If you have questions about your Unemployment Debit Card, please contact our card vendor Conduent at (866) 320-8699.
Need help with a claim or job searching? Visit one of our local Oklahoma Works offices for assistance.
If you have not received LWA benefits, and believe you are eligible please CLICK HERE to verify eligibility.
Before you apply, read through these steps to ensure you're ready to begin filing in order to receive your benefits as soon as possible. If you have a question, scroll down for "Your Questions Answered" or ask the OESC Virtual Agent. You can also find more information about unemployment insurance in one location with our Reemployment Assistance for the Unemployed booklet.
**NOTE - You must apply for regular Unemployment Insurance (UI) before applying for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA)
If you are the victim of domestic violence or abuse and if it has resulted in your separation from employment, you may be eligible for unemployment insurance (UI) benefits. Oklahoma law states: “If the claimant separated from employment due to domestic violence or abuse, verified by any reasonable or confidential documentation, which causes the individual to reasonably believe that the individual’s continued employment would jeopardize the safety of the individual or of any member of the individual’s immediate family.”
Those benefits and many other employment-related services are available free of charge from the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission (OESC) at its 27 local workforce centers located throughout the state. For those transitioning between careers, OESC provides training, educational opportunities, skill-building, resume assistance, networking, and job referrals. For information on reemployment services, contact your nearest Oklahoma Works office or call 1-888-980-WORK (9675).
Accepted Forms of ID Online
Invalid Forms of ID Online
If you can’t verify your identity online, then you will need to visit an Oklahoma Works Office to complete your verification. Find an office near you. Upon arriving at the office, you will be required to have your temperature taken and wear a facemask.
Bring two (2) forms of identification, one (1) primary and one (1) secondary ID. See below for a list of acceptable primary and secondary IDs. Please note, these differ from the accepted forms for online verification.
Primary
Secondary
Once you begin, you will have 30-minutes before your session times out. If you do not complete the process within the 30-minute window your progress may be lost.
To further protect your personal information and prevent fraud, Oklahoma Employment Security Commission (OESC) has implemented an identity verification security feature. You must verify your identity every 90 days.
Non-residents of Oklahoma are required to verify their identity. Verify your identity online with VerifyOK or visit an Oklahoma Works Office nearest you to complete your verification.
Visit a local library or other public facility with computer access, or your nearest Oklahoma Works office for computer access. Also, identity verification is available and optimized for mobile devices, so you can use your smartphone or tablet to verify your identity.
To qualify for the LWA program, claimants must be receiving at least $100 in benefits from OESC and be in one of the eligible groups below:
Proof that claimants are out of work due to COVID-19 will be in the form of a question on the weekly certification, similar to what currently exists on PUA weekly certifications.
There is no additional action or application needed from claimants to access the LWA program benefits.
The LWA program is open to any claimants that certify they are out of work due to COVID-19 and meet the remaining program requirements.
The $100 minimum benefit requirement for the LWA program is based on the pre-tax benefit amount.
Claimants who qualify for this benefit will receive a $300 weekly benefit through FEMA. Oklahoma will fulfill the 25 percent state match through funding that is already paid out to claimants in regular unemployment benefits.
FEMA and the Department of Labor have chosen to cap the LWA program at 6 weeks of benefits. The 6-week cap is the same for all states; OESC and the state of Oklahoma have applied for the maximum amount of benefits available. This means the maximum amount of benefits an individual can receive is $1,800.
Benefits payments will be for Aug. 1 through Sept. 5, which are the six (6) weeks available for this program. These payments will be retroactively available.
Like the majority of states that have applied for the Lost Wages Assistance program, Oklahoma has opted to fulfill the state match of $100 through existing unemployment benefits.
Unemployment insurance is a temporary income intended for individuals who have experienced a loss of work due to no fault of their own when suitable work is not available. In some cases, workers who quit their jobs may qualify. Unemployment Insurance is an insurance paid by Oklahoma employers, and therefor is not available for self-employed, contract, or gig workers.
Anyone who is unemployed may file a claim for unemployment. When filing your initial claim, you will be asked to provide the reason for separation from your last employer of 15 days or longer.
If you quit or resigned, an issue (hold) will be placed on your claim until a determination of eligibility is made by OESC. An individual shall be disqualified for benefits for leaving his or her last work voluntarily without good cause (reference Oklahoma Employment Security Act section 2-405 for more information). There are also certain provisions for leaving work due to compelling family circumstances (reference Oklahoma Employment Security Act section 2-210 for more information).
If you were discharged or fired, an issue (hold) will be placed on your claim until a determination of eligibility is made by OESC. An individual shall be disqualified for benefits if he/she has been discharged for misconduct connected with his/her work. The applicable law regarding this topic can be found in the Oklahoma Employment Security Act under Section 2-406.
Please visit our home page for a detailed walkthrough on how to file for unemployment, and what you'll need for the process.
If you don't have access to internet, you will need to visit one of our local Oklahoma Works offices to file an initial claim. You may also visit any facility with public access computers and go online to ui.ok.gov to begin. For filing weekly claims, or if you need language assistance, you may call 1-800-555-1554 to speak with a representative regarding filing a claim by phone.
To check the status of your claim, visit ui.ok.gov or unemployment.state.ok.us where you can find information regarding the status of your application, recent activity, monetary entitlement, and determinations of eligibility.
The U.S. Department of Labor has established the timeliness standard of twenty-one (21) days for a determination of eligibility, whether it is an approval or denial. Please note that the 21-day timeframe is calculated from the day a claim becomes monetarily eligible.
When you file for unemployment benefits you will be responsible for:
Beginning October 25, 2020, claimants receiving traditional Unemployment Insurance, PEUC, and State Extended Benefits, will be required to register for work using Oklahoma Job Match (okjobmatch.com), or the work registration system in their resident state. Claimants will also be required to complete two (2) work searches each week to receive unemployment benefits.
Individuals who meet one of the below criteria are exempt from having to register and search for work:
The work registration and work search requirements were initially waived due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Executive Orders issued by the Governor and OESC Executive Director that waived these requirements expires October 24, 2020.
You can file an appeal in person, by mail, fax, telephone or email. Include your name, social security number, phone number, date of determination, section of law you are appealing and a detailed explanation of why you disagree with the decision. The mailing address, fax number, telephone number and email address will be listed on your determination.
Beginning October 25, 2020, all claimants filing new unemployment claims will be required to serve the one week waiting-period per Oklahoma law (§40-2-206). The first week individuals file a weekly claim during which all eligibility requirements are met will be considered the waiting period and will have no payments issued.
This requirement was initially waived due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Executive Orders issued by the Governor and OESC Executive Director that waived these requirements expires October 24, 2020.
The separating employer is the most recent employer for whom you have worked 15 days or more. This applies to individuals who are temporarily laid off and to those who have completely separated from employment.
After your initial application for unemployment, OESC will send a Monetary Determination stating your Weekly Benefit Amount (WBA) and Maximum Benefit Amount (MBA). You can also access information about your claim, including monetary entitlements, by visiting ui.ok.gov. For information on how these amounts are calculated, please refer to the Oklahoma Employment Security Act Article 2, sections 104 & 106
You may file a claim upon separation from employment. However, when filing your initial claim you must report the details of the severance package, and any other payments made to you by your employer after separation. A determination will be made as to whether or not the severance payment is deductible from your unemployment benefits.
Unemployment Insurance benefits are subject to federal and state income tax. You must report unemployment benefits you receive when you file your income taxes. By January 31 of each year, the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission will send you a form 1099-G with the amount of benefits you received the prior year. You may elect to have federal and state taxes withheld from your weekly unemployment benefits. If you choose to have taxes withheld, federal taxes of 10% and state taxes of 3% will be deducted from the gross amount of your payment each week.
If a claim is ‘not monetarily eligible’, that means there were not sufficient covered wages in your base period. The base period is the period of time (currently all of calendar year 2019) that we look at to determine monetary eligibility. There are two requirements to be monetarily eligible. First, you must have earned at least $1500 during the base period. Second, the highest quarter of taxable wages must be less than 2x’s the total wages in the remaining three quarters of the base period. The second rule is waived if base period wage have met or exceeded the taxable limit. The taxable limit for 2019 was $18,100. For 2020 it is $18,700.
Yes; however, you must report the amount of money you earned before any deductions were made. Earnings must be reported during the week you earn them, not when you actually receive the payment or paycheck. Work is anything you do for wages, including self-employment, during the seven days of the week you are claiming Unemployment Insurance benefits.
To change information such as your address, please visit ui.ok.gov, or you may call our Service Center or visit a local Oklahoma Works office.
Due to a spike in fraudulent activity, the one-time transfer rule which allows customers to transfer money from the debit card to a bank account will be temporarily suspended. This will not affect direct deposit transfers or debit card registration. In addition, individuals will still be able to complete a bank teller withdrawal free of charge. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Please call our vendor Conduent at 866-320-8699 or visit www.goprogram.com for assistance on any of the below issues.
Conduent is not able to answer these questions:
When filing for unemployment, claimants will be issued a debit card that all unemployment payments will be dispersed to. OESC does not issue checks. Claimants can use the debit card as a regular debit card by activating it upon receipt, or set up direct deposit by transfering the payments from the debit card into your own U.S. banking account, for no fee. To set up direct deposit, claimants must have received their card first to set up the process.
If claimants have previously been issued a debit card for unemployment payments within the past three (3) years, the new payments will be issued to that debit card unless otherwise specified. If that card is no longer accessible, please contact our payment processing vendor Conduent at 1-866-320-8699 or by visiting www.goprogram.com
An Unemployment Insurance benefit debit card will be issued to you at the time your first eligible week processes. It normally takes between 7 - 18 days to receive the card. Do not throw the debit card away. It is valid for three years. If you have previously been issued a debit card for payment within the past three years, your payment will be issued to that debit card unless otherwise specified. If you no longer have your previously issued debit card, please contact Conduent at 1-866-320-8699.
Cards can be expedited by Conduent, but there is a fee for the additional mailing costs. These will be deducted from the balance on the card. There is a limited number of debit cards Conduent can issue in a single day, so in rare cases claimants may be unable to expedite cards.
Please call our debit card vendor Conduent at 866-320-8699. You will need to verify your identity with them so they can remove the flag.
Benefit payments are typically made within 2-3 days of the weekly certification claim being filed. By law, the first payable (or allowable) week of the claim is considered to be a waiting period. Although you must still file your weekly claim (either by phone or internet), you will not be paid for the waiting period week.
No benefits will be paid if:
If there is an 'issue' on your claim that is preventing payment, OESC must investigate the issue and determine whether you are eligible to receive benefits. That process can take varying amounts of time to resolve depending on the issue. If you are approved, payments will be backdated to the date the claim was filed.
To stop your claim, simply discontinue filing weekly claims. No additional payments will be made. To cancel your claim please submit a copy of your Social Security card and government issued ID, along with a written statement detailing the reason for the request. You may fax the request to 405-962-7524.
Weekly claims must be filed within fourteen (14) days of the week ending date to be considered timely. Claims which are filed untimely may not be paid.
If you are medically impacted by COVID, you are exempt from making weekly work search efforts. When completing a weekly claim, answer "yes" to the question, "Did you make the required number of work search efforts for the week ending ___?"
Claimants should keep personal files of medical impact documentation, as these may be requested in lieu of work search efforts.
Our customer service representatives do not have access to view your PIN. If you forgot your number or want to change it, you can reset your PIN online, visit a local Oklahoma Works office, or call us at 1-800-555-1554 to have a representative reset your PIN so you can establish a new one.
After you have filed your initial application for benefits, you must file weekly claims in order to receive compensation. The filing week is from Sunday to Saturday. You cannot file a weekly claim until after the week is over, so it is encouraged to file on Sundays for the previous week. If you attempt to file before the week has ended, your claim will not be accepted.
Weekly claims can be filed online or by calling 1-800-555-1554
Contact our Customer Service Center at 1-800-555-1554 if you encounter any problems when filing your weekly claim. You may also visit one of our local Oklahoma Works offices to receive assistance.
Currently there are two (2) possible extensions for individuals who exhaust regular Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits. The CARES Act included the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program, which is up to a thirteen (13) week extension. The State of Oklahoma then implemented State Extended Benefits, which adds up to another thirteen (13) week extension.
There are currently no extensions available for individuals filing for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA).
Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) is a federal benefit included in the CARES Act in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This program provides up to 39 weeks of unemployment benefits to self-employed, contract, and gig workers who are not traditionally eligible for regular Unemployment Insurance (UI). This program remains in effect until 12/26/2020.
To begin filing for a PUA claim, please visit www.ui.ok.gov. Once you've completed the PUA initial application, you'll need to file weekly certifications to receive benefits.
PUA is available to unemployed individuals not eligible for regular Unemployment Insurance (UI), which includes State Extended Benefits and Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (PEUC). It does not include individuals able to telework with pay or individuals receiving paid sick or other leave.
PUA benefits are subject to federal income taxes. An option of voluntarily withholding federal income tax from benefits is available. You have the option of having federal income tax in the amount of 10% withheld from your weekly assistance amount (after applicable adjustments such as earnings and retirement).
If you choose to have federal income taxes withheld from your claim, you will be permitted to change your withholding status in the future if you desire. If you desire to change your original decision, you must request a change in through any of our local Oklahoma Works offices.
The computation of the weekly assistance amount for PUA will be based on the gross wages for an unemployed worker and net earnings for self-employed individuals. All wages earned for the performance of services in the most recently completed tax year (2019) will be used to compute the weekly assistance amount.
The weekly assistance amount will be calculated in accordance with Oklahoma Employment Security Law. The weekly amount shall be the weekly amount of compensation that the individual would have been paid as regular unemployment insurance compensation unless the weekly benefit amount is less than 50% of the average weekly payment of regular unemployment insurance benefits. The maximum weekly assistance amount shall not exceed the maximum weekly benefit amount of regular unemployment insurance benefits payable in the state. Employment, wages, and self-employment that are not covered by the Oklahoma Employment Security Law shall be treated in the same manner and with the same effect as covered employment and wages. Employment and wages that are prohibited by federal law shall not be included in the computation of weekly assistance amount
Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) is a federal program that provides up to an extra 13 weeks of unemployment benefits for individuals who have exhausted their regular unemployment insurance benefits. The effective dates for this program are 3-29-20 to 12-26-20.
To qualify for PEUC benefits, an individual must:
Have a benefit year ending after 7-1-2019
Must have exhausted regular benefit allowance
Must file the PEUC application
Individuals whose benefit year has ended since 7-1-2019 will be required to file a new regular unemployment claim before allowing a PEUC claim to be established. This is to determine eligibility for regular unemployment benefits. If the individual is monetarily eligible for a new regular unemployment claim, that claim will be established and paid rather than the PEUC regardless of the change in the Weekly Benefit Amount (WBA). Individuals who establish a new claim that is not monetarily eligible will be allowed to file a PEUC claim.
To file for PEUC benefits, go to ui.ok.gov. In the Access Benefits box in the upper right-hand corner, you will need to either sign in or create an account if you have not already done so. This will require that you enter an email address and password.
If you are creating an account, you will need to complete the registration page. This will require a valid email address, and you must provide a password.
If you already had an account, you must log in to that account.
You will then be taken to your account page. From the account page, select on Apply for Traditional Unemployment Benefits.
Next, click on the button that says Apply for Traditional Unemployment Benefits.
From the next page, go to the bottom, under item 3, Start your Application and click the “Get Started” button.
The first page you see will be the misconduct statement, the next page will ask for your social security number and after you provide that, along with your PIN and possibly security questions, you will be given a menu.
Click the link that says, “File for a claim for Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation.” After you complete your application, depending upon the effective date of the PEUC claim, you may be given the option to file a weekly claim for benefits.
Individuals who are still within a benefit year will be eligible for their regular unemployment claim WBA when filing for PEUC.