Senate committee adopts amendment and sends bill to floor to adjust unemployment benefits for lockouts and strikes

The Senate Committee on Labor and Business on March 6 adopted the dash‑4 amendment to Senate Bill 916 and voted to send the amended bill to the Senate floor with a "do pass" recommendation.

Senate Bill 916, as amended by the dash‑4, establishes a process by which individuals otherwise eligible for unemployment insurance (UI) would not be disqualified for UI benefits for any week they are unemployed because of a lockout. The amendment also modifies the treatment of strikes: it provides eligibility language and creates a two‑week waiting‑week rule in certain strike circumstances and includes definitions for "labor dispute," "lockout" and "strike." The measure adds a payback process when an employee who receives UI also later obtains back pay from an employer, and it clarifies how UI payments count toward school‑district employees’ compensation for collective bargaining.

Why it matters: Supporters argued the change would help lower‑paid workers exercise the right to strike without being forced to choose between losing wages and exercising collective action. Opponents, including some local government and small‑business advocates, warned the bill could create unfunded costs for municipalities and small employers.

Key testimony and fiscal context: David Gerstenfeld, director of the Oregon Employment Department, told the committee the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund balance is about $6.4 billion. He said the Legislative Revenue Office (LRO) and department projections estimate a potential revenue impact of roughly $4.4 million over upcoming biennia under the dash‑4 language — about 0.07% of the current trust‑fund balance — and that amount would be insufficient to trigger a change in tax schedules used to set employer payroll tax rates under current statutory formulas. Gerstenfeld also said the department modeled the proposal using historical strike activity; the actuaries used a 10‑year lookback for the initial analysis and a shorter, three‑year lookback raised the estimate modestly but still was not close to thresholds that would change employer tax schedules.

Debate: Senator Hayden said she would vote no, citing concerns from small cities and "mom and pop" businesses that pay into the Employment Department’s fund and questioned whether rate‑setting protections for small employers were sufficient. Senator Pham said she had heard concerns from cities and counties but supported the dash‑4 amendment, saying the changes mitigated some impacts and that protecting low‑wage workers’ ability to strike was important.

Votes and actions: Senator Pham moved to adopt the dash‑4 amendment; the committee adopted the amendment by roll call. The amendment roll call recorded Senators Hayden (No), Pham (Aye), Woods (Aye), Vice Chair Bonham (No) and Chair Taylor (Aye); the amendment was adopted by a 3–2 recorded vote. Senator Pham then moved the amended bill to the floor with a do‑pass recommendation; the committee passed the amended measure on a roll call that recorded Senator Hayden (No), Senator (Bamm) (Aye), Senator Woods (Aye), Vice Chair Bonham (No) and Chair Taylor (Aye) and the chair announced the amended measure passed.

Next steps: The committee sent the amended Senate Bill 916 to the full Senate with a do‑pass recommendation. Vice Chair Bonham signaled that she would file a minority report.