Service Employees International Union Local 503 joined the presidents of Oregon’s seven public universities by sending Oregon Gov. Kate Brown a letter requesting recognition of a misunderstanding regarding higher education workers’ unemployment insurance and work-share eligibility.
The letter, dated July 13, said the Oregon Employment Department had recently found problems with the UI claims of SEIU members. SEIU 503, Oregon’s public services and care provider union, includes 72,000 workers throughout the state. The University of Oregon sublocal of the union is SEIU Local 085, which represents over 1,700 classified employees. Over 230 classified employees at UO have been “put into layoff” due to COVID-19, according to Stephanie Prentiss, president of SEIU 085.
Related: A student’s guide to UO’s campus labor unions
“University employees have been hit hard by the necessary campus closures due to COVID-19,” Melissa Unger, SEIU 503’s executive director, said in a statement. “We’re asking Governor Brown to make sure that impacted workers are able to access unemployment benefits and use work share. These are common-sense steps to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the people who make our universities work.”
The denial of unemployment claims is likely related to a state statute, ORS 657.221, according to the letter. This statute outlines the exceptions of “ineligibility for benefits of certain education institution employees.” It deems educational workers ineligible for unemployment benefits during a “vacation period or holiday recess.”
“However, many of the employees receiving these denials are 12-month employees,” the letter said, “who would have been working through the summer recess if not for the pandemic.”
These service employees who should be working full time do not have summer as a designated vacation period or recess, according to the letter, and their claims for UI should not be denied.
Prentiss said the interpretation of the state statute puts UO’s classified employees, like those working for housing and dining services or Campus Planning and Facilities Management, into the same category as educators who might have this recess.
This was manageable with an adjudication process to correct the problem, Prentiss said, until the COVID-19 pandemic caused a drastic increase in unemployment claims and overwhelmed OED’s already outdated computer software.
The majority of UO’s classified employees haven’t been able to work during the summer because of COVID-19, Prentiss said, and multiple members have reached out to the union saying they can’t get unemployment.
Prentiss said one member reached out to SEIU 085 saying, “I have $30 in my bank account with no end in sight, what am I supposed to do?”
The letter asked OED to allow educational institutions to submit a list of employees seeking UI who would have been employed through the summer if not for COVID-19. After institutions would submit their lists, OED could then continue UI benefits for the employees.
The letter also asked for retroactive benefits from OED for educational employees whose claims were denied but would not return to work after the summer. The letter cited a federal law, 26 U.S.C. 3304(6), that entitles educational employees to a retroactive payment if they are not offered an opportunity to return to work the next academic term.
“Oregon’s statute and regulations are silent on retroactivity, so we respectfully request that you issue guidance consistent with the federal mandate,” the letter said.
Oregon’s Work Share program is intended to provide businesses with an alternative to layoffs during market downturns or other business stressors. According to OED, the program allows employers to reduce work hours for employees, and eligible staff can receive a portion of their regular UI benefits to compensate for the lost wages.
According to the letter sent to Brown, workers who take accrued leave, such as sick or vacation leave, are not “available for work” and therefore ineligible for the service.
This interpretation “incentivizes workers to come to work sick during a pandemic, possibly leading to further outbreaks or infections,” according to the letter, and “runs contrary to June 12 guidance from OHA and HECC, which requires colleges and universities to ‘review and revise where necessary sick-leave and absentee policies to minimize any incentives to work while ill.’”
The letter argued that university-level policy modifications will not be effective if OED’s interpretation still incentivizes employees to go to work if they’re sick, and asked Brown to allow workers to use accrued leave and still remain eligible for work share.
“Members are concerned that they cannot use their vacation leave to take time off and are concerned about accessing sick leave, bereavement leave, and even jury duty because of how the agency has interpreted the regulations around work share,” the letter said.
UO has its own work share program, based on OED’s program, that allows eligible employees to take at least one day off per week until August 15 and receive UI payments in addition to their paycheck.
On July 28, UO announced the UO Employee COVID-19 Relief Fund. The fund is designed to aid employees facing unexpected expenses due to the pandemic. Eligible employees can receive up to $500, tax free, funded through donations. The program began with $50,000 in donor gift funds and is accepting more donations.
“Savings from the program will help offset revenue and expense impacts related to COVID-19 for the University,” according to UO’s Human Resources.
