State Could Begin Talking to Businesses Early on Opt Out Program

By John P. Kamin, ReporterThe Oklahoma Insurance Department will begin accepting applications from employers who want to opt out of the state workers' compensation system as early as November to help kick-start the new program, even though the statute that allows alternative coverage does not take effect until Feb. 1, 2014. After Gov. Mary Fallin signed Senate Bill 1062 into law on May 6, employers were uncertain about how smoothly the bill's "opt out" provision would function. The provision allows employers to opt-out of the workers' compensation system if they provide an alternat...