Frequently Asked Questions (2024)

After claiming a week of benefits (a week runs Sunday through Saturday), you can check the status of your weekly claim. Weekly claims made on a Saturday or Sunday will usually update Monday night and will have an updated status on Tuesday. Weekly claims made on a weekday usually update by the following day. You can check the status of your claimed week through Frances Online at francesonline.com.

Claiming a week does not necessarily mean you are eligible for benefits. There could be issues that must be resolved before you can receive waiting week credit or payment. If your circ*mstances have the potential to conflict with meeting the eligibility requirements for benefits, we must review your claim and may request additional information from you. If you have a potential claim issue that is stopping your benefits, we will send you a notice. Be sure to review the notice and respond to all requests for information immediately.

This does not necessarily mean your claim is denied. To protect your benefit rights, you must continue to claim each week timely while your claim is being reviewed.

If your business is an LLC or other corporation, you are considered an employee of your business. You must make efforts to resume your business full time but must also seek other work unless you are on a short-term lay off. You can report your business as one of your employer contacts on your weekly claim.

If you are an independent contractor, you must actively seek work as an employee. You can still look for self-employment work as long as it does not interfere with your availability for work as an employee.

You may also apply for our Self-Employment Assistance (SEA) program. This program is only open to people getting regular UI benefits. If you are accepted into the program, we will send you a notice of approval and your new weekly SEA requirements. If you apply for AND are approved for the Self-Employment Assistance (SEA) program, you must follow the SEA program requirements instead of seeking other work. Until you are approved for the SEA program, you will need to follow the regular UI work search requirements. Call the UI Special Programs Center at 503-947-1800 to see if you are eligible.

You are required to seek and accept suitable work. Suitable work means work that takes into account your prior training and experience, location, and the pay for similar work in your area.

Most people are required to seek the type of work they normally do. Along with your usual work, you can also seek other types of work as long as you are qualified and willing to accept the normal hours and rate of pay for that work.

If the work you normally do is not readily available or you cannot do that work any longer, you must look for other types of available work that you have skills or experience to do.

For example, if you were working as a travel agent and there are not a lot of opportunities for that type of work in your area, you must also look for other types of work that exist in your area that you can do.

As a travel agent, you may have skills managing an office, scheduling, customer service, or even accounting related to your prior work. You should seek opportunities that would allow you to use your current skill set in a different (but perhaps similar) line of work.

If you are considering a career change or training opportunities, WorkSource Oregon offers a variety of services, including career planning, workshops, and information on training and financial aid. You can also visit Qualityinfo.org for information on jobs, careers, salaries, and other employment information in your area.

If the Employment Department has determined you are a ‘displaced worker,’ meaning you are unlikely to return to your previous industry, you may be eligible for the Training Unemployment Insurance (TUI) Program. Learn more on our TUI webpage.

If you do not meet the conditions for a short-term layoff or hours reduction, you must actively seek work each week.

Accepted Job Offer

If you have accepted a job offer, you still have to report work-seeking activities until you are working full time. This could include seeking temporary work you can do until your new full-time job starts. The new job offer could be delayed or canceled, or you might get other job offers to choose from.

Telework Only

You must be available for the type of work you are qualified for and seeking. Many jobs cannot work remotely (a grocery clerk, for example). You can focus your work search on jobs that can be done from home if you are qualified to perform the work. But if only looking for remote work substantially limits your opportunities to get back to work, you may not be eligible for benefits. You may also be denied benefits if you turn down work that is otherwise suitable and that requires you to work at a location outside of your home. 

Gig Workers

Gig workers are typically employees of the business and are not independent contractors. If your gig employer does not have full-time work available, you must seek other work as well. This can include work with other gig employers or part-time work you can do while continuing your gig work.

Working Part Time

If you are currently working part time and requesting weekly unemployment benefits, you must perform the required work-seeking activities. You can focus your work search on more part-time work or for a full-time job.

There are many reasons a claim may have stopped. Here is a list of some of the reasons your claim may not have processed benefits:

You skipped a week of claiming and need to restart your claim.

Your earnings for the week are your weekly benefit amount or more. This requires that you restart your claim to resume benefits.

We are reviewing your claim to determine if you meet the eligibility criteria. We are required to complete an adjudication process for all potential claim issues such as you may:

Not be working for a reason other than being laid off due to a lack of work

Not be able to work full time

Not be available to work full time or during the days and hours normal for your type of work

Have missed work or turned down a job

Have been traveling

Not have sought work as required

Not have completed your job seeker registration or ID validation requirements

Not have provided us all of the information we have requested

When we become aware of issues that call into question if someone can receive benefits, we are legally required to look into it. While many issues can be resolved with quick follow-up questions, many times it requires a more thorough review through an adjudication process. During the adjudication process, we will gather information from you and any other source needed. If the issue is related to your most recent employment, we typically gather information from your employer as well. We then review the available information, apply the laws and rules for unemployment insurance to your situation, and then make a decision regarding the issue.

If we determine you are eligible, we will issue payments for all eligible weeks you have claimed. Depending upon the issue, we may issue a decision to deny or reduce benefits for a single week, a group of weeks, or may continue indefinitely. The administrative decision issued to you will explain if benefits are denied or reduced, and will indicate the duration of the denial or reduction.

If you have questions about your claim, the fastest way to get help is through our online Contact Us form. You also may call the UI Contact Center at 877-345-3484.

If we deny or reduce your benefits, we will send you a written administrative decision giving the reason for the denial. Read it carefully. It will include instructions on how to file an appeal on time if you do not agree with the administrative decision.

Failure to file an appeal on time may prevent you from having the original administrative decision changed.

If we deny your claim due to a work separation issue because you failed to apply for a job referral or refused a job, we may do the following:

Deny your benefits until you work and earn at least four times your weekly benefit amount in subject (covered) employment. The work must be done after the week you were fired, suspended, quit, or failed to accept or apply for work; AND

Reduce your maximum benefit amount by eight times your weekly benefit amount.

If your benefits are denied for other reasons, such as missing a work opportunity, incarceration, illness, etc., the denial lasts for the period stated in the administrative decision or until the condition that caused the denial no longer exists.

If you were already paid benefits and then receive a denial, you are overpaid. You will receive instructions on how to pay the money back. It is your responsibility to repay any overpaid amount, which may include associated penalties, fees and interest.

If you disagree with a denial issued on your claim, you can request an appeal.

Federal and State laws require that we determine if school employee wages can be used in the weekly benefit calculation for weeks claimed during normal break periods between years, terms or periods. This can result in your benefits stopping while we review your individual situation.

Some types of school employees will be able to qualify during break periods, if otherwise eligible, and may not experience a wage-review delay. These positions include maintenance and janitorial workers, food preparation and service workers, and early intervention and pre-k service support workers.

Other types of school employees who have reasonable assurance to resume work after the break period may not be eligible for some or all of their benefits during the break period.

This process can be time consuming, and although we understand you are eager to receive your benefits, you do not need to call us. Complete and return the School Employee Questionnaire as soon as possible. We will contact you if we need additional information.

If you leave your permanent residence for three or more days, you must state you are “away from your permanent residence” if you claim the week you were gone – regardless of the reason for your travel. This includes if you are traveling within Oregon or if you were still looking for work while you were gone.

We will request information from you to include the dates you were gone, the reason you left your labor market, and your work search for the claimed week. We will review your information and determine if you are eligible during that time. In most cases, you must be seeking work in the area visited, willing to work, and available for work in that area (and not just for work you could do where you currently reside).

If you have moved, the area in which you live is now your new permanent residence. It is important you keep your address current – you can change it using Frances Online. If you have moved out of state, you must register with your home state’s labor exchange system and seek work there. You may be required to provide proof of your registration.

A key piece of your reemployment includes contacting employers who hire people with your experience, training, and skills. Unless otherwise advised in writing by an Employment Department representative, you must continue seeking work each week you claim benefits, even if you’re working part time.

You must complete at least five work-seeking activities for each week you claim benefits. Work-search activities include:

Attending job placement meetings or workshops (including WorkSource Oregon sponsored activities)

Networking

Updating your resume

Reviewing job placement websites or newspapers without responding to a job posting

Making direct contact with an employer

At least two of the five work-search activities you complete each week must be direct contact with employers. This means contacting them in person, by phone, by mail, or electronically to inquire about and apply for work.

Each week you must keep track of your work-search efforts. When you claim a week of benefits, you will be required to provide details on your weekly claim about what you did to find work that week.

When you file for weekly benefits, you must report the work-search activities you completed AND your direct contact with employers. Your report of direct contact with employers must include all of the following:

Date of contact

Company name, phone number and address, or online job posting ID number

Person contacted (if applicable)

Type of work or position applied for

How you made contact (phone, resume, online application, email, etc.)

Results of your contact (hired, not hired, interview, no response, etc.)

When reporting work-search activities that are not direct employer contacts, you must include:

The date you completed the activity

A description of the activity completed

If you need help keeping track of your work search, use our Employment Search Record form. You are not required to use this form, but you are required to keep records of your weekly work-search efforts and report those activities when making weekly claim reports.

If you are using Frances Online, enter your work-seeking details there.

If you submit your weekly claim by phone on the weekly claim line, you will verbally report your work-search information after answering the weekly claim questions. You will need to provide the date you contacted the employer, employer name, position you applied for or inquired about, employer’s address and phone number, how you contacted them, and if there were any results to report from the contact.

For work-search activities that were NOT employer contacts, you must provide a detailed explanation of what you did and when.

We may request more details about your work search at any time or verify your employer contacts with the business listed.

Your benefits will stop if you do not provide your work-search activities when filing for weekly benefits. If you report an inaccurate work search or work-search exception, you will receive a denial that may result in overpayments and penalties.

If you are a member in good standing of a dispatching union, you are considered actively seeking work by remaining in contact with your union and available for dispatch to jobs they offer you.

If you are a federal employee, temporarily unemployed due to a government shut down and expect to return to work for your employer when the shutdown ends, you may not have to seek work with other employers. You are considered actively seeking work if you remain in contact with your employer and are capable of accepting and reporting for any suitable work with your employer.