{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-40-40-3-106","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 40, § 40-3-106","heading":"Benefit wages charged and relief therefrom","body":"BENEFIT WAGES CHARGED AND RELIEF THEREFROM.\n\nA. The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission shall give\n\nnotice to each base period employer after the claimant has been\n\nissued his or her fifth week of benefits by the Commission or after\n\nthe Commission receives notice of the amounts paid as benefits by\n\nanother state under a reciprocal arrangement. This notice shall\n\ngive the name and Social Security number of the claimant, the date\n\nthe claim was filed, and the amount of benefit wages charged to the\n\nemployer in each quarter of the base period.\n\nB. Within twenty (20) days from the date stated on the notice,\n\nthe employer may file an objection to being charged benefit wages as\n\nset forth in subsection G of this section. The employer's written\n\nobjection must set forth specifically:\n\n1. The date employment was terminated;\n\n2. Specific details of the termination including the reason\n\ngiven by the individual for voluntarily leaving the employment, or\n\nthe nature of the misconduct for discharge;\n\n3. Specific details of the regular scheduled part-time or full-\n\ntime employment of the employee including the starting date, and\n\nending date if any, of the continuous period of employment; and\n\n4. Other information as called for by the notice.\n\nC. Upon receipt of the employer's objection, the Commission\n\nshall make a determination and notify the employer as to whether or\n\nnot the employer is entitled to be relieved from benefit wage\n\ncharges. Additionally, the twenty-day time period for filing an\n\nobjection as provided for in subsection B of this section may be\n\nwaived for good cause shown.\n\nD. Within twenty (20) days after the issuing of the\n\ndetermination provided for in subsection C of this section, the\n\nemployer may file with the Assessment Board a protest to the\n\ndetermination and request an oral hearing de novo to present\n\nevidence in support of its protest. The Assessment Board shall\n\nadvise the employer of the date of the hearing, which shall not be\n\nless than ten (10) days from the date of notice. At the discretion\n\nof the Commission, this hearing shall be conducted by the Assessment\n\nBoard. After the hearing, the Assessment Board shall notify the\n\nemployer of its findings.\n\nE. If any employer does not file a timely appeal of the\n\ndetermination to the Assessment Board, the determination shall be\n\nfinal.\n\nF. The employer or the Commission may appeal the Assessment\n\nBoard's order of the Commission or its representative to the\n\ndistrict court by filing a petition for review with the district\n\ncourt clerk within thirty (30) days after the date the order was\n\nissued to all parties.\n\nG. The benefit wages charged to an employer for a given\n\ncalendar year shall be the total of the benefit wages stated in the\n\nnotices given to the employer. Provided, that an employer shall be\n\nrelieved of a benefit wage charge if the employer proves to the\n\nsatisfaction of the Commission that the benefit wage charge includes\n\nwages paid by the employer to any employee or former employee, who:\n\n1. Voluntarily left employment without good cause connected to\n\nthe work;\n\n2. Was discharged from employment for misconduct connected with\n\nhis or her work;\n\n3. Was a regular scheduled employee of the separating employer\n\nprior to the week the employee separated from other employment, and\n\ncontinued to work for the employer through the fifth compensable\n\nweek of unemployment of the established benefit year;\n\n4. Was separated from employment as a direct result of a major\n\nnatural disaster, declared as such by the President pursuant to the\n\nDisaster Relief Act of 1974, P.L. 93-288, and such employee would\n\nhave been entitled to disaster unemployment assistance if he or she\n\nhad not received unemployment insurance benefits;\n\n5. Was discharged by an employer for unsatisfactory performance\n\nduring an initial employment probationary period. As used in this\nch by the President pursuant to the\n\nDisaster Relief Act of 1974, P.L. 93-288, and such employee would\n\nhave been entitled to disaster unemployment assistance if he or she\n\nhad not received unemployment insurance benefits;\n\n5. Was discharged by an employer for unsatisfactory performance\n\nduring an initial employment probationary period. As used in this\n\nparagraph, \"probationary period\" means a period of time set forth in\n\nan established probationary plan which applies to all employees or a\n\nspecific group of employees and does not exceed ninety (90) calendar\n\ndays from the first day a new employee begins work. The employee\n\nmust be informed of the probationary period within the first seven\n\n(7) work days. There must be conclusive evidence to establish that\n\nthe individual was separated due to unsatisfactory work performance;\n\n6. Left employment to attend training approved under the Trade\n\nAct of 1974 and is allowed unemployment benefits pursuant to Section\n\n2-416 of this title; or\n\n7. Was separated from employment for compelling family\n\ncircumstances as defined in Section 2-210 of this title.\n\nH. If an employer recalls an employee deemed unemployed as\n\ndefined by the Employment Security Act of 1980 and the employee\n\ncontinues to be employed or the employee voluntarily terminates\n\nemployment or is discharged for misconduct within the benefit year,\n\nthe employer shall be entitled to have the benefit wage charged\n\nagainst the employer's experience rating for the employee reduced by\n\nthe ratio of the number of weeks of remaining eligibility of the\n\nemployee to the total number of weeks of entitlement.\n\nI. An employer shall not be assessed a benefit wage charge of a\n\nlaid-off employee if the employer lists as an objection in a\n\nstatement filed in accordance with subsection B of this section that\n\nthe employee collecting benefits was hired to replace a United\n\nStates serviceman or servicewoman called into active duty and laid-\n\noff upon the return to work by that serviceman or servicewoman. The\n\nUnemployment Compensation Fund shall be charged with the benefit\n\nwages of the laid-off employee.\n\nJ. If the Commission receives a notice of amounts paid as\n\nbenefits by another state under a reciprocal agreement, and the\n\nnotice is received after three (3) years from the effective date of\n\nthe underlying benefit claim, no benefit wage charge will be made\n\nagainst the employer identified in the notice, or if a benefit wage\n\ncharge is made based on such a notice, the employer will be relieved\n\nof the charge when the facts are brought to the attention of the\n\nCommission.\n\nK. An employer shall not be eligible to be relieved of a\n\nbenefit wage charge under paragraphs 1 and 2 of subsection G of this\n\nsection if the employer was sent a notice of benefit claim, pursuant\n\nto Section 2-503 of this title, and failed to timely file protest to\n\nthe benefit claim.","path":["OK Code","Title 40"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os40.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"3fb3946b9e0fd76eeecd2591a194a45b9c5ae6a46b0a09dc67fbd70886f02d9f","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-40-40-3-105","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-40-40-3-106.1"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}