The Oklahoma employment
law guide

Employers must pay their nonexempt employees at least semimonthly on regular paydays the employer chooses in advance. They may pay exempt employees as well as state, county, and municipal employees monthly. The payday must be within 11 days of the end of the pay period. Each pay period, employers must provide employees with a statement of deductions from their pay.

Employers who run background checks should ensure they’re following the requirements of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Oklahoma requires that employers conduct background checks on the following types of employees: Childcare facility personnel; Those providing personal care to people on Medicare or Medicaid.

Employers may not obtain a credit report on an applicant or employee unless they comply with the following requirements: Give the applicant or employee written notice that they will request a credit report and may use it for employment purposes; Include a box on the written notice for the applicant or employee to check if they want to receive a copy of their credit report; If the applicant or employee requests a copy of their credit report, ask the credit reporting agency to provide it to them when they request the report; Pay for the credit report without charging the applicant or employee.

Employers are prohibited from asking applicants about sealed arrest records, or certain “non-serious offenses,” or from taking adverse action because an applicant refused to provide information about a sealed record. Applicants do not need to provide information about sealed records and may answer in the negative to questions about arrests or convictions if the applicable records are sealed.

At least ten days before conducting any drug or alcohol testing, an employer must provide their employees or applicants with a copy of their written policy that has the specifics of their testing program.

An employer can only require testing under the following circumstances: Hiring or transferring an employee; If the employer reasonably believes that the employee is under the influence of drugs or alcohol; After a workplace accident that resulted in an injury or property damage; Randomly as long as all employees in the same classification or group are tested; Routinely scheduled as part of the employer’s policy; For up to two years after the employee completes a drug or alcohol rehabilitation program.

Employers must pay their employees for their time spent taking a drug or alcohol test and must cover the costs of the test. If the employee disputes a positive test, the employer may require that the employee pay for a second test; however, the employer must pay for the second test if it comes back negative.

Courts in Oklahoma have recognized public policy arguments in the past. This means that an employee who is discriminated against or terminated for doing something in the interest of the public—such as reporting violations of law or dangerous working conditions—may be able to overcome the employer’s argument that employment was at-will.

COBRA is a federal law that allows many employees to continue their health insurance benefits after their employment ends. Because federal COBRA only applies to employers that have 20 or more employees, many states have adopted their own versions of the law, which are known as “mini-COBRAs.” Oklahoma’s mini-COBRA allows employees to continue their coverage for up to 63 days. We recommend that employers inform their insurer of an employee’s triggering event as soon as it occurs.

An Oklahoma employer may not: Require an employee or prospective employee to disclose a user name and password or other means of authentication for accessing a personal online social media account through an electronic communications device; Require an employee or prospective employee to access the employee’s or prospective employee’s personal online social media account in the presence of the employer in a manner that enables the employer to observe the contents of such accounts if the account’s contents are not available to the general public, except pursuant to an investigation as provided in subsection D of this act; Take retaliatory personnel action that materially and negatively affects the terms and conditions of employment against an employee solely for refusal to give the employer the user name or password to the employee’s personal online social media account; Refuse to hire a prospective employee solely as a result of the prospective employee’s refusal to give the employer the user name and password to the prospective employee’s personal online social media account.

Employers may not discriminate against an applicant or employee solely on the basis of their status as a medical marijuana cardholder. Employers may not refuse to hire an applicant or discipline an employee based solely on a positive drug test unless the applicant or employee doesn’t have a valid medical cannabis license; the employee has, uses, or is under the influence of marijuana at or during work; or the position is safety sensitive. In addition, Oklahoma law does not limit an employer’s ability to comply with federal law or obtain federal funding.

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