November 8, 2020 3:40 a.m.

Staff with the Oregon Employment Department has announced that it is preparing for an increase in unemployment claims, following Governor Kate Brown’s Two-Week Freeze.

A release said Oregonians whose employment is impacted by this effort to curb the spread of COVID-19 will need to either file an initial claim or restart a stopped claim.

Acting director David Gerstenfeld said the department is “…in a much better place than we were at the start of the pandemic to respond to an uptick in unemployment claims”. Gerstenfeld said “We are ready to take your claims and ensure you get your benefits as quickly as possible, whether through an existing benefit program or any new federal program that may get passed”.

The release said the OED is preparing to increase its claims processing capacity with support from the National Guard. The department is also developing an option for impacted employers to submit employee information in bulk to minimize the need for employees to locate key information that may not be easily accessible, according to the release.

Claimants that have returned to work and have their employment impacted by the Two-Week Freeze will need to restart their claim. Claims can be restarted by going to the online claim system: https://secure.emp.state.or.us/ocs4/index.cfm