Repeals Enrolled Senate Bill 916 (2025), which authorized unemployment insurance benefits for individuals who are unemployed due to a strike.
Summary
HB 4109 would repeal Oregon’s 2025 law that allowed unemployment insurance benefits to be paid to workers who are unemployed because of an active strike. The bill removes the strike-benefit provisions added by Enrolled Senate Bill 916 (2025) and restores the prior rule that individuals are disqualified from unemployment benefits when their unemployment is due to a labor dispute in active progress. It also makes conforming changes throughout the unemployment insurance chapter to remove references to strike-related eligibility, back pay treatment, overpayment recovery, and related definitions.
In addition to repealing the strike-benefit framework, the bill revises several unemployment insurance statutes to align with that repeal. It amends provisions governing disqualification, overpayments, waivers, and the Employment Department Special Fraud Control Fund, and it repeals ORS 657.203 outright. The bill also retains and updates existing rules for lockout benefits, misconduct disqualifications, drug/alcohol-related disqualifications, domestic violence-related exceptions, and employer charging rules, but those changes are largely conforming to the removal of strike benefits rather than creating a new program.
Impact
HB 4109 would materially change Oregon unemployment insurance law by eliminating eligibility for benefits tied to active strikes and restoring the general labor-dispute disqualification rule. It would amend multiple sections of ORS chapter 657, including definitions and overpayment provisions, to remove strike-specific language and to ensure the Employment Department’s administration of benefits, repayments, penalties, and fund allocations reflects the repeal. The bill would also repeal ORS 657.203, which is part of the strike-benefit structure enacted in 2025, and would leave lockout benefits under ORS 657.202 in place.
Sentiment
Based on the bill text and available context, the measure appears to be supported by sponsors who want to undo the 2025 expansion of unemployment benefits to striking workers. Because there are no committee transcripts or recorded votes provided, there is no direct evidence of broader legislative debate in the materials supplied. The overall tone of the bill is corrective and rollback-oriented, suggesting support from lawmakers opposed to strike-related UI eligibility and likely concern from labor advocates or supporters of the 2025 law.
Contention
The central point of contention is whether workers unemployed because of an active strike should be eligible for unemployment insurance benefits. Supporters of repeal are likely to argue that strike-related benefits should not be paid from the UI system and that the 2025 law should be reversed. Opponents would likely view the repeal as weakening workers’ leverage in labor disputes and undoing a recent policy change intended to support striking workers. Secondary issues include how to treat back pay, overpayments, and the interaction between strike-related provisions and existing labor-dispute, lockout, and waiver rules.