2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 85A. Administrative Workers' Compensation System › §85A-40. Failure to secure compensation - Summary hearing - Penalties.

A. 1. Any employer who fails to secure compensation required under the Administrative Workers' Compensation Act, upon conviction, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a fine of up to Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) to be deposited in the Workers' Compensation Commission Revolving Fund.
2. This subsection shall not affect any other liability of the employer under the Administrative Workers' Compensation Act.
B. 1. Whenever the Workers' Compensation Commission has reason to believe that any employer required to secure the payment of compensation under the Administrative Workers' Compensation Act has failed to do so, the Commission shall serve on the employer a proposed judgment declaring the employer to be in violation of the Administrative Workers' Compensation Act and containing the amount, if any, of the civil penalty to be assessed against the employer under paragraph 5 of this subsection.
2.
a.
An employer may contest a proposed judgment of the Commission issued under paragraph 1 of this subsection by filing with the Commission, within twenty (20) days of receipt of the proposed judgment, a written request for a hearing.
b.
The request for a hearing does not need to be in any particular form but shall specify the grounds on which the person contests the proposed judgment, the proposed assessment, or both.
c.
If a written request for hearing is not filed with the Commission within the time specified in subparagraph a of this paragraph, the proposed judgment, the proposed penalty or both, shall be a final judgment of the Commission and shall not be subject to further review by any court, except if the employer shows good cause why it did not timely contest the judgment or penalty.
d.
A proposed judgment by the Commission under this section shall be prima facie correct, and the burden is on the employer to prove that the proposed judgment is incorrect.
3.
a.
If the employer alleges that a carrier has contracted to provide it workers' compensation insurance coverage for the period in question, the employer shall include the allegation in its request for hearing and shall name the carrier.
b.
The Commission shall promptly notify the carrier of the employer's allegation and of the date of hearing.
c.
The carrier shall promptly, and no later than five (5) days before the hearing, respond in writing to the employer's allegation by providing evidence of coverage for the period in question or by affirmatively denying the employer's allegation.
4. Hearings under this section shall be procedurally conducted as provided in Sections 69 through 78 of this title.
5. The Commission may assess a fine against an employer who fails to secure the payment of compensation in an amount up to One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) per day of violation payable to the Workers' Compensation Commission Revolving Fund, not to exceed a total of Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) for the first violation.
6. If an employer fails to secure the payment of compensation or pay any civil penalty assessed against the employer after a judgment issued under this section has become final by operation of law or on appeal, the Commission may petition the Oklahoma County District Court or the district court of the county where the employer's principal place of business is located for an order enjoining the employer from engaging in further employment until such time as the employer secures the payment of compensation or makes full payment of all civil penalties.
7. Upon any penalty becoming final under this section, the Commission may institute collection proceedings against any assets of the employer independently or in district court including, but not limited to, an asset hearing, garnishment of income and wages, judgment lien or an intercept of an income tax refund consistent with Section 205.2 of Title 68 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
8. Information subject to subsection A or B of Section 4-508 of Title 40 of the Oklahoma Statutes may be disclosed to the employees of the Commission for purposes of investigation and enforcement of workers' compensation coverage requirements pursuant to this title, and such information shall be admissible in any hearing before an administrative law judge of the Commission.
9. Litigation files and investigatory reports of the Commission arising from enforcement of the provisions of this section shall be confidential pursuant to Section 24A.12 of Title 51 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
Added by Laws 2013, c. 208, § 40, eff. Feb. 1, 2014. Amended by Laws 2019, c. 476, § 16, emerg. eff. May 28, 2019; Laws 2021, c. 583, § 2, emerg. eff. May 28, 2021.