AGC of America recently joined 40 national and state business associations and employers in a letter to U.S. Secretary of Labor Chavez DeRemer requesting that the Secretary raise federal conformity and compliance issues with the Oregon Act (S916) that was recently enacted to permit the payment of unemployment compensation to striking workers while on strike. This legislation is contrary to federal requirements in Section 303(a) generally and specifically 303(a)(12) of the Social Security Act as well as 26 USC 3304 in the Internal Revenue Code.
The letter requests that the Secretary raise federal concerns and require that the state of Oregon not implement provisions of S916 that are contrary to federal requirements. Raising concerns now would be timely, as Oregon S916 was enacted to be effective January 1, 2026.
We are hopeful that the Secretary will act to raise these federal conformity and compliance issues with respect to Oregon S916 and other states that have enacted legislation to permit striking workers to be paid unemployment compensation while on strike. Such provisions are clearly contrary to federal law.
For more information, contact Claiborne Guy at claiborne.guy@agc.org.