To file for your weekly unemployment insurance benefits be sure you first filed an initial application for benefits.
If you haven’t done that please view our tutorial “How to File an Initial Unemployment Insurance Claim” to help you get started. Benefits are paid based on a weekly basis. The weeks start at 12 a.m. Sunday morning and run through 11:59 p.m. on Saturday.
When you claim a week of benefits, you’re claiming for the previous week.
So you can claim anytime after 12 a.m. on Sunday morning through 11:59 p.m. on Saturday for the week the just ended.
Let’s walk through an example. If he filed your initial application on the 2nd your claim will be effective starting the week ending on the 7th.
This is done by filing online or by telephone between the 8th and 14th for the month. You won’t receive any benefits for the first week you claim, it’s called the waiting week, to get credit for your waiting week be sure to file an application for benefits and submit a weekly claim. So in this example you’re waiting week is the week ending on the 7th.
Your next weekly claim will be for the week ending on the 14th. If you’re eligible this will be the first week for which you could receive a benefit payment. You would find your claim for that week between 12 a.m. on the 15th and midnight on the 21rst.
How to File for Weekly Claim in Oregon
There are two ways to file your weekly claim. The fastest and easiest way is to go online. You can use the online claim system on our website: www.employment.oregon.gov, except between 12:30 and 2:30 a.m. each night.
You can also file by phone using the weekly claim line at 1-800-982-8920. Listen to the voice prompts for instructions and use your phone’s keypad to answer yes or no questions. The weekly claim line is available: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There a long wait times on Mondays and mid day each day. You can avoid these by claiming benefits online or by calling during last busy periods.
Eligibility
When you file your weekly claim you’ll be asked a series of questions. These questions help us determine whether you are eligible to receive benefits for that week. All questions must be answered truthfully if you don’t answer questions truthfully it could result in delayed payments or penalties for committing fraud.
First let’s talk about what you got paid. Report any earnings were hours worked during the week you’re claiming. Such as, how many hours you worked, your total gross earnings; which includes vacation and holiday pay, cash, tips, bonuses, commissions, and non-cash payments, such as room and board. Report all of your earnings before any deductions. Report earnings for the week you did the work.
So when you start a new job, you will need to report the hours you worked and the wages you earned, even if you have not yet received your first paycheck. Give us a call at the Unemployment Insurance call center if you have questions about what to report or how to report cash and non cash earnings.
Work Search
Now let’s talk about your work search. Provide a detailed record of your work search activities each week. You are required to conduct at least five work seeking activities per week.
Activities include but are not limited to; completing enrollment activities through WorkSource Oregon, attending job placement meetings sponsored by WorkSource Oregon, participating in a job club or networking group that is dedicated to job placement, updating your resume, reviewing job placement web sites or newspapers without responding to a job posting, or making direct contact with an employer.
2 of your work seeking activities must be direct contact with an employer. This means contacting employer in person, by phone, by mail, or electronically, enquiring about and/or applying for a job opening.
You must contact the employer in the way they require. When you claim benefits your report of work seeking activities must include the date you completed the activity and a description of the activity completed.
When reporting direct contacts be sure to include the date you contacted the employer, the company’s name, address, and phone number, the name of the person you contacted, the type of work you applied for, how you contacted the employer, and what the results were.
If you apply to an online job posting and don’t know the name of the business, enter the job postings identifying number. You can use the work search record form in the back if you’re Claimant Handbook to keep your on records, and you can download additional forms at www.employment.oregon.gov
There are some situations where your work search requirements may be unique. You were on a temporary layoff and are scheduled to return to full time work within four weeks, you were in a closed Union that dispatches its members to job sites, or you are in a Training Unemployment Insurance or Trade Act Program, or are receiving Self-Employment Assistance Benefits.
If you fall into one of these categories visit www.employment.oregon.gov or refer to your Claimant Handbook to learn how to meet your work search responsibilities.
If you are claiming online and have more work search entries then the spaces provided, enter your best work search contacts for the week. If you claim by telephone, follow the voice prompts to record, review, and submit your work search.
If you meet all eligibility requirements and file your claim each week you should receive your first payment about three weeks after you initially applied for benefits.
You can check the status of your payment online at www.employment.oregon.gov as early as Tuesday if you submit your claim on Sunday or Monday. Please keep in mind that just because you file for a week a benefits does not mean you will receive a payment. If we find any issues with your claim will let you know.
If you want to receive benefits you have to file each week, if you don’t, your claim will become inactive and you’ll have to restart it. To learn more about making sure you can continue to receive benefit payments please review the next tutorial in this series entitled “Maintaining Your
Unemployment Insurance Eligibility”
We hope this tutorial helps explain how to file your weekly benefit claim in Oregon. Find more unemployment insurance information including full rules and regulations at www.employment.oregon.gov