Bend man with disabilities loses job, hasn’t found new one in time of COVID-19

Jessie Hatley has been unemployed since let go by Opportunity Foundation

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The last few months have been hard for many, but especially for Jessie Hatley, a disabled Bend man.

Hatley has been unemployed since the middle of March, when he was let go from Opportunity Foundation Thrift Store in Bend, where he had worked for nearly 10 years. It was the only job Hatley has ever had.

When COVID-19 hit Central Oregon and new regulations were put in place, Hatley was let go. He thought he'd be able to get his job back when restrictions are lifted, but that does not appear to be the case.

The thrift store he worked at is now boarded up and closed until further notice.

A new Oregon law taking effect July 1 will pay people with disabilities the same minimum wage as everyone else, but it is also making it difficult for the Opportunity Foundation to hire back some of its workers.

The non-profit said in a letter sent out last week it would offer unpaid employment path services to its former employees. Hatley responded to that with a laugh.

Hatley is also unable to receive unemployment because he worked for a nonprofit.

Still, while Hatley is confident he'll be able to find another job, he and his mother are still a little unsure as to when that may happen.

"As a mother of a person with disabilities, I know how hard it is for them to find a job," said Tamie Davis, Hatley's mother. "That's why he was working at Opportunity Foundation. So that was one of the only places for people with disabilities to go and get job experience -- and now that that's gone."