On March 19, 2020, Governor Stitt amended his earlier Executive Order regarding the COVID-19 crisis to address the issue of the significant increase in unemployment claims being filed due to job loss associated with measures being taken to address this public health emergency.

Prior to this crisis, a person who filed a claim for unemployment benefits had a one-week waiting period before any benefits could be paid.

The March 19 Executive Order provides:

“The requirement that an individual be unemployed for a waiting period of one (1) week before benefits are paid, as required by 40 O.S. § 2-206, is hereby waived so long as this Order remains in effect.”

Per the Executive Order, this relief remains in effect for 30 days from the date of the Order – or until April 18, 2020. For further explanation, Governor Stitt issued his first Executive Order addressing COVID-19 on March 17 with the same “30-day” language, meaning that first Executive Order was only in effect for 30 days. Since March 17, he has amended the original Executive Order twice, each time with the same 30-day language. One might reasonably assume that, should the public crisis continue, Governor Stitt would extend this relief to Oklahoma citizens beyond April 18.

By Kristen L. Brightmire and Rebecca D. Bullard
kbrightmire@dsda.com and rbullard@dsda.com