Dear Friends and Neighbors,

When you read this newsletter I will be in Salem representing the people of HD 37. Last week when Governor Brown announced she was calling a special session, I requested the time off from my work serving homebound seniors to address the urgent matters we are facing. This pandemic has impacted every corner of Oregon, taking a toll on community health and local economies, and it is our duty to make sure we are building resilient communities. This is only one step in the right direction, but the measures taken up in this special session will protect access to health care, prevent evictions and foreclosures during the pandemic, and take significant steps to improve police accountability.  We will be operating with strict public health protocols to keep everyone as safe as possible. The Capitol itself remains closed, so only legislators, essential staff, and the press will be allowed in the building. We will limit the number of people on the House floor, require face coverings, and restrict activities and movement that can spread infection. Committee discussions and floor votes will be viewable online here, and information on meetings and bills can be found here.

Reflection on Father’s Day 

This past weekend was Father’s Day and the first day of summer. It was also the first time since the pandemic that I returned to my exercise class. I can motivate myself for a lot of things but exercise is not one of them. During class I thought about my love for sharing space with people and music which started at a young age with dance lessons. I then thought about my father and how he was the first to put on a pink tutu and lead other fathers in their own dance at one of my first recitals. The father who supported me as much as when I thought I was going to be a professional dancer as he did when I decided instead to become a nurse (when I realized I might not make it in the world of professional dancing.) He was there when I needed to leave a violent domestic situation and helped me out of a depression after 9/11.

My parents married at 18. I arrived soon after and at times things were very hard. But I wouldn't change a thing. It made me the woman I am. My home was the place people came for comfort, guidance, and shelter. A place where we did not hide our struggles and had love and acceptance that allowed us to find strength in challenging times. I never forget how blessed I am for that experience.

Back to the exercise class... At the end, when every muscle hurt, the instructor told the class, “We don't stop when we’re tired. We quit when we’re finished.” A profound thought, and exactly what I needed to hear to keep me going. My father never stopped when he was tired and was always there to lift me up. I vow to my constituents and colleagues that I won't give up on fighting for vulnerable Oregonians. We won’t stop because we're tired. We will quit when there is justice and equality for ALL!

Telehealth

Oregon Employment Department 

These past three months have been extraordinarily stressful for the more than 243,500 Oregonians who lost their jobs and livelihoods as a result of the pandemic, and far too many families are still waiting for relief. My office continues to work closely with OED and, like many, are also very frustrated with the barriers in place preventing Oregonians from accessing  the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program. It should not be this hard to access benefits and we know this. We've been told the PUA program has proven extraordinarily challenging to implement, and has caused perhaps the most frustration for Oregonians who have been waiting many weeks, or months, for these benefits. Please continue to reach out to our office for support. Here is website for all PUA information available and here is a list of the most common questions our office is hearing: 

1. Why is it taking so long to get a PUA claim into the system so I can get my money? All PUA claims must be entered into the system manually. PUA is not automated right now. OED has had to create an entirely different claims process outside their normal system.
2. How many PUA claims have been filed so far? How many have been processed? OED has received 97,000 applications for PUA. Of those, they have determined that about 24,000 of those people are eligible for PUA benefits and they have paid just around 17,000 of those people about $90 million in benefits. OED has about 70,000 PUA claims left to enter into the new system for processing. This number may be less, but they still have to determine if these people are eligible for regular UI claims before they can pay PUA benefits.
3. Why am I being asked to report my gross income, not net income for my filing? In many cases the net may only be $25-50 on a gross $200 transaction. Does OED have to calculate by gross vs. net? Federal law requires self-employed people applying for PUA to use net income from 2019 to compute what their weekly benefit amount can be, but then they must use gross income during a week to see whether that reduces, or in some cases, eliminates the amount of benefits they can receive in that particular week. OED understands that net income in many cases is just a small fraction of the gross earnings, but their hands are tied by the federal requirement. 
4. I have received partial payment (or even full payment). Now I’m waiting for my weekly payments. Has there been any information regarding this? OED is working to minimize the number of claims that are ‘paused.’ For PUA specifically, this is sometimes due to the weekly claims needing to be manually keyed into their system by employees. PUA is a manual process.
5. What happens with people that have both 1099 and W-2 income? For example, if an independent contractor has more than $1,000 in W-2 income, only the W-2 income is used to calculate the PUA benefit and the 1099 income isn’t considered. In other words, someone who earns $50,000 in 1099 income and $3,000 in W2 income would only have the PUA benefit calculated from the $3,000 not $53,000. There are several issues here. The first is whether the person had enough traditional employment income to be eligible for regular UI benefits. Some people get earnings reported to them on a 1099 form, but it is still considered employment covered by Oregon’s UI system. OED is required to pay someone under the regular UI system if they are eligible for any regular UI benefits (in Oregon or any other state). In this situation, it is only their earnings that were subject to the UI system that are used to determine their UI benefit amount (again, regardless of what tax form the earnings were reported on). If someone is not eligible for regular UI, but has both non-UI covered income (as an independent contractor) and covered UI income (from traditional employment, for example), OED does use both their gross income from covered UI employment and their net income from self-employment.
6. Why have some PUA claims been neglected completely and have stopped being paid? This could be caused by several issues. Each weekly PUA claim does require OED staff interaction for benefits to pay out, and this is one area where OED is continuing to struggle to process all of the work as quickly as they would like. When questions or discrepancies are flagged on these weekly claims, this pauses the claim processing until clarification is received. OED is working as quickly as they can to collect this information when these pauses occur.

 Face Covering Guidance 

Last week, Governor Brown issued further guidance for the use of face coverings in indoor public spaces. This guidance starts today, Wednesday 6/24/20, and included both counties in HD 37; Washington and Clackamas, as well as Hood River, Marion, Polk, and Lincoln.

Here are select portions of the face covering guidelines, but there are more details, including term definitions, which are available here. 

A business is required to:

• Require employees, contractors, volunteers, customers and visitors to wear a mask, face shield, or face covering, unless an accommodation or exemption is required by law or one of the following exemptions applies.
• Employees, contractors, and volunteers: Masks, face coverings, or face shields are not required when eating/drinking or when at or in a location where the employee is not interacting with the public and six (6) or more feet of distance can be maintained between other employees.
• Customers and visitors: Masks, face shields or face coverings are not required when at a business and engaged in an activity that makes wearing a mask, face shield or face covering not feasible, such as strenuous physical exercise, singing or playing an instrument if at least six (6) feet of distance is maintained from others.
  • Masks, face shields, or face coverings are not required in restaurants, bars, breweries, brewpubs, wineries, tasting rooms, and distilleries while eating or drinking.
• Provide masks, face shields, or face coverings for employees.
• Provide for accommodations and exemptions from the mask, face shield, or face covering requirement for employees, contractors, customers, and visitors if such accommodations or exemptions are required by:
  • State and federal disabilities laws if applicable, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) which protects people with disabilities from discrimination in employment and requires employers to engage in the interactive process for accommodations.
  • State or federal labor laws.
  • State and federal public accommodations laws that provide all persons with full and equal access to services, transportation, and facilities open to the public.
  • OHA public health guidance if applicable.

• Post clear signs about the mask, face shield, or face covering requirements.

Customers and visitors of businesses are required to: 

• Wear a mask, face shield, or face covering when at a business unless the individual:
  • Is under 12 years of age.
  • Has a disability that prevents the individual from wearing a mask, face shield, or face covering.
  • Has a medical condition that makes it hard to breathe when wearing a mask, face shield, or face covering.

Customers and visitors of businesses between the ages of 0 and 12 years old:

• Children under the age of two 2 may not wear a mask, face shield, or face covering.
• It is strongly recommended that children between 2 and 12 years of age, wear a mask, face shield, or face covering at all times in settings like grocery stores or pharmacies, where it is likely that physical distancing of at least 6 feet from other individuals outside their household unit cannot be maintained, and vulnerable people must go.
• Because children between the ages of 2 and 12 years of age can have challenges wearing a mask, face shield, or face covering properly (e.g., excessively touching the face covering, not changing the face covering if visibly soiled, risk of strangulation or suffocation, etc.) we urge that if masks, face shields or face coverings are worn by this age group, that they be worn with the assistance and close supervision of an adult. Masks, face shields, or face coverings should never be worn by children when sleeping.

Please email me if you have specific concerns. Our office will do all we can to help and protect all Oregonians. 

For up-to-date Covid 19 information from the Oregon Health Authority, please check this link 

Governor Brown’s COVID-19 Resource page. 

If you want to follow Up-to-date statistics from the Oregon Health Authority for case counts, testing counts, breakdowns by geography, demographic, and hospitalization information go here. Under the first dropdown, “COVID-19 Cases in Oregon” there is a daily update with more information, linked just below the total test results:

Thank you for reading! We will get through this together.       

Sincerely,

 Rachel Prusak