Beginning January 1, Oregon Striking Workers may be Eligible to Receive Unemployment Benefits
On June 24, 2025, Oregon Senate Bill 916 (“SB 916”) was signed into law by Governor Tina Kotek. Effective January 1, 2026, this statute will eliminate the longstanding “labor dispute” disqualification in Oregon’s unemployment insurance (UI) law, meaning that workers who are unemployed due to a strike or lockout may, if otherwise eligible, receive unemployment benefits.
Key features:
- Uniquely, the law covers both public and private employees. Oregon will be the first state to extend UI eligibility to striking public employees.
- After a two-week wait (one week of unpaid strike time plus the standard UI waiting week) a striking employee may begin receiving UI benefits.
- Benefits are capped at 10 weeks for the strike-related period.
- If the worker later receives back pay from the employer to settle the dispute, any UI benefits paid must be repaid.
- For school districts or education service districts, the law requires that future wages of the employee be deducted to recover any UI benefits charged.
The Oregon Employment Department (OED) recently filed a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking with the Secretary of State and held a public hearing on November 19, 2025, regarding proposed administrative rules to implement SB 916. Notably, the proposed rule clarifies that a striking or locked-out worker will be considered “actively seeking work” when: (1) they are unemployed due to a labor dispute; (2) there is an expectation that they will return to work for their employer when the labor dispute ends; and (3) they are willing and available to return to work at the end of the labor dispute. The proposed rules therefore seek to exempt striking employees from the general unemployment benefit eligibility requirement that an individual must be willing to work, looking for work, and accepting appropriate work when it is offered. If you wish to comment on the proposed rule change you may send written comments by email to no later than December 5, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. PST.
For now, affected employers should update their HR and payroll policies, including revising handbooks, ensuring payroll systems can flag and track striker status for UI reporting, and confirm benefit eligibility/continuation rules for striking workers. School districts should also review wage-deduction procedures for recovering UI benefit charges.
If you have any questions regarding SB 916 or how to prepare for the rule change, please contact Christina at 971-867-2728 or .
Posted by Christina Joseph.
