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1 STATE OF OKLAHOMA
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2 1st Session of the 60th Legislature (2025)
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3 SENATE BILL 254 By: Dossett
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6 AS INTRODUCED
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7 An Act relating to paid family and medical leave;
7 authorizing the Department of Labor to contract with
8 a qualified third-party actuary for certain purpose;
8 stating purpose; providing for contents of actuarial
9 report; defining term; requiring third-party actuary
9 to model and compare certain conditions for report;
10 allowing for collaboration with certain groups to
10 identify certain conditions for the report; requiring
11 qualified third-party actuary to establish timeline
11 for implementation based on certain conditions;
12 specifying that the actuary study shall follow
12 certain guidelines; providing for promulgation of
13 rules; providing for codification; and providing an
13 effective date.
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16 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
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17 SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
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18 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 950 of Title 40, unless there is
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19 created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
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20 A. By January 1, 2027, the Department of Labor shall contract
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21 for the services of a qualified third-party actuary to perform an
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22 actuarial study for a paid family and medical leave insurance
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23 program in this state including, but not limited to, the startup
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24 costs of the program, costs for the state to administer the program,
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Req. No. 716 Page 1
1 outreach and education costs, the premium contributions necessary to
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2 maintain the solvency of the program for a period of five (5) to ten
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3 (10) years, potential trends in claim experience over time, and
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4 total annual revenues, expenditures, and reserves. The actuarial
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5 study shall be completed and shared with the public no later than
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6 thirty (30) days after the completion of the study. Through
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7 utilization of relevant data including, but not limited to, other
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8 state paid family and medical leave insurance programs, short-term
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9 disability claims, family and medical leave data from the federal
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10 government, and a review of the experience, structure, and policy
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11 design of other state paid family and medical leave programs, the
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12 actuarial study shall consider the following program parameters as
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13 they relate to the premiums necessary to maintain solvency:
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14 1. The purposes for which paid family and medical leave can be
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15 used including, but not limited to, bonding with a new child, caring
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16 for a family member with a serious health condition, recovering from
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17 a serious health condition, addressing medical and nonmedical needs
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18 arising from domestic violence and sexual assault, and addressing
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19 military family and caregiving needs related to a family member's
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20 deployment;
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21 2. Coverage of all public, private, and nonprofit sector
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22 employees in this state within the scope of the paid family and
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23 medical leave insurance program's rights and protections including,
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24 but not limited to, a breakdown of requirement coverage of employees
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Req. No. 716 Page 2
1 of this state and employees of public subdivisions within this
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2 state;
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3 3. Coverage of self-employed workers, at the option of the
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4 worker, within the scope of the paid family and medical leave
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5 insurance program's rights and protections;
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6 4. The eligibility standard for workers to qualify for paid
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7 family and medical leave benefits including, but not limited to,
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8 earnings requirements, minimum hours worked, other such earnings,
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9 and work history metrics;
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10 5. Utilization of an inclusive family definition to afford
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11 workers the right to take paid family and medical leave to care for
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12 immediate members of the family, regardless of legal or biological
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13 relation;
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14 6. Use of a social insurance model for the paid family and
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15 medical leave insurance program wherein workers and employers share
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16 the premium costs of the program including, but not limited to:
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17 a. exempt the smallest employers from contributing to the
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18 program while still including their employees within
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19 the scope of the program,
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20 b. exempt self-employed workers who opt into the program
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21 from contributing the employer portion of premium
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22 costs to the program, and
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23 c. limit premium contributions to wages not exceeding the
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24 contribution and benefit base limit established
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Req. No. 716 Page 3
1 annually by the federal Social Security Administration
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2 for purposes of the federal Old-Age, Survivors, and
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3 Disability Insurance program limits pursuant to 42
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4 U.S.C., Section 430;
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5 7. Utilization of a graduated wage replacement rate that
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6 ensures that low-wage workers receive a higher wage replacement
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7 level and can afford to take paid family and medical leave, as
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8 compared to a flat rate of wage replacement;
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9 8. Inclusion of an equitable maximum weekly benefit rate that
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10 adjusts annually based on the statewide average weekly wage and
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11 ensures that workers can afford to take paid family and medical
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12 leave;
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13 9. A maximum leave duration, not below twelve (12) weeks of
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14 leave per year;
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15 10. Inclusion of an unpaid waiting period during which workers
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16 do not receive paid family and medical leave wage replacement
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17 benefits not to exceed the first seven (7) calendar days of one's
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18 leave, as compared to the lack of any such waiting period;
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19 11. A right to reinstatement for all employees upon returning
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20 from a period of paid family and medical leave, and its effect on
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21 program usage; and
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22 12. Based on information provided by this state and in
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23 partnership with this state, the estimated administrative costs to
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24 the state for implementing and administering the paid family and
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1 medical leave insurance program including, but not limited to, costs
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2 associated with outreach, education, enforcement, and data
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3 collection.
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4 B. As used in this section, "qualified third-party actuary"
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5 means an actuary who is not employed by this state and who meets the
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6 qualification standards for the American Academy of Actuaries for
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7 the scope of the actuary requested in this section.
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8 C. The qualified third-party actuary shall model and compare
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9 the costs including, but not limited to, the premium rates necessary
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10 to achieve solvency, of at least two different paid family and
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11 medical leave insurance program models based on the policy
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12 parameters provided in subsection A of this section. Beyond the
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13 initial startup years in which benefits are paid out, the reserves
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14 accounted for pursuant to subsection A of this section shall be
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15 approximately one hundred thirty-five percent (135%) of the benefits
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16 paid during the previous fiscal year plus an amount equal to one
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17 hundred percent (100%) of the cost of administration of the payment
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18 of those benefits during the previous fiscal year, less the amount
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19 of net assets remaining with the paid family and medical leave
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20 insurance programs at the end of the previous fiscal year.
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21 D. The qualified third-party actuary shall utilize data that is
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22 relevant to this state, such as workforce and demographic data about
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23 the population of this state, as may be required to perform an
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24 actuarial study pursuant to subsection A of this section.
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1 E. The Department, in conjunction with the qualified third-
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2 party actuary and a public stakeholder working group, shall identify
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3 the program parameters for the qualified third-party actuary to use
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4 for each program that is modeled, with the model components based on
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5 the paid family and medical insurance programs adopted in other
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6 states.
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7 F. The qualified third-party actuary shall assess a timeline
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8 that benefits the fiscal condition and preferred funding of a paid
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9 family and medical insurance program for the state.
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10 G. The actuarial study as detailed in this section shall be
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11 completed in accordance with the relevant Actuarial Standards of
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12 Practice promulgated by the Actuarial Standards Board.
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13 H. The Department shall promulgate any rules necessary to
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14 implement and administer the provisions of this section.
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15 SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2025.
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17 60-1-716 MR 12/30/2024 6:03:50 PM
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Req. No. 716 Page 6Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.