301.519.9237 exdirector@nesaus.org

6.28.21 –KOKH – OKC Fox

Governor Kevin Stitt’s and the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission’s “Return to Work Incentive” applications open Monday.

The first 20,000 Oklahomans on unemployment to get back into the workforce will receive a $1,200 incentive using funds from the American Rescue Plan.

All federal benefits ended June 26.

“This is the right move for Oklahoma,” said Governor Stitt in a press release in May. “Since our state has been open for business since last June, the biggest challenge facing Oklahoma businesses today is not reopening, it’s finding employees. For Oklahoma to become a Top Ten state, workforce participation must be at a top level and I am committed to doing what I can to help Oklahomans get off the sidelines and into the workforce.”

The Return to Work Incentive is for claimants who received Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, or Unemployment Insurance between May 2 and 15, 2021, and who have completed six consecutive weeks of employment of 32 hours a week or more with the same employer or those with two part-time jobs that equal 32 hours or more with an Oklahoma employer for six consecutive weeks.

Claimants can begin uploading their information along with the six weeks of pay stubs starting today, June 28.

Payments will begin dispersing in the second week of July. The incentive is limited to the first 20,000 approved applicants.

Click here for more information on applying for the incentive.