E-Verify requirement for public employers and contractors
Oklahoma requires all public employers—every department, agency, or instrumentality of the state or a political subdivision—to register with and use the Status Verification System (E-Verify) to verify work authorization for all new employees. Contractors and subcontractors (including contract employees and staffing agencies) performing services under a public contract must likewise use E-Verify or obtain a notarized affidavit from each new employee stating that the individual is a U.S. citizen or lawfully present. Private employers without public contracts have no state E-Verify mandate. The law took effect November 1, 2007.
Source: 25 O.S. §§ 1312–1313
New hire reporting to OESC
Oklahoma requires every employer doing business in the state to report newly hired employees to the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission (OESC). The requirement applies to any person who resides or works in Oklahoma to whom the employer anticipates paying earnings. An "employee" for this purpose is defined by reference to 26 U.S.C. § 3401 et seq. of the Internal Revenue Code—the same definition used for federal income-tax withholding purposes. The statute expressly excludes employees of federal or state agencies performing intelligence or counterintelligence functions if the agency head determines that reporting would endanger the employee or compromise an ongoing investigation.
Reporting deadline
The report must be submitted within 20 days of hiring. Employers who report electronically or magnetically may instead submit reports twice monthly, not less than 12 nor more than 16 days apart. The statute does not provide a choice between these two schedules for paper filers; the 20-day rule controls unless the employer uses electronic or magnetic reporting.
Required information
The report must include the employee's name, address, Social Security number, and date of employment (the first day services are performed for wages). Employer information includes the employer's name, address, and Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN). The OESC also requests the employer's Oklahoma account number if already assigned.
Purpose and data flow
The Child Support Enforcement Division of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services is the official New Hire Registry for Oklahoma. OESC collects the reports and transmits the information to the Child Support Enforcement Division, which matches the data against child support records to locate parents, establish paternity, or enforce existing support orders. The registry also shares information with state agencies administering unemployment insurance, workers' compensation, public assistance, Medicaid, food stamps, vocational rehabilitation, and other programs, and forwards data to the National Directory of New Hires. OESC uses the same data to detect and prevent unemployment insurance fraud and erroneous benefit payments.
Multi-state employers
An employer with employees in multiple states may choose to report all new hires to a single state (the state where its payroll operation is located or another state) instead of reporting separately to each state. To use this option, the employer must notify the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in writing, designating the state that will receive all new hire reports, and must then comply with that state's reporting requirements for all new hires nationwide.
Recalled and rehired employees
An employee who is recalled or rehired after a separation must be reported again. The employer should indicate on the report that the individual is being recalled or rehired, using the return-to-work date. If an employee quits or is terminated before the 20-day reporting deadline expires, the employer still must submit the report (because an employer-employee relationship existed and wages were or will be earned), but should indicate that the individual is no longer employed.
Source: 40 O.S. § 2-802