Okla. Stat. tit. 40 § 2-504

Current through Laws 2024, c. 453.

Section 2-504 - Determinations of benefits

A. DETERMINATIONS OF BENEFITS. A determination upon a claim for benefits shall be made promptly by a representative of the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission. It shall include a statement as to whether, and in what amount claimant is entitled to benefits for the week with respect to which the determination is made. In the event the claimant is determined to be ineligible for or disqualified from benefits under Part 2 or Part 4 of this Article, the determination shall state the reasons therefor. The initial determination in a benefit year shall include a statement as to whether the claimant has been paid the wages required under this act, and if so, the beginning and ending dates of the benefit year, the weekly benefit amount, and the maximum total amount of benefits payable to him or her with respect to such benefit year.

B. The Commission shall do the following to verify the eligibility of an initial claim for benefits before paying benefits to that claim:

1. Require the claimant to submit proof of identity prior to his or her claim by using an identity verification source or service offered by the Commission to verify the identity of all claimants; and

2. 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.

C. The Commission shall 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 in order to verify eligibility for benefits, including but not limited to:

1. The National Association of State Workforce Agencies' Integrity Data Hub;

2. The United States Department of Health and Human Services National Directory of New Hires;

3. The state directory of new hires;

4. Any inmate database maintained by the Oklahoma Department of Corrections;

5. The Social Security Administration's Prisoner Update Processing System;

6. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Vital Statistics System's Death Record Database;

7. Death records maintained by the Oklahoma Department of Health; and

8. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database.

Okla. Stat. tit. 40, § 2-504

Amended by Laws 2024 , c. 309, s. 3, eff. 11/1/2024.

Added by Laws 1980, SB 637, c. 323, § 2-504, emerg. eff. 7/1/1980.