Okla. Stat. tit. 44, § 44-4312

A. Subject to subsections B, C and D of this section and

subject to Section 6 of this act, any person whose absence from a

position of employment is necessitated by reason of service in the

state military forces shall be entitled to the reemployment rights

and benefits and other employment benefits of the Oklahoma Uniformed

Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act if:

1. The person, or an appropriate officer of the state military

forces in which such service is performed, has given advance written

or verbal notice of service to the person's employer;

2. The cumulative length of the absence and of all previous

absences from a position of employment with that employer by reason

of service in the Uniformed Services of the United States does not

exceed five (5) years; and

3. Except as provided in subsection F of this section, the

person reports to, or submits an application for reemployment to,

his or her employer in accordance with the provisions of subsection

E of this section.

B. No notice is required under paragraph 1 of subsection A of

this section if the giving of notice is precluded by military

necessity or, under all of the relevant circumstances, the giving of

notice is otherwise impossible or unreasonable. A determination of

military necessity for the purposes of this subsection shall be made

pursuant to the applicable regulations prescribed by the Secretary

of Defense pursuant to 38 U.S.C., Section 4312 or pursuant to

regulations prescribed by the Adjutant General and shall not be

subject to judicial review.

C. Subsection A of this section shall apply to a person who is

absent from a position of employment by reason of service in the

state military forces if his or her cumulative period of service in

the state military forces, with respect to the employer relationship

for which he or she seeks reemployment, does not exceed five (5)

years, except that any such period of service shall not include any

service:

1. That is required, beyond five (5) years, to complete an

initial period of obligated service;

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 44. Militia Page 199

2. During which the person was unable to obtain orders

releasing him or her from a period of service in the state military

forces before the expiration of the five-year period and the

inability was through no fault of the person;

3. Performed as required pursuant to 32 U.S.C., Section 502 or

503, or to fulfill additional training requirements determined and

certified in writing by the Secretary concerned, to be necessary for

professional development, or for completion of skill training or

retraining;

4. Performed by a member of the state military forces who is:

a. ordered to state active duty in support of a mission

or requirement of the state military forces,

b. ordered to or retained on Title 32 active duty under

32 U.S.C., Section 502(f), or

c. ordered to or retained on state active duty or Title

32 active duty, other than for training, under any

provision of state or federal law to execute the laws

of the state, or suppress insurrections or repel

invasions or for any state emergency declared by the

Governor or the Oklahoma Legislature, as determined by

the Adjutant General for state active duty or by the

Secretary concerned for Title 32 active duty; or

5. Performed as active duty, as defined in 10 U.S.C., Section

101(d)(1).

D. 1. An employer is not required to reemploy a person under

the Oklahoma Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights

Act if:

a. the employer's circumstances have so changed as to

make reemployment impossible or unreasonable,

b. for a person entitled to reemployment under paragraph

3 or 4 of subsection A of Section 9 of this act or

subparagraph b of paragraph 2 of subsection B of

Section 9 of this act, the employment would impose an

undue hardship on the employer, or

c. the employment from which the person leaves to serve
mployer's circumstances have so changed as to

make reemployment impossible or unreasonable,

b. for a person entitled to reemployment under paragraph

3 or 4 of subsection A of Section 9 of this act or

subparagraph b of paragraph 2 of subsection B of

Section 9 of this act, the employment would impose an

undue hardship on the employer, or

c. the employment from which the person leaves to serve

in the state military forces is for a brief,

nonrecurrent period and there is no reasonable

expectation that the employment will continue

indefinitely or for a significant period.

2. In any proceeding involving an issue of whether:

a. any reemployment referred to in paragraph 1 of this

subsection is impossible or unreasonable because of a

change in an employer's circumstances,

b. any accommodation, training, or effort referred to in

paragraph 3 or 4 of subsection A of Section 9 of this

act or subparagraph b of paragraph 2 of subsection B

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 44. Militia Page 200

of Section 9 of this act would impose an undue

hardship on the employer, or

c. the employment referred to in subparagraph c of

paragraph 1 of this subsection is for a brief,

nonrecurrent period and there is no reasonable

expectation that the employment will continue

indefinitely or for a significant period,

the employer shall have the burden of proving the impossibility or

unreasonableness, undue hardship, or the brief or nonrecurrent

nature of the employment without a reasonable expectation of

continuing indefinitely or for a significant period.

E. 1. Subject to paragraph 2 of this subsection, a person

referred to in subsection A of this section shall, upon the

completion of a period of service in the state military forces,

notify the employer referred to in such subsection of the person's

intent to return to a position of employment with such employer as

follows:

a. for a person whose period of service in the state

military forces was less than thirty-one (31) days, by

reporting to the employer:

(1) not later than the beginning of the first full

regularly scheduled work period on the first full

calendar day following the completion of the

period of service and the expiration of eight (8)

hours after a period allowing for the safe

transportation of the person from the place of

that service to the person's residence, or

(2) as soon as possible after the expiration of the

eight-hour period referred to in division (1) of

this subparagraph, if reporting within the period

is impossible or unreasonable through no fault of

the person,

b. for a person who is absent from a position of

employment for a period of any length for the purposes

of an examination to determine the person's fitness to

perform service in the state military forces, by

reporting in the manner and time referred to in

subparagraph a of paragraph 1 of this subsection,

c. for a person whose period of service in the state

military forces was for more than thirty (30) days but

less than one hundred eighty-one (181) days, by

submitting an application for reemployment with the

employer not later than fourteen (14) days after the

completion of the period of service or if submitting

the application within the period is impossible or

unreasonable through no fault of the person, the next

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 44. Militia Page 201

first full calendar day when submission of the

application becomes possible, or

d. for a person whose period of service in the state

military forces was for more than one hundred eighty

(180) days, by submitting an application for

reemployment with the employer not later than ninety
ible or

unreasonable through no fault of the person, the next

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 44. Militia Page 201

first full calendar day when submission of the

application becomes possible, or

d. for a person whose period of service in the state

military forces was for more than one hundred eighty

(180) days, by submitting an application for

reemployment with the employer not later than ninety

(90) days after the completion of the period of

service.

2. a. A person who is hospitalized for, or convalescing

from, an illness or injury incurred in, or aggravated

during, the performance of service in the state

military forces shall, at the end of the period that

is necessary for the person to recover from such

illness or injury, report to the person's employer,

for a person described in subparagraph a or b of

paragraph 1 of this subsection or submit an

application for reemployment with such employer, for a

person described in subparagraph c or d of paragraph 1

of this subsection. Except as provided in

subparagraph b of this paragraph, the period of

recovery shall not exceed two (2) years.

b. The two-year period shall be extended by the minimum

time required to accommodate the circumstances beyond

the person's control which make reporting within the

period specified in subparagraph a of this paragraph

impossible or unreasonable.

3. A person who fails to report or apply for employment or

reemployment within the appropriate period specified in this

subsection shall not automatically forfeit his or her entitlement to

the rights and benefits referred to in subsection A of this section

but shall be subject to the conduct rules, established policy, and

general practices of the employer pertaining to explanations and

discipline with respect to absence from scheduled work.

F. 1. A person who submits an application for reemployment in

accordance with subparagraph c or d of paragraph 1 of subsection E

of this section or paragraph 2 of subsection E of this section shall

provide to his or her employer, upon request of the employer,

documentation to establish that:

a. his or her application is timely,

b. he or she has not exceeded the service limitations

provided in paragraph 2 of subsection A of this

section, except as permitted under subsection C of

this section, and

c. his or her entitlement to the benefits under this act

has not been terminated pursuant to Section 6 of this

act.

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 44. Militia Page 202

2. Documentation of any matter referred to in paragraph 1 of

this subsection that satisfies regulations prescribed by the

Commissioner of Labor shall satisfy the documentation requirements

in such paragraph.

3. a. Except as provided in subparagraph b of this

paragraph, the failure of a person to provide

documentation that satisfies regulations prescribed

pursuant to paragraph 2 of this subsection shall not

be a basis for denying reemployment in accordance with

the provisions of the Oklahoma Uniformed Services

Employment and Reemployment Rights Act if the failure

occurs because such documentation does not exist or is

not readily available at the time of the request of

the employer. If, after reemployment, documentation

becomes available that establishes the person does not

meet one or more of the requirements referred to in

subparagraphs a, b and c of paragraph 1 of this

subsection, the employer of such person may terminate

the employment of the person and the provision of any

rights or benefits afforded the person under the

Oklahoma Uniformed Services Employment and

Reemployment Rights Act.

b. An employer who reemploys a person absent from a

position of employment for more than ninety (90) days

may require that the person provide the employer with

the documentation referred to in subparagraph a of

this paragraph before beginning to treat the person as

not having incurred a break in service for pension

purposes.
lahoma Uniformed Services Employment and

Reemployment Rights Act.

b. An employer who reemploys a person absent from a

position of employment for more than ninety (90) days

may require that the person provide the employer with

the documentation referred to in subparagraph a of

this paragraph before beginning to treat the person as

not having incurred a break in service for pension

purposes.

4. An employer shall not delay or attempt to defeat a

reemployment obligation by demanding documentation that does not

then exist or is not then readily available.

G. The right of a person to reemployment pursuant to this

section shall not entitle the person to retention, preference, or

displacement rights over any person with a superior claim under the

provisions of Title 5 of the United States Code relating to veterans

and other preference eligibles.

H. In any determination of a person's entitlement to protection

under the Oklahoma Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment

Rights Act, the timing, frequency, and duration of his or her

training or service, or the nature of the training or service,

including voluntary service, in the state military forces shall not

be a basis for denying protection of the Oklahoma Uniformed Services

Employment and Reemployment Rights Act if the service does not

exceed the limitations set forth in subsection C of this section and

the notice requirements established in paragraph 1 of subsection A

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 44. Militia Page 203

of this section and the notification requirements established in

subsection E of this section are met.