Oklahoma businesses are on the brink of catching a break on taxes, while new measures to fortify the state's unemployment system against fraud have also cleared a significant legislative hurdle. Two house bills, one serving up tax cuts for employers and the other tightening the screws on fraud, sailed through the House and are now on their way to governor's desk.
Senate Bill 911, which was shepherded through the House by Rep. Mark Tedford of Jenks, proposes to dial back the top unemployment tax rate from a steep 9.2% to a more manageable 6.5%. Targeting particularly the small business sector, this bill acknowledges the heavy burden that can befall them with even a minimal number of claims leading to top tier tax rates. Achieving fairness and predictability, SB911 revises outdated scales and, for employers, introduces a new conditional factor rate table, which could significantly ease budgeting headaches. Triggering an unemployment insurance surcharge, previously a concern at $25 million, now requires a doubled threshold amount of $50 million, a move explained in a report by the Oklahoma House News.
The companion piece of legislation, Senate Bill 924, laid out by the same Rep. Tedford, takes on a different beast: unemployment fraud. This bill empowers the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission (OESC) to require in-person interviews when fraud is suspected, and authorizes the rejection of claims when employers are misidentified. By updating problematic statutory language and streamlining judicial review processes, SB924 seeks to improve the efficiency and consistency in appeal cases. Tedford told the Oklahoma House News, "And when fraud slips through the cracks, it hurts everyone. These bills help level the playing field—making taxes fairer and tightening up the system so benefits go where they’re supposed to."
The passage of these bills marks a unanimous nod from the House in favor of reform and represents significant potential changes to the unemployment tax landscape. The new legislation, if signed, is slated to go into effect from November 1. For Oklahoma employers, this could signify an easing of the financial strains associated with high unemployment taxes and a bolstering of their defense against fraudulent unemployment claims. For small business owners, just one or two claims have previously sent their unemployment tax rate sky-high, according to Tedford in an interview with the Oklahoma House News.
