Oklahoma Labor Laws

In the US, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) manages the time spent by employees in the workplace, safeguarding their rights and guaranteeing fair pay for their efforts. These laws act as directives for employers, keeping them in check and minimizing any forms of abuse or exploitation.

Employers and employees in Oklahoma must adhere to both federal and state time management laws. Where employers and employees are covered by federal law, state regulations do not apply. A brief overview of minimum wage, overtime, and break laws in the state is as follows: 

Employers who violate state time management laws can face severe legal ramifications, including fines, back pay, and damages. If workers believe their employer has violated their wage rights, they can file a complaint with the Oklahoma Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Unit for investigation and legal action.

According to Oklahoma labor law, employers are prohibited from refusing to hire, discharging, segregating, or treating an applicant, employee, or member of a labor organization unfairly based solely on certain protected characteristics, such as:

Oklahoma also follows the at-will employment policy, meaning employers and employees can terminate an employment contract at any point in time, with or without reason and without legal consequences, unless a contract outlines specific terms of discharge. However, it is unlawful for an employer to fire an employee based on discrimination against protected characteristics or in retaliation for whistleblowing.  

After termination, final wages in Oklahoma must be paid to an employee by their next regularly scheduled payday. An employer who fails to pay a worker’s final wages on time is liable to pay additional wages calculated at two percent of the unpaid wages for each day the payment is delayed.

Some additional labor laws that influence employment in Oklahoma include the following:

• Workplace Safety Laws: In Oklahoma, workplace safety is regulated by both federal and state laws. Private sector employees are protected by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), which enforces safety regulations by identifying potential workplace hazards and provides training to employers and employees to prevent injuries and deaths. Public sector workers in Oklahoma are covered by the Public Employees Occupational Safety and Health (PEOSH) program, which aims to reduce workplace fatalities and improve working conditions with health and safety inspections to facilitate employee training, outreach activities, and consultations, as well as workplace safety policymaking.
• Health Insurance Continuation Laws: Under the federal Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), employee and their dependents can continue to receive group health insurance for 18 to 36 months that would otherwise discontinue due to a qualifying life event, including termination of employment, reduced work hours, divorce, or death. Only employers with 20 or more full-time employees are required to provide continued health insurance under COBRA. Note that eligible employees can be required to pay up to 102% of the plan’s premium cost. Employers with 19 or fewer employees are required to provide employees with continued health insurance for a maximum of 12 months under Oklahoma’s Mini-COBRA. 
• Whistleblower Laws: Whistleblower laws in Oklahoma protect employees from retaliation for reporting an employer’s misconduct, illegal activity, or workplace safety concerns to relevant authorities. Retaliatory actions can include termination, demotion, overtime and promotion denial, reduced hours, blacklisting, loss of benefits, threats, harassment, or disciplinary actions. 
• Recordkeeping Laws: The FLSA requires employers in Oklahoma to maintain employment records for all non-exempt workers for at least three years. These records should include the employee’s name, address, birthday (if younger than 19), sex, occupation, daily and weekly work hours, work schedule, wage rate, overtime hours and earnings, additions, and deductions from wages, payment date, and total wages paid in each pay period. Records that are used to calculate the employee’s wages, such as timesheets and time cards, must be maintained for two years.

A minimum wage is the lowest amount of remuneration that employers are legally required to pay their employees. Currently, the minimum hourly wage in Oklahoma is $7.25, which is the same as the federal minimum wage. 

Note that businesses covered by federal law are required to pay their employees at least $7.25 per hour. Furthermore, employers are only required to pay the state-mandated minimum wage if they have ten or more full-time employees or earn over $100,000 a year in profits.

A tipped employee is defined as a worker who customarily receives gratuities from customers as part of their regular income. 

In Oklahoma, there is no specific tip-earning threshold for an employee to qualify as a tipped worker, hence, all tipped workers covered by federal law must be paid a minimum cash wage of $2.13 per hour. This means employers can retain a tip credit of $5.12.

There are some exceptions to minimum wage requirements for tipped employees in Oklahoma. Employers excluded from FLSA coverage must pay their tipped employees 50% of the state minimum wage, i.e., $3.62 per hour. On the other hand, businesses that earn $100,000 or less or have fewer than 10 employees can pay tipped employees a minimum cash wage of $2.00 per hour whilst retaining $5.25 as tip credit.

However, all employers in Oklahoma must ensure that a tipped worker’s cash wage and earned tips equal the state minimum wage. If not, the employer is required to make up the difference. 

Oklahoma labor law excludes certain occupations from the definition of employee. By extension, these professions are excluded from state minimum wage requirements and include the following:  

• Farm and ranch workers, including personnel working with animals and machinery
• Maids
• Federal government workers
• Employees working in charities, churches, and non-profit organizations
• Newspaper carriers and vendors
• Railroad workers
• Employees covered by federal minimum wage laws
• Executive, professional, and administrative employees who earn at least $684 a week
• Outside salespersons
• Part-time employees working less than 25 hours weekly
• Minors who have not graduated from school
• Feedstore employees
• Reserve deputy sheriffs

Additionally, the FLSA also excludes certain occupations from minimum wage requirements. These exemptions apply if an employer is covered by federal law:

• Casual babysitters
• Care-takers of the elderly
• Disabled workers
• Federal criminal investigators
• Fishermen
• Domestic workers making wreaths
• Newspaper deliverers
• Seamen on non-American vessels
• Switchboard operators
• Employees in limited–circulation newspaper agencies 

All employees in Oklahoma must be paid at least twice per month on regularly set paydays. Paydays must be scheduled within 11 days after a pay period ends. At most, an employer can delay wage payment by three days after the scheduled payday. 

Employers must pay exempt, state, municipal, and county employees at least once a month. 

Oklahoma overtime laws require employers covered by the FLSA to pay employees additional wages if they work more than 40 hours a week. Overtime wages are calculated at 1.5 times the employee’s regular hourly pay for all hours worked as overtime.

Fluctuating Workweek Overtime in Oklahoma

Employees in Oklahoma who have a fixed salary but varying weekly work hours can earn overtime pay under the Fluctuating Workweek Method (FWW), provided certain conditions are met. 

To be eligible for overtime pay under the FWW method, an employee must receive a fixed pay each week in mutual agreement with their employer, regardless of the number of hours they work. They must also earn at least $7.25 per hour. 

Overtime pay under the FWW method is calculated at 0.5 times the employee’s hourly wage for all hours worked over 40 in a week.

In Oklahoma, certain employees may be exempt from overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act. These generally include:

• Executive, administrative, and professional employees who receive a fixed salary of at least $684 per month (or $35,568 per year)
• Computer employees who earn at least $27.63 per hour
• Highly compensated employees earning $107,432 or more annually
• Outside sale employees
• Agricultural or horticultural employees
• Motor carrier employees (e.g., drivers, driver’s helpers, loaders, or mechanics providing services in transportation on highways in interstate or foreign commerce)
• Aircraft, boat, truck, and trailer salespeople
• Domestic workers living in their employer’s residence
• Television station workers in small markets
• Motion picture theatre workers
• Newspaper deliverers
• Seamen on American and non-American vessels
• Taxi drivers
• Railroad workers
• Police officers and firefighters employed in departments with less than five workers
• Workers in forestry and lumber firms with less than nine employees
• Employees working for newspaper agencies with limited circulation
• Livestock auction workers
• Homeworkers making wreaths
• Casual babysitters
• Care-takers of the elderly

Oklahoma break laws do not legally require employers to give employees aged 16 years or older any lunch or rest breaks.

However, if employers choose to provide such breaks at their discretion, they must adhere to the guidelines provided by the FLSA. A break that lasts 30 minutes or more is not paid. However, short breaks lasting between five to 20 minutes must be compensated for.

The Oklahoma State Department of Health entitles nursing employees to reasonably timed breaks for expressing milk or breastfeeding in the workplace. Employees can use their existing meal or rest breaks for this purpose. If insufficient, they can also choose to adjust their work schedule to accommodate breaks for this purpose.

Employers in Oklahoma are required to provide nursing employees with a private space near their work area where they can express milk or breastfeed. This area must not be a toilet and should be free from public intrusion. 

The room must have adequate facilities for the employee to express milk or breastfeed comfortably, including a comfortable sitting space, an electrical outlet, clean water, and washing space. Nursing employees must also be given access to a refrigerator to store pumped milk. 

Oklahoma leave laws provide the following benefits to employees working in the state:

• Family And Medical Leave Act: Eligible employees in Oklahoma can take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave per year under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). FMLA covers all types of public agencies, public and private elementary or secondary schools, and companies with 50 or more employees. To be eligible for leave under FMLA, an employee must have worked for their employer for at least 12 months and 1,250 hours in the last 12-month period. This leave can be used for reasons such as caring for a newborn or foster child or caring for a personal or an immediate family member’s serious health condition.
• Jury Duty Leave: Employees in Oklahoma can take leave to attend jury duty without the risk of employer retaliation or termination. Employers cannot require employees to use accrued time off such as vacation, annual, or sick leave to attend jury leave. An employee can take paid or unpaid time off for jury duty. If they take paid time off, employers must pay the employee for their leave. 
• Voting Leave: In Oklahoma, employers must allow employees to have up to two paid hours of time off for voting. Employees must notify their employer about voting leave (in writing or orally) three days before election day to be eligible for voting leave in Oklahoma. However, if there is a three-hour voting window before or after an employee’s regular work hours, the employer isn’t bound to offer voting leave.

The following is a list of public holidays that will be observed in Oklahoma for the year 2025:

Oklahoma law defines a minor as an individual under the age of 18. The minimum age of employment in Oklahoma is 14. Minors younger than 14 can only be employed on farms, by their parents, in a parent-owned business, or as newspaper vendors or deliverers.

Work Permits for Minors in Oklahoma

Minors aged 14 and 15 are required to obtain a work permit or employment certificate before securing a job in Oklahoma. These minors can also take part in work-based learning programs with a work permit. 

In Oklahoma, work hours and schedules for minors are determined according to their age. Minors aged 14 and 15 can work:

• A maximum of three hours daily during school days, with weekly hours not exceeding 18.
• A maximum of eight hours daily on non-school days or summer break, with weekly hours not exceeding 40. 

Work hours can only be scheduled between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. However, they can be extended until 9 p.m. between June 1 and Labor Day. 

Oklahoma child labor laws do not place any work-hour restrictions on minors aged 16 and older. They are also allowed to work during school hours. 

Breaks for Minors in Oklahoma

Minors aged 14 and 15 are entitled to take a one-hour rest break after eight hours of consecutive work. If they work more than five consecutive hours, they can take a 30-minute rest break.

Following state child labor regulations, minors aged under 18 are prohibited from:

However, minors aged 16 to 18 can be employed in woodworking, metalworking, meat processing, paper processing, jobs involving power tools, roofing, trenching, and excavation if they are enrolled in an apprenticeship or vocational training program.