Newberry: unemployment reforms will produce savings for Oklahoma employers next year

Sen. Dan Newberry today said most Oklahoma employers will pay lower unemployment taxes in 2015, due in part to key unemployment measures signed into law in recent years. Reforms have strengthened the state’s workforce system and unemployment insurance trust fund, allowing for lower unemployment benefit payments, he said.

As a result, the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission (OESC) this week announced that unemployment tax rates for all Oklahoma employers will be dropping to the minimum rate next year.

“Reforms that have brought increased efficiency to the state’s workforce system are already generating savings for Oklahoma employers, and I’m pleased to hear unemployment tax rates will be even lower next year,” said Newberry, R-Tulsa. “These measures have allowed Oklahoma employers to cut their unemployment costs while protecting injured workers. We want employers to be able to reinvest in Oklahoma, generating even more economic opportunity and job growth.”

OESC reports that lower unemployment tax rates will save Oklahoma businesses $175 to $225 million next year. Newberry has authored and sponsored a number of measures designed to strengthen the state’s unemployment system and keep tax rates low. In 2012, he sponsored House Bill 2204, which provided reforms to deter fraud and encourage unemployed workers to actively seek job opportunities.

This year, Newberry sponsored House Bill 2505, which enacts a number of important reforms to limit exploitation, reduce fraud, and ensure benefits are directed to those who truly need them. HB 2505 goes into effect Nov. 1.