Okla. Stat. tit. 40, § 40-2-422

A. Unemployment benefits based on services by a seasonal worker

performed in seasonal employment are payable only for weeks of

unemployment that occur during the normal seasonal work period.

Benefits shall not be paid based on services performed in seasonal

employment for any week of unemployment that begins during the

period between two (2) successive normal seasonal work periods to

any individual if that individual performs the service in the first

of the normal seasonal work periods and if there is a reasonable

assurance that the individual will perform the service for a

seasonal employer in the second of the normal seasonal work periods.

The notice of reasonable assurance shall be given by the employer to

the employee in writing on or before the last day of work in the

season. If benefits are denied to an individual for any week solely

as a result of this section and the individual is not offered an

opportunity to perform in the second normal seasonal work period for

which reasonable assurance of employment had been given, the

individual is entitled to a retroactive payment of benefits under

this section for each week that the individual previously filed a

timely claim for benefits. An individual may apply for any

retroactive benefits under this section in accordance with the

provisions of Article 2 of the Employment Security Act of 1980.

B. If an individual has been employed by a nonseasonal employer

during the base period of the individual's benefit year, the

individual may become eligible for benefits during that between-

season denial period based only on the wages of the nonseasonal

employment.

C. Not less than twenty (20) days before the estimated

beginning date of a normal seasonal work period, an employer may

apply to the Commission in writing for designation as a seasonal

employer. At the time of application, the employer shall

conspicuously display a copy of the application on the employer's

premises. Within ninety (90) days after receipt of the application,

the Commission shall determine if the employer is a seasonal

employer. The employer may appeal this decision pursuant to the

provisions of Section 3-115 of this title. A determination of the

Commission concerning the status of an employer as a seasonal

employer, or the decision of the Assessment Board or a court of this

state through the administrative appeal process, which has become

final, may be introduced in any proceeding involving a claim for

benefits, and the facts found and decision issued in the

determination or decision shall be conclusive unless substantial

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 40. Labor Page 75

evidence to the contrary is introduced by or on behalf of the

claimant.

D. If the employer is determined to be a seasonal employer, the

employer shall give notice to each employee of the employer's status

as a seasonal employer and the beginning and ending dates of the

employer's normal seasonal work periods, and this notice shall be

given to the employee within the first seven (7) days of employment.

On or before the last day of work in the season, if the employer

intends to issue a notice of reasonable assurance of employment for

the next season, the employer shall also give notice to each

employee advising that the employee shall timely file an initial

application for unemployment benefits at the end of the current

seasonal work period and file timely weekly continued claims

thereafter to preserve the employee's right to receive retroactive

unemployment benefits if such employee is not reemployed by the

seasonal employer in the subsequent normal seasonal work period.

The notice must be on a separate document written in clear and

concise language that states these provisions. Failure of the

employer to give adequate notice as required by this subsection will

result in the termination of the employer as a seasonal employer
active

unemployment benefits if such employee is not reemployed by the

seasonal employer in the subsequent normal seasonal work period.

The notice must be on a separate document written in clear and

concise language that states these provisions. Failure of the

employer to give adequate notice as required by this subsection will

result in the termination of the employer as a seasonal employer

under subsection E of this section and the allowance of any claim in

which the claimant did not receive the required notice.

E. The Commission may issue a determination terminating an

employer's status as a seasonal employer on the Commission's own

motion for good cause, or upon the written request of the employer.

The effective date of a termination determination under this

subsection shall be set by the Commission. A determination under

this subsection may be appealed pursuant to the provisions of

Section 3-115 of this title.

F. An employer whose status as a seasonal employer is

terminated under subsection E of this section shall not reapply for

a seasonal employer status determination until after a regularly

recurring normal seasonal work period has begun and ended.

G. If a seasonal employer informs an employee who received

assurance of being rehired that, despite the assurance, the employee

will not be rehired at the beginning of the employer's next normal

seasonal work period, this section does not prevent the employee

from receiving unemployment benefits in the same manner and to the

same extent he or she would receive benefits under the Employment

Security Act of 1980 from an employer who has not been determined to

be a seasonal employer.

H. A successor of a seasonal employer is considered to be a

seasonal employer unless the successor provides the Commission,

within one hundred twenty (120) days after the transfer, with a

written request for termination of its status as a seasonal employer

in accordance with subsection E of this section.

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 40. Labor Page 76

I. At the time an employee is hired by a seasonal employer, the

employer shall notify the employee in writing if the employee will

be a seasonal worker. The employer shall provide the worker with

written notice of any subsequent change in the employee's status as

a seasonal worker. If an employee of a seasonal employer is denied

benefits because that employee is a seasonal worker, the employee

may contest that designation by filing an appeal pursuant to the

provisions of Part 6 of Article 2 of the Employment Security Act of

1980.

J. As used in this section:

1. "Construction industry" means the work activity designated

in Sector Group 23 – Construction of the North American Industrial

Classification System (NAICS) published by the Executive Office of

the President, Office of Management and Budget, 2017 edition;

2. "Normal seasonal work period" means that period, or those

periods, of time during which an individual is employed in seasonal

employment, as determined by the Commission;

3. "Seasonal employment" means the employment of one or more

individuals primarily hired to perform services during regularly

recurring periods of twenty-six (26) weeks or less in any fifty-two-

week period other than services in the construction industry;

4. "Seasonal employer" means an employer, other than an

employer in the construction industry, who applies to the Commission

for designation as a seasonal employer and whom the Commission

determines to be an employer whose operations and business require

employees engaged in seasonal employment; and

5. "Seasonal worker" means a worker who has been paid wages by

a seasonal employer for work performed only during the normal

seasonal work period.