A bipartisan management-labor advisory committee and its stakeholders on Monday described a compromise to change how Oregon calculates temporary disability (time‑loss) benefits for injured workers, saying the proposal would increase pay for lower‑wage claimants while preserving workers' compensation’s wage‑replacement purpose.

The Management‑Labor Advisory Committee (MLAC) and the Workers' Compensation Division presented the interim work that followed last session's Senate Bill 705, which did not pass. MLAC members said weeks of summer meetings, analysis of claims and wage data, and negotiations among more than 30 stakeholders produced a joint recommendation now being refined into bill language.

MLAC management co‑chair Stacy Llewellyn, testifying in her MLAC capacity, said the subcommittee reviewed data and multiple calculation methods and landed on a graduated formula intended to reduce disparities that left lower‑wage workers with too little to cover basic expenses. "We looked at several different options, but eventually the stakeholders collaborated and came together with a proposal that was presented to MLAC on November 6," Llewellyn said.

Scott Strickland, MLAC labor co‑chair, said the process began about 18 months ago after AFSCME advanced SB 705 and evolved into a broad stakeholder effort. "This was kind of a really complicated, really difficult process ... and we had over 30 stakeholders in pretty much every single one of our meetings," Strickland said, praising WCD staff for providing historical context and modeling.

Odalys Aguilar Aguilar of Oregon AFSCME described the policy rationale: the current statutory formula (66 2/3 percent of a worker's average weekly wage, capped at 133 percent of the state's average weekly wage) and current practice left many lower‑wage workers with comparatively low benefits and discouraged filing. "We found that workers just weren't filing at all ... The benefit was so low that they would actually prefer to go back to work injured," Aguilar said.

Kirsten Adams of the Associated General Contractors said employers agreed change was needed but that the subcommittee tried to maintain the intent of workers' compensation as wage replacement rather than a benefit that could pay more than working wages. Adams said the group examined numbers across wage bands to avoid "cliff" effects where a small earnings increase would produce a lower benefit.

WCD modeling presented to the committee illustrated sample workers across wage ranges and compared net take‑home pay under the current formula and the proposed calculation. WCD staff told the committee that the proposed calculation would move many workers' temporary disability pay closer to pre‑injury net pay.

MLAC will still need to review and vote on final bill language. WCD staff indicated the formal MLAC review and vote is expected in early January, with committee members saying they would support a short‑session committee bill if labor and management finalize an agreement.

The committee closed the informational hearing with no formal action taken; MLAC and stakeholders will return with proposed bill language for the committee’s consideration ahead of the 2026 session.