The Office of Small Business Assistance is standing by to help businesses know how to connect with resources in these troubling times. Our team is tirelessly working on referring businesses to the help they’re asking for. The fastest way to get in touch with the team is by emailing business.sos@oregon.gov or using the “Need Help?” button found on most state agency websites or visiting www.oregon.gov/smallbusiness.
The team has been getting a lot of questions from business owners having to lay off or reduce the hours of staff, what needs to be done for employees being released, and asking about how to pay rent and utilities. Businesses with similar questions are encouraged to visit the following websites:
- The Oregon Employment Department’s webpage at http://www.oregon.gov/employ for information on Unemployment options, including the WorkShare program at www.oregonworkshare.com.
- The Oregon Labor and Industries Technical Assistance for Employers page at https://www.oregon.gov/BOLI/TA/pages/index.aspx has information about employer obligations and responsibilities.
- Business Oregon has a robust list of financial resources including non-bank lenders at https://www.oregon4biz.com/Coronavirus-Information/.
- The US Small Business Administration offers disaster assistance in the form of SBA loans to designated states. Information about these loans is available at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/Information/Index.
And finally, the latest information on resources for workers and business owners is available at https://www.oregon.gov/gov/Pages/coronavirus2020.aspx.
