Legislative Update: Oklahoma HB 3595 Insights and Recommendations

Oklahoma HB 3595 Change Notification

This measure requires an individual receiving benefits to apply for the minimum number of weekly work search efforts as required by the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission, as well as to take a skills test and create an account in the online jobs center. It also requires the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission to maintain access to a skills test and an online jobs system that allows employers to post job openings. Failure to apply or participate in an offered interview or skills test for suitable employment will cause termination of benefits for that week.

The measure provides that an individual will be disqualified from receiving benefits for the full period of unemployment next ensuing after the individual fails to do any of the following:

Diligently search for suitable employment at a pay rate generally available in that area of the state in keeping with their prior experience, education, and training.
Make the minimum number of applications for work as required by the Commission with employers who could reasonably be expected to have work available; or
Present oneself as an applicant for employment in a manner designed to encourage favorable employment consideration.

The Commission is authorized to do all the following to verify the eligibility of an initial claim for benefits before paying benefits to that claim:

Require the claimant to submit proof of identity prior to their claim by using identity verification source of service offered by the Commission to verify the identity of all claimants; and
To prevent and detect fraudulent activity, eligibility of claims will be verified using a diverse set of data deemed beneficial by the Commission, including but not limited to IP addresses and various other demographic data.

The Commission is required to investigate any information that may indicate claimant ineligibility prior to paying benefits for the week in which the information was identified and any subsequent week. The Commission may cross-check all claims against any data sets deemed beneficial by the Commission to verify eligibility for benefits, including but not limited to:

The National Association of State Workforce Agencies’ Integrity Data Hub.
The United States Department of Health and Human Services National Directory of New Hires.
The state directory of new hires.
Any inmate database maintained by the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.
The Social Security Administration’s Prisoner Update Processing System.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Vital Statistics System’s Death Record Database.
Death records maintained by the Oklahoma Department of Health; and
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database.