[{"_1":2,"_112":-5,"_113":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88,100],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6259348,"mediaKeyId","3141575-c17c01798d8e066bc50c4b676edda0f5","parentId",3141575,"title","Committee advances three paid‑leave technical bills to the House floor","audioSeconds",297,"startMs",46000,"endMs",343000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3141575-c17c01798d8e066bc50c4b676edda0f5&start=46&end=343","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3141575-c17c01798d8e066bc50c4b676edda0f5/thumbnail_46000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6259348/Oregon/Committee-advances-three-paidleave-technical-bills-to-the-House-floor","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6259348-08d09f12bb3c796d357a7bb2633643b8/orig.mp4?Expires=1770886604&Signature=SNR5J-lNZ6O5sxyx6bKHfKnF5Euw3KtmTxajUghRmeiQh~wkyPXpoJUXJ0KBjhP1jZlATR-eCcVG6GEB5C231VN28T8lwjdC838HbjyFyE2ht7BaidvtE0UCwX7COXZnXlr9s6s3QlFuydqpRdiwBlGMOps~~U~h0WPhkS~beIVSBXIgMF7zr5obMq74aVZqczcrJ-fyrrWcYpQFPP6-9Xnqbh1waFj~tgSnCfneR26cOm0DDwSZ8fNfiUi6u1nP6ii8KzOlrZ1621AcVjQ4VzhII6NJUQQO1RkFbgR6XtbhMEXQ7hkRh5HUfRIwtRFAsbDR83hrBNPO9Nup26nPMA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Oregon State Legislature","date","2025-04-28T00:00:00Z","article","The House Committee on Labor and Workplace Standards voted April 28 to send three Senate bills addressing technical and administrative changes to Paid Leave Oregon to the House floor with due‑pass recommendations.

The three measures—Senate Bill 698, Senate Bill 858 A and Senate Bill 859—were described in staff overviews as administrative and technical fixes to Pay Leave Oregon and related provisions. Committee staff told members the bills carry minimal fiscal and revenue impacts.

Senate Bill 698 updates administrative and technical provisions of Paid Leave Oregon and the Oregon Family Leave Act, and increases an exception for employees based in Oregon who are subject to federal airline flight‑crew hours‑of‑service rules. A staff overview said the measure takes effect on the 91st day following adjournment and carries a minimal fiscal impact.

Senate Bill 858 A clarifies actions an authorized agent may take on behalf of a deceased or incapacitated person under Paid Leave Oregon, and makes other technical changes to administrative provisions; staff said a fiscal impact statement was issued and the measure has minimal revenue effect.

Senate Bill 859 permits the director of the Oregon Employment Department to compromise, adjust, or write off specified debts and overpayments related to the Paid Leave Oregon program; staff said the measure carries a minimal fiscal impact and a revenue impact statement was issued.

Votes at a glance
- SB 698: Motion to move to the floor with a due‑pass recommendation was made and adopted. Motion text in the record: “I move Senate bill 698 to the floor with a due pass recommendation.”
- SB 858 A: Motion to move to the floor with a due‑pass recommendation was made and adopted.
- SB 859: Motion to move to the floor with a due‑pass recommendation was made and adopted.

Each motion was called and adopted by roll call during the work sessions. The committee record shows several members excused for some roll calls; where attendance was recorded the clerk’s roll call phrases include: “Representative Bosshardt Davis — excused,” “Representative Nelson — excused,” and positive votes recorded for members including Representative Ragla, Representative Sharp, and Vice Chair Elmer. The transcript does not include a consolidated numeric tally in today’s work sessions beyond individual roll‑call lines.

Why it matters
The measures are technical and administrative rather than policy‑shaping: sponsors and staff characterized them as fixes to clarify implementation and to correct oversights left from prior sessions. Committee members thanked staff and the interim work groups that negotiated changes; no substantive debate on policy tradeoffs occurred during the work sessions.

What’s next
Each bill was assigned a House member to carry it on the House floor. The committee closed the work sessions after the motions were adopted and the measures were scheduled for floor consideration pursuant to the House calendar.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","House Committee On Labor and Workplace Standards 04/28/2025 3:00 PM","oneSentenceSummary","The House Committee on Labor and Workplace Standards voted April 28 to send three Senate bills addressing technical and administrative changes to Paid Leave Oregon to the House floor with due‑pass recommendations.","taxTitle","Workplace Standards, House of Representatives, Committees, Legislative, Oregon","taxId",78401,"location","Oregon","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6259334,"Employment Department briefs committee on SB 916 A: unemployment benefits for striking workers, DOL conformity, and estimated fiscal impact",1200,1490000,2690000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3141575-c17c01798d8e066bc50c4b676edda0f5&start=1490&end=2690","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3141575-c17c01798d8e066bc50c4b676edda0f5/thumbnail_1490000.jpg","/articles/6259334/Oregon/Employment-Department-briefs-committee-on-SB-916-A-unemployment-benefits-for-striking-workers-DOL-conformity-and-estimated-fiscal-impact","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6259334-bdb0bd27dabf15f24c7eac66efc2d1e2/orig.mp4?Expires=1770886604&Signature=QM5wXi43PAyYxxR1AGhJ8q~SKibRrkY3KlI4a8GUdNTUaimsMZXSlN5GxwUq7087IEZAwLXnlF21AQNJ-0WrHKisF2ttBF~1L9JnH6wB4IL~AtCYZwTEUg~twS33Ea5yv3VEhJvhLlBmx9cQ6fmb-hc5SVjK4bFFDsqam7rW79tIXlFWrEZfjomH~ST-wrROsmMbHtJ4gyT8FD-ryg4C7gKX8WQKtv5tPzSMh37PPu-nk6hvm0srE44bzzV4Hb-IP2OtPqNaFbTFKpx100ERq5ricYjPTGT56YPy8UqAcBeFlIg-6oCmhvUewBtfDvD9Ry1QKfZPj~7qa5JVkJbCgw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The House Committee on Labor and Workplace Standards held an informational meeting April 28 with the Oregon Employment Department (OED) on Senate Bill 916 A, which would allow certain striking workers to claim unemployment insurance (UI) benefits while a strike continues, subject to weekly eligibility requirements and an expectation of return to employment.

OED officials Lindsay Leahy, Unemployment Insurance Division director, and David Gerstenfeld, director of the Oregon Employment Department, told the committee the department has no formal position on SB 916 A but provided technical analysis about program implementation, federal conformity and estimated trust‑fund impacts.

Key takeaways from the department’s briefing
- Eligibility and weekly requirements: To qualify for UI generally, claimants must have sufficient base‑year wages (for example, at least $1,000 or 500 hours in the base year), must not be disqualified for other reasons (quitting without good cause or misconduct) and must meet weekly requirements of availability for work, active work search and ability to accept appropriate work. OED said SB 916 A would not change those fundamentals; it would instead tailor what “available” and “actively seeking work” mean for striking workers who intend to return to their jobs.
- Federal conformity: OED said the state has flexibility to define “actively seeking work” in special circumstances. The department shared the bill with the U.S. Department of Labor and received an informal, nonbinding written response indicating the DOL did not see a conformity problem; OED noted the DOL only issues a definitive review after legislation is enacted. Staff referenced historical precedent (New York law upheld in a U.S. Supreme Court decision) and a 1979 DOL letter in their informal conversations.
- Timing and benefits sequence: OED outlined a typical timeline if the bill becomes law (the department said the statutory effective date in the draft is Jan. 1, 2026). A striking worker would be disqualified for the first strike week, serve the standard waiting week in the second week of the strike and begin receiving benefits in the third week if otherwise eligible. Claimants must still meet weekly eligibility standards each week they claim.
- Back pay and overpayments: If a striking worker later receives back pay for the strike period, OED said those UI payments would be treated as non‑waivable overpayments. OED described collection tools available—offsets against future UI benefits, bank and wage garnishment, interception of tax refunds and third‑party collection—and said those tools are part of the agency’s existing collection practice. For tax‑paying employers, benefits paid during strikes would affect employer experience ratings unless the benefits are later collected as overpayments; for reimbursing employers, OED would seek dollar‑for‑dollar reimbursement when overpayments are collected.
- Estimated fiscal impact on the UI trust fund: OED provided two historical “look‑back” scenarios to estimate the potential fund impact. Using a 10‑year historical average (assumptions: average strike duration 8.6 weeks; 888 employees on strike each week; 55% tax‑paying employers/45% reimbursing), OED estimated a trust‑fund loss of about $2.6 million over the 2025–27 biennium and roughly $2.1 million billed to reimbursing employers over the same period. Using a three‑year recent average (assumptions: average duration 6.3 weeks; 2,805 employees on strike each week; 47% tax‑paying/53% reimbursing), OED estimated a trust‑fund loss of about $5.3 million over the 2025–27 biennium and about $5.9 million billed to reimbursing employers. OED said both scenarios would have a negligible impact on the trust fund adequacy ratio (roughly 0.04%–0.08% of the current fund balance in their models).

Department clarifications and implementation points
Leahy and Gerstenfeld emphasized several practical points for committee consideration:
- The department will define what “available” and “actively seeking” mean for striking workers who intend to return to their jobs and will solicit public feedback on that definition if the bill passes.
- OED already handles special weekly requirements for temporarily laid‑off workers and union‑dispatch situations; the striking‑worker adjustments would be implemented through similar mechanisms.
- Overpayments caused by later back pay are handled through the department’s existing processes; OED said it can pursue active collections if necessary and that recovered amounts can be credited back to employer accounts (particularly reimbursing employers) once collected.
- Tax matters and employer experience ratings: benefits paid during a strike are charged in the usual way to a tax‑paying employer’s experience rating; if back pay is later paid and UI benefits are recovered, OED said those recovered UI amounts would not be used to charge an employer’s experience rating.

Why it matters
SB 916 A attempts to reconcile two competing interests: access to income for workers during prolonged bargaining while preserving the integrity and solvency of the UI trust fund and federal conformity requirements. The department’s modeling suggests limited fiscal risk to the fund under historical assumptions, but OED cautioned that the model’s results depend on future strike frequency, duration and the mix of reimbursing versus tax‑paying employers.

Next steps and open questions
OED officials said they would finalize operational definitions and stakeholder guidance if the bill passes, and they encouraged public input during rulemaking and implementation. The committee scheduled a longer public hearing on SB 916 A to follow the information session; OED staff were asked to be available for technical questions during that hearing.","The Oregon Employment Department briefed the House Committee on Labor and Workplace Standards April 28 on SB 916 A, outlining how UI eligibility, federal conformity and trust‑fund impacts would be handled if the bill allowing some striking workers to receive benefits passes.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6259338,"Bill would speed contested‑case referrals, adjust disability rules for police and firefighters in PERS",796,684000,1480000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3141575-c17c01798d8e066bc50c4b676edda0f5&start=684&end=1480","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3141575-c17c01798d8e066bc50c4b676edda0f5/thumbnail_684000.jpg","/articles/6259338/Oregon/Bill-would-speed-contestedcase-referrals-adjust-disability-rules-for-police-and-firefighters-in-PERS","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6259338-297787d9632f2a09b0c174966df3f3b4/orig.mp4?Expires=1770886604&Signature=LvA7O8lBdjJ5Wl4MQhrwZAmuuZDFhWgENSOCGfoxglFDRwWU9MnZzebK6SwV0gg4KIM2OsCLVAgfffakidZt3MqIGQVnkht9arIF2vFOn6sL7z3v3W9quHasaGX~XjflcOMBvyDF2H-fs4HNPKSa7jkJJHJ991GWkNvmJAkGIfuYSP8ZVf~Y6hg8Rxz5BC6bbX0qcV0qjweWM6drjHk3v~tnAcrzJXnNff-nsGTeeotNDA4I0yWeEu3UqnfCuLolcwf5cgELZxAaKhVmS1WbOBscSxjlF538vHaVvhghOWF1r5ukZIEAuyVH2MhRzFX8wx2s64Gtv58jf86igrdlJA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The House Committee on Labor and Workplace Standards on April 28 heard testimony on Senate Bill 588 A, legislation sponsored in the Senate to alter Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) procedures and standards for police officers and firefighters seeking duty‑related disability benefits.

Senator Mark Meek, sponsor of the measure, told the committee SB 588 A is intended to “keep our promise to Oregon’s police officers and firefighters” by bringing timelier and fairer processing to disability claims. Meek said the measure is the product of stakeholder work with PERS, firefighters and police associations, and pushed to resolve long delays and denials affecting members with serious duty‑related injuries, including post‑traumatic stress disorder.

Heather Case, senior policy advisor at PERS, told the committee PERS takes no position on the bill but outlined the agency’s view of its effects. Key provisions described in the bill and by PERS staff include:
- Referral timelines: Cases where a police officer or firefighter requests a contested‑case hearing must be referred to the Office of Administrative Hearings within 180 days of the request, with an option for a 360‑day referral if the member requests an extension. PERS must also refer currently backlogged requests within 360 days after the bill’s effective date. PERS staff said the bill has an emergency clause and would be effective on passage.
- Eligibility standard: The bill changes the disability definition for police and fire members so they are considered disabled if they can no longer perform the work they were performing at the time they became disabled (rather than inability to perform any work for which they are qualified).
- Irregular income safe harbor: For OPSRP (police and fire members under the Oregon Public Service Retirement Plan), irregular or unpredictable income does not cause ineligibility unless it exceeds 10% of the member’s pre‑disability last monthly salary. PERS staff said the change is intended to allow small volunteer stipends or hobby earnings without terminating benefits.

Case said appeals staff approved 43 of 119 disability contested‑case hearing requests received between January 2019 and December 2024, and reiterated the agency’s offer to help implement reporting changes for participating employers.

Why it matters
Supporters say the bill shortens wait times, brings definitions in line with contemporary medical understanding of conditions such as PTSD, and prevents small irregular income sources from causing benefit termination. PERS staff noted the change affects tier 1, tier 2 and OPSRP police and fire members and includes an applicability clause for open applications that have not yet been referred to a hearing.

Next steps
The committee closed the public hearing and did not record committee action on the bill during this session; sponsor and PERS staff signaled continued stakeholder work on implementation.","The House Committee on Labor and Workplace Standards on April 28 heard testimony on SB 588 A, which would set timelines for contested‑case referrals and revise disability eligibility rules for police officers and firefighters under PERS.",{"_33":101,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":102,"_41":103,"_43":104,"_45":105,"_47":106,"_49":107,"_51":108,"_53":109,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":110,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":111,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6259343,"Committee hears support to add OHSU chaplains to PERS taxable housing‑allowance rule",224,341000,565000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3141575-c17c01798d8e066bc50c4b676edda0f5&start=341&end=565","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3141575-c17c01798d8e066bc50c4b676edda0f5/thumbnail_341000.jpg","/articles/6259343/Oregon/Committee-hears-support-to-add-OHSU-chaplains-to-PERS-taxable-housingallowance-rule","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6259343-f92712cde861b1504c01dfa00118649b/orig.mp4?Expires=1770886604&Signature=bAjm081RD97cBSXZZM1nkocvRpS2uyEBWtS0Q-3ggL8nyx7qzxlSPjCCbpDxgzKo9V4rDcwD9mbg2pu5ZGFPPFg-gHxCid~ZKybQLFmiUVGx6yVZyeaegS8frmwz6Tf68w6vdtSIxFvVh6LxzZekFrJz~UihL7qK1MDKUKKGlDTf3nmjb2r2~SOpZR4NEI3L3hCMmzkqZjRZ7aV6SInBx~9qWQ4Ul975HlC6ZE6rfz08v-VpSGcr9rEPWMOCm1ZiSsT3mJm2ImOtKQcrgK-wxWACBsekRV0orTR1OBA8DSBKGRfZjiHMwCH9Km63Xs6kdIOGKW8-JnqJ~Hh7cyQuDQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The House Committee on Labor and Workplace Standards held a public hearing April 28 on Senate Bill 757 A, which would treat housing allowances paid to chaplains at Oregon Health & Science University as taxable income for purposes of calculating PERS (Public Employees Retirement System) subject salary.

Oralis Aguilar, speaking for Oregon AFSCME, told the committee the union supports SB 757 A and described the measure as a technical fix to an oversight. “There’s only currently five individuals at OHSU who are chaplains, and one of them is about to retire,” Aguilar said. Aguilar and AFSCME asked the committee to adopt the bill to extend to OHSU chaplains the same PERS treatment enacted in 2023 for chaplains working at correctional facilities.

Heather Case, senior policy advisor at PERS, said PERS takes no position on the bill but described how the change would work administratively. Case said the bill would add OHSU chaplains to the 2023 change (Senate Bill 128) that included chaplain housing allowances as PERS‑taxable compensation for retirement‑calculation purposes; adding the OHSU chaplains would increase a member’s subject salary and therefore affect IAP contributions and final average salary calculations. Case said PERS stands ready to help OHSU, as a first participating employer, update prior reporting and implement any necessary changes.

Why it matters
Supporters said the bill corrects an omission from the 2023 session and affects a very small group of employees. Witnesses emphasized the chaplains’ role supporting patients, families and staff and described the change as narrowly focused on Tier 3 PERS members and housing allowances paid before, on or after the bill’s effective date.

Next steps
The committee closed the hearing with no recorded vote. PERS staff and AFSCME indicated readiness to work on implementation details if the bill advances.","A public hearing on SB 757 A drew testimony from union and PERS staff seeking a technical fix to include Oregon Health & Science University chaplains in the PERS treatment of housing allowances. Witnesses said the change corrects an omission from 2023 legislation and affects a small number of employees.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Committee advances three paid‑leave technical bills to the House floor

Employment Department briefs committee on SB 916 A: unemployment benefits for striking workers, DOL conformity, and estimated fiscal impact

Bill would speed contested‑case referrals, adjust disability rules for police and firefighters in PERS

Committee hears support to add OHSU chaplains to PERS taxable housing‑allowance rule