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53	53	STATE OF OKLAHOMA
54	54
55	55	1st Session of the 60th Legislature (2025)
56	56
57	57	SENATE BILL 724 By: Frix
58	58
59	59
60	60
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63	63	AS INTRODUCED
64	64
65	65	An Act relating to labor; creating the Expanding
66	66	Public Sector Career Opportunities Act; providing
67	67	short title; defining terms; prohibiting public
68	68	employers from rejecting certain applicants;
69	69	requiring public employers to establish certain
70	70	requirements; exempting educational requirements ;
71	71	establishing experience maximums for certain degrees;
72	72	exempting provisions of this act for certain
73	73	appointments and employees; allowing for certain
74	74	notice and appeals during hiring pr ocess; authorizing
75	75	the Office of Management and Enterprise Services to
76	76	manage appeal process ; providing for promulgation of
77	77	rules; providing for codification; and providing an
78	78	effective date.
79	79
80	80
81	81
82	82
83	83	BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
84	84	SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
85	85	in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 910 of Title 40, unless there is
86	86	created a duplication in num bering, reads as follows:
87	87	This act shall be known and may be cited as the “Expanding
88	88	Public Sector Career Opportunities Act ”.
89	89	SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
90	90	in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 910.1 of Title 40, unless there
91	91	is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
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143	143	A. As used in this act:
144	144	1. “Applicant” means any individual seeking gainful employment
145	145	from a public employer;
146	146	2. “Baseline requirement ” means the minimum skills, prior
147	147	training, or prior experience necessary to perform the primary
148	148	duties of a position;
149	149	3. “Postsecondary degree ” means an associate’s, bachelor’s, or
150	150	postgraduate degree from an accredited institution;
151	151	4. “Direct experience” means any verifiable, previous work
152	152	experience during which:
153	153	a. the applicant’s primary duties were consistent with
154	154	the primary duties of the position currently sought,
155	155	or
156	156	b. the skills necessary to perform the applicant ’s
157	157	primary duties are transferable to the position
158	158	currently sought;
159	159	5. “Hiring consideration” means:
160	160	a. a decision to move an applicant to a subsequent r ound
161	161	in the hiring process,
162	162	b. a decision to include the applicant on a list of
163	163	applicants for consideration by another member of the
164	164	employer’s team,
165	165	c. a decision to offer an a pplicant an interview,
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217	217	d. a decision to promote, retain, increase compensation,
218	218	or provide some other benefit to a current employee of
219	219	a public employer,
220	220	e. an interview held in good faith between the employer
221	221	and the applicant, or
222	222	f. a final offer of empl oyment; and
223	223	6. “Public employer” means any public municipal, county, or
224	224	state agency, or division.
225	225	B. 1. For all hiring considerations, public employers may not
226	226	reject an applicant solely on the basis of the applicant lacking a
227	227	postsecondary degree.
228	228	2. Public employers shall determine baseline requirements for
229	229	applicants for each job posting. Public employers may include:
230	230	a. prior direct experience as a baseline requirement, or
231	231	b. particular certificates and courses as a baseline
232	232	requirement; provided, that a postsecondary degree
233	233	shall not be included as a baseline requirement.
234	234	3. For hiring considerations, public employers shall follow the
235	235	baseline requirements.
236	236	C. Public employers are only permitted to require a minimum
237	237	educational attainment for a position if the public employer
238	238	demonstrates that such educational attainment is necessary for the
239	239	position based on specified skills required for the position that
240	240	can only be obtained through a certain degree.
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292	292	D. 1. As a prerequisite to being exempt un der this section,
293	293	public employers shall dedicate a portion of the job posting to
294	294	substantiating the necessity of a specific postsecondary degree, on
295	295	the basis that:
296	296	a. the postsecondary degree is the only possible measure
297	297	to determine if an applicant poss esses specific
298	298	skills, or
299	299	b. the position requires advanced accreditation or
300	300	licensure that is only available to holders of a
301	301	specific postsecondary degree.
302	302	2. Public employers shall include in their job postings any
303	303	tests, training, apprenticeship, or ot her forms of assessment that
304	304	may validate the competencies of a candidate for a position.
305	305	3. Public employers substituting experience for a postsecondary
306	306	degree may not exceed:
307	307	a. two (2) years of direct experience for an associate ’s
308	308	degree,
309	309	b. four (4) years of direct experience for a bachelor ’s
310	310	degree,
311	311	c. six (6) years of direct experience for a master ’s
312	312	degree,
313	313	d. seven (7) years of direct experience for a
314	314	professional degree, or
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366	366	e. nine (9) years of direct experience for a doctoral
367	367	degree.
368	368	E. Nothing in this act shall apply to appointments pursuant to
369	369	Section 10 of Title 51 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
370	370	F. A solicitation of a public employer for any good or service
371	371	may not set forth any minimum experience or educational requirement
372	372	for proposed contractor personnel in order for a bidder to be
373	373	eligible for award of a contract unless the contracting officer
374	374	includes in the solicitation a written justification that explains
375	375	why the needs of the executive agency cannot be met without any such
376	376	requirement and clarifies how the requirement ensure s the needs are
377	377	met.
378	378	G. 1. Public employe rs shall provide written notice to each
379	379	applicant eliminated from hiring consideration that identifies the
380	380	reason the applicant did not meet the baseline requirements for the
381	381	job posting.
382	382	2. Applicants eliminated from hiring consideration who
383	383	reasonably believe the decision was based on the applicant ’s lack of
384	384	a postsecondary degree may appeal this decision to the Office of
385	385	Management and Enterprise Services.
386	386	3. Any person may r eport open positions with public employers
387	387	in this state that require a postse condary degree and fail to
388	388	include an explanation required in this act.
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440	440	4. If the appeal or report is substantial, the Office of
441	441	Management and Enterprise Services may require the public employer
442	442	to reopen the hiring process, require the public employer to modify
443	443	the job posting, and take other actions as necessary to comply with
444	444	this act.
445	445	H. The Office of Management and Enterprise Services shall
446	446	promulgate the rules necessary f or the implementation of this act.
447	447	SECTION 3. This act shall become effective November 1, 2025.
448	448
449	449	60-1-447 MR 1/15/2025 10:48:06 AM

Oklahoma 2025 Regular Session

Oklahoma Senate Bill SB724 Compare Versions