DOGE impacts federal employment in Oklahoma

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) - President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, spearheaded by Elon Musk, continues to slash the size of the government. 

"I think we do need to delete entire agencies,” said Musk, in a previous interview with NBC news.

The directive targets workers categorized as probationary, meaning they're within their first one or two years on the job. Nationwide that's more than 200,000 federal employees.

"Our impact in Oklahoma has been so far, fairly small compared to other states,” said Christopher O’Brien, the Vice President of the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission. “But we are very well aware of what could happen, and so we're very much prepared internally to see and even the larger spike." 

Despite the small impact so far, some are wondering: Are now, or soon to be former, federal employees in Oklahoma eligible to collect unemployment?

"Every citizen's right is to file a claim for unemployment,” said O’Brien. “So regardless of the reason you were separated, you can still file a claim for unemployment." 

According to the OESC, these are the main eligibility requirements: 

• Are unemployed through no fault of their own.
• Are able and available to seek and accept work.
• Earned a minimum of $1,500 from a covered employer during their base period.
• Meet the "1 and 1/2 rule" which states that the total wages of the base period must be at least one and a half times the amount of wages earned during the highest quarter of an individual's base period.

NBC News reports letters sent to a number of employees referenced poor performances as the reason they were terminated. Generally, even if this is the case, you can still get unemployment benefits. 

"Performance reasons aren't necessarily misconduct reasons,” said O’Brien. “That doesn't necessarily mean that there's any type of misconduct that's attached to that separation. Misconduct would be something that would prevent you from getting benefits." 

O’Brien said the most efficient way to file is online. He said it’s wise to gather as much documentation as possible to speed up the process. 

"We don't want to lose anybody federal or otherwise who's become separated to another state,” said O’Brien. “We want to present them with opportunities to stay in Oklahoma." 

Here is a link to the OESC claimant handbook.