funds as quickly as possible."
The OED said that claimants can review the weeks they've claimed and those that have been paid in the Online Claim System (scroll down to Status of Initial Claim to enter your information) to see if they have served a waiting week. The OED also has a FAQ about the waiting week.
