February 1, 2021 3:30 a.m.

The U.S. Department of Labor has notified the Oregon Employment Department that it is turning off Oregon’s Extended Benefits program because of the state’s declining unemployment rate.

An OED release said with the federal decision, up to 13 weeks of EB will no longer be available, effective February 20th.

David Gerstenfeld, acting director of OED said, “Extended Benefits has been an important safety net that has helped many Oregonians make ends meet”. He said, “Fortunately the Continued Assistance Act is providing another safety net and EB claimants will be able to move to the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program for an additional 11 weeks”.

The release said EB is a program that extends regular Unemployment Insurance benefits when a state is at high unemployment. The average unemployment rate is reviewed at the federal level over a three-month period to determine if the state goes into this extension. If the average unemployment rate is below 8 percent but at or above 6.5 percent, then up to 13 weeks of additional benefits are available under EB.

The release said claimants should continue filing EB claims through February 20th. After that date, the Employment Department will move claimants to PEUC so they do not need to restart their claims.

For more information about Extended Benefits, go to: https://unemployment.oregon.gov/frequently-asked-questions#q-12560