1. A Guide to Handling Unemployment Claims at the City of Portland Presented by Bureau of Human Resources

2. Information in and/or accompanying this PowerPoint presentation is the property of the City of Portland Bureau of Human Resources, intended only for the use of City employees who are involved with unemployment claims, and may be confidential or privileged in nature. Disclosure, copying, distribution or the taking of any action in reliance on confidential or privileged information without the knowledge and express consent of the Bureau of Human Resources is prohibited. Thank you for your cooperation. Confidentiality Notification

3. Anyone can file a claim for unemployment, anytime, for any reason, regardless of whether they are currently working. Employees are called “Claimants” when they file a claim for unemployment benefits. See page 1 of your workbook for exceptions to this general rule. WHO CAN FILE AN UNEMPLOYMENT CLAIM?

4. WHO PAYS FOR AN UNEMPLOYMENT CLAIM AT THE CITY OF PORTLAND? The City is self-insured for purposes of unemployment. The State charges back to the City the portion of the benefits paid to a Claimant based on the Claimant’s employment with the City. Each Bureau is responsible for covering the cost of its respective employees’ unemployment benefit payouts.

5. WHO PAYS FOR AN UNEMPLOYMENT CLAIM AT THE CITY OF PORTLAND? It is imperative that each Bureau budgets for the amount of benefits that the City may have to pay, especially when considering mass layoffs.

6. HOW MUCH CAN A CLAIMANT RECEIVE, AND FOR HOW LONG? As of February 2014, a Claimant can receive a maximum unemployment benefit of $538 per week, for up to 26 weeks under State law. A Claimant may receive an additional extension of 26 more weeks of benefits if the Claimant meets certain criteria. See page 1 of your workbook at section I. C. for more information.

7. WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR RESPONDING TO AN UNEMPLOYMENT CLAIM? Each Bureau is responsible for responding to its respective employees’ claims for unemployment benefits. Please see Appendix P of your workbook to see who the Unemployment Coordinator is for your Bureau.

8. WHAT TO DO WHEN A WORK SEPARATION OCCURS Whenever there is a work separation, provide the employee with an Unemployment Insurance Summary form with his/her final paycheck. This ensures that BHR is notified if the employee files an unemployment claim. An example is provided in Appendix A of your workbook.

9. WHAT TO DO WHEN A WORK SEPARATION OCCURS Never promise an employee that he/she will receive unemployment benefits when a work separation occurs. Receipt of unemployment benefits is based on eligibility, not need. Further, the State of Oregon determines who receives unemployment; not the City of Portland.

10. WHAT TO DO WHEN A WORK SEPARATION OCCURS Do not promise an employee that the City will not contest an unemployment claim. Our advice is to tell the employee that the City’s sole responsibility in the unemployment process is to provide information regarding the work separation.

11. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN AN UNEMPLOYMENT CLAIM IS FILED? If an employee files an unemployment claim, the City will receive a Notice of Claim Determination (Form 197) and a Notice of Claim Filed (Form 220). BHR logs the date each form was received, and then forwards the forms to the Unemployment Coordinator designated at your Bureau.

12. FORM 197 A Form 197 informs the employer what the potential charges could be if the Claimant is allowed benefits. This will give your Bureau an idea of how much it will have to pay if the Claimant is awarded benefits. See Appendix B of your workbook for an example of a completed Form 197.

13. FORM 197 Complete the Form 197 if there is any incorrect information on the Form 197. You must also complete it if you intend to request a relief of charges. If you intend to request a relief of charges, use the template shown in Appendix D of your workbook. See pages 2-3 of your workbook for additional information.

14. FORM 197 We suggest that your Bureau’s timekeeper(s) respond to Form 197s, since they usually have all of the information.

15. FORM 220: MEET OR BEAT THE DEADLINE The Form 220 requests information from the employer regarding the nature of the work separation. Bureaus must respond to all Form 220s in order to preserve the City’s appeal rights. Your Bureau’s unemployment coordinator should complete a Form 220. See Appendix E of your workbook for an example of what a Form 220 looks like when we receive it.

16. FORM 220: MEET OR BEAT THE DEADLINE The employer must respond to a Form 220 within 10 days. The clock starts ticking from the date the Form 220 was mailed by the Employment Department.

17. FORM 220: MEET OR BEAT THE DEADLINE The due date for the Form 220 is on the upper right hand corner of the Form 220 under the words “Time Sensitive.” Your goal is always to Meet or Beat the Deadline.

18. FORM 220: MEET OR BEAT THE DEADLINE BHR has created a handy checklist to use when completing a Form 220. See Appendix H of your workbook and use that as a guide when completing the Form 220.

19. FORM 220: MEET OR BEAT THE DEADLINE The Employment Department wants to know why the work separation occurred. The best way to explain what happened is to attach copies of documentation to a Form 220, such as: Notices of discharge Letters of resignation Last chance agreements Notices of layoff (due to loss of driver’s license, etc.)

20. FORM 220: MEET OR BEAT THE DEADLINE You can now respond to a Form 220 online. See Appendix G for an example of a completed E- Response. We strongly suggest you respond online, because you will get a written confirmation acknowledging receipt immediately after you submit the response. Keep a copy of the confirmation receipt for your records in the event there is a question about whether you responded in a timely manner.

21. WHAT TO DO WHEN AN UNEMPLOYMENT CLAIM IS FILED Send a copy of the completed Form 220 by interoffice mail to BHR at 106/404. If your Bureau routinely completes Form 220s every month, you can send all of the Form 220s in one envelope on a monthly basis.

22. WHAT TO DO WHEN AN UNEMPLOYMENT CLAIM IS FILED Retain all documents related to an unemployment claim for a minimum of three years, per the City’s Record Retention Schedule.

23. WHAT HAPPENS AFTER A FORM 220 IS RECEIVED BY THE EMPLOYMENT DEPARTMENT The Employment Department will issue an Administrative Decision after it receives the Form 220 from the employer. The decision will either deny benefits to the Claimant or allow benefits to the Claimant. The decision is made based on all information provided to the Employment Department.

24. ADMINISTRATIVE DECISIONS The Employment Department will mail an Administrative Decision to the City only if the City filed a timely Form 220. This is another reason why it is best practice to respond to a Form 220, even in situations where the City agrees that an employee should receive benefits. See Appendix I in your workbook for an example of an Administrative Decision.

25. ADMINISTRATIVE DECISIONS If the decision denies benefits to the Claimant, and the Claimant disagrees with that decision, the Claimant has 20 days to appeal the decision by filing a Request for Hearing with the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH).

26. ADMINISTRATIVE DECISIONS If the decision allows benefits to the Claimant, and the City disagrees with that decision, the City has 20 days to appeal the decision by filing a Request for Hearing with the OAH.

27. ADMINISTRATIVE DECISIONS Inform BHR immediately if you wish to file a Request for Hearing to appeal an Administrative Decision. BHR will discuss it with you and make a recommendation whether to appeal. If BHR recommends that the Bureau appeal, BHR will file the Request for Hearing with the OAH on behalf of your Bureau.

28. portlandonline.com/bhr BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE UNEMPLOYMENT PROCESS AT THE CITY OF PORTLAND

29. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Please see Appendix O of your workbook to review a list of FAQ’s and answers. If you still have questions, please contact your Bureau’s Human Resources Business Partner for further assistance. See Appendix P of your workbook for a list of Bureau contacts for unemployment claims.