The case has been in a monitoring and enforcement phase since March 2021. The settlement agreement was initially scheduled to end in September 2022. However, because OED did not meet its settlement obligations consistently enough between March 2021 and July 2022, the settlement has been extended through March 2023.
Each month, OED reports to Oregon Law Center about whether it has satisfied the requirements of the settlement. For example, OED gives Oregon Law Center written reports about whether, in the previous month, it met federal timeliness standards for issuing first payments on new claims and resolving disputes about eligibility. OED reports to Oregon Law Center about changes to its system to increase access for applicants with Limited English Proficiency. For example, OED has committed to making its online application for Regular Unemployment benefits available in Spanish as well as English. The reports OED provides to Oregon Law Center are available to the public on OED’s website at https://www.oregon.gov/employ/agency/pages/ui-reports.aspx.
If OED violates the agreement, Oregon Law Center attorneys can go back to court to ask the settlement judge to take action to ensure that OED lives up to its promises.
In March 2021, before the court approved the settlement, several class members wrote to Oregon Law Center to object to the settlement. These class members did not think the settlement was fair because OED does not have to pay any money damages or penalties under the agreement.
Oregon Law Center understands these class members’ frustration and agrees that the long waits for unemployment benefits caused serious harm to many thousands of Oregonians. Before filing and throughout the litigation, Oregon Law Center attorneys thoroughly researched available claims, and reluctantly concluded that petitioners and the class were unlikely to succeed in a suit for money damages or penalties. Based on advice from Oregon Law Center, the petitioners concluded that the type of policy changes OED agreed to make in the settlement agreement were better than no changes, even though these changes do not compensate class members for all the harm they suffered. You can read more about why Oregon Law Center believes this imperfect solution is nevertheless a fair settlement of the class members’ claims in the “Settlement” documents at the bottom of this webpage.