Learn How To Apply For Unemployment Claims With Our Guide

Learn How To Apply For Unemployment Claims With Our Guide

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To understand how to claim unemployment benefits, register for work, and maintain eligibility for federal unemployment benefits in Oregon, applicants should understand the rules by which the program is governed. In Oregon, claiming benefits for unemployment, calculating unemployment benefits and federal income taxes are some of the different features governed by these regulations.

We have compiled helpful information, hints, and tips about claiming unemployment benefits in Oregon on this website and FAQs and our free guide. Learn more about unemployment benefits in Oregon by reading below, checking out our Oregon FAQs, and reading our free guide.

Learn About Unemployment Benefits in Oregon

During the unemployment application process in Oregon, the state looks at the applicant’s wages reported during their “base year,” which is the one-year period on which the unemployment claim is based. The petitioner’s weekly benefit amount is 1.25 percent of his or her total base year wages. Oregon law sets the minimum and maximum amounts beneficiaries can receive.

Approximately 10 days after the applicant’s employment benefits claim, he or she will receive the Wage and Potential Benefit Report. This Oregon unemployment claim report will include the wages reported by the base year and the weekly benefit amount an applicant may receive if he or she is eligible.

The unemployment claim is determined by the date of the initial claim application, not the date the former worker became unemployed. To qualify for unemployment benefits, the Unemployment Insurance (UI) petitioner must have earned at least $1,000 in wages from covered employers during the base period in addition to further stipulations.

The unemployment insurance petitioner needs to carefully review the wages and employers listed on the Wage and Potential Benefit Report. If the wages are missing or incorrect, he or she needs to follow the instructions on the form and contact the UI Center immediately. In the event that the benefit amount is based on wages an applicant did not earn, he or she will be responsible for repaying any money paid to them in excess.

If the claimant owes child support payments and there is a court order from the Oregon Department of Justice requiring deductions, a percentage is deducted from his or her unemployment benefits claim each week. These deductions continue until the court notifies OR Unemployment Insurance to stop. Retirement income can also be deducted from the weekly benefit amount.

If the UI beneficiary applies for, is eligible to receive or receives any type of retirement (except Social Security), he or she must report this information to the UI Center immediately. After the report of this information, the UI Center will notify the claimant if they are going to deduct from their benefits.

Learn About Filing a Claim in Oregon

Claimants must file their weekly claims after the end of the week. The Employment Department uses a calendar week of Sunday through Saturday. After the week ends – on 11:59 p.m. on Saturday – the recipient may claim the week.

  • For telephone recertifications, the Weekly Claim Line is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
  • The Online Claims System is available seven days a week, except from 12:30 a.m. to 2:30 a.m.

The claimant must be claiming unemployment benefits each week in order to receive benefits or to satisfy the waiting week requirement. For each week that the beneficiary claims benefits, he or she must certify that they meet the eligibility requirements.

To claim unemployment benefits if the applicant works part-time, he or she must report all work and gross earnings for the week in which work was accomplished (including vacation and holiday pay), even if he or she has not been paid yet.

Claimants will no longer meet unemployment insurance eligibility if their gross earnings for a week exceed their weekly benefit amount. Their benefits are reduced by the amount of any gross earnings that are more than 10 times the Oregon minimum hourly wage, or one-third of the weekly benefit amount, whichever is larger.

How Long You May Receive Benefits in Oregon

A claimant in Oregon can receive total benefits of up to 26 times the weekly benefit amount during the coverage year. The benefit year is a 52-week period that begins the first week the claimant files.

A claimant cannot file a new OR federal unemployment benefits claim until the benefit year is expired, even if he or she has received all of the scheduled benefits. An unemployment benefits extension granted by the federal government would increase the original maximum benefit amount.

Learn About Oregon Unemployment Benefits and Federal Income Taxes

Federal unemployment benefits in Oregon are taxable. The petitioner may elect to have 10 percent of his or her weekly benefit amount withheld for taxes. The applicant can change his or her tax status by completing the Authorization for Tax Withholding form which is available online.

Last Updated: March 1, 2023