Latest Oklahoma Headlines

All the headlines from our Oklahoma Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Oklahoma Unemployment Insurance Tax Rates to Jump in 2011

Aug 6 2010 // The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission (OESC) has issued a notice to business owners that most Oklahoma employers can expect to see increases in their state unemployment insurance (UI) tax rates for 2011. Funds...

Oklahoma Files to Liquidate Pegasus Insurance Co.

Aug 5 2010 // Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner has filed an application to liquidate workers’ compensation insurance provider, Pegasus Insurance Co. Inc. (PICI). The company was placed into rehabilitation in June. Pegasus...

Midwest Economy: North Dakota Tops Region in Job Growth

Aug 3 2010 // The Institute for Supply Management, formerly the Purchasing Management Association, began formally surveying its membership in 1931 to gauge business conditions. The Creighton Economic Forecasting Group uses the same...

Court: Officer’s Fitness for Duty Exam OK With ADA

Aug 3 2010 // The city of Yakima, Wash., did not violate the Americans with Disabilities Act when it required a police officer to take a “fitness for duty” exam (FFDE) before returning to work. According to court documents...

Crawford, Doak in Oklahoma GOP Insurance Commissioner Runoff

Jul 28 2010 // Former Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John P. Crawford and insurance executive John Doak are headed for an Aug. 24 runoff election for the spot on the GOP ticket for state insurance commissioner. The winner of the runoff...

Oklahoma Insurance Chief Challenges Medicaid Tax

Jul 22 2010 // Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland has asked the Oklahoma Supreme Court to strike down a new state law designed to raise revenue for the state’s Medicaid program. The law imposes a fee on health insurance...

Louisiana, Texas Gain Jobs in June; Arkansas, Oklahoma Post Losses

Jul 21 2010 // The South Central states of Louisiana and Texas posted job gains for the month of June, but Arkansas and Oklahoma saw slight losses in employment. The Louisiana Workforce Commission reported Louisiana’s seasonally...

Oklahoma Traffic Fatalities Decline in June

Jul 21 2010 // Oklahoma Department of Public Safety officials report a decrease in traffic fatalities for the month of June 2010. Fatalities in June totaled 55 compared to 83 in the same month last year. Eight motorcyclists and seven...

Business Moves

Jul 19 2010 // AJ Gallagher, Bowen, Miclette Insurance brokerage and risk management services firm Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired the operations of Bowen, Miclette, Britt & Merry of Arkansas Inc. in Fort Smith, Ark.,...

Some Question Campaign Run by Oklahoma Workers’ Comp Judge

Jul 7 2010 // The presiding judge of the Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Court has created a furor by choosing to retain his post while running for a job as an Oklahoma County district judge. Some attorneys say Judge Kent Eldridge...

Midlands to Provide Work Comp Program for Oklahoma Restaurants

Jul 6 2010 // Oklahoma City-based Midlands Management Corp. announced it has been selected as the endorsed workers’ compensation program provider for members of the Oklahoma Restaurant Association (ORA). In choosing Midlands as...

Oklahoma Placing Pegasus Insurance into Rehabilitation

Jul 5 2010 // A district court judge has authorized Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland to place Pegasus Insurance Co. into rehabilita-tion. Pegasus specializes in workers’ compensation for professional employer...

People

Jul 5 2010 // The Independent Insurance Agents of Texas (IIAT) elected David Wood, vice president and partner at Bogan, Dunlap & Wood Insurance in Odessa, to serve as the association’s president for 2010-2011. Other newly...

Oklahoma to Place Pegasus Insurance into Rehabilitation

Jun 25 2010 // A district court judge has authorized Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland to place Pegasus Insurance Company into rehabilitation. Pegasus specializes in workers’ compensation for professional employer...

Oklahoma State Revenue Up but So Is Unemployment Rate

Jun 23 2010 // The good news is that state revenue in Oklahoma is improving. The bad news is that the state’s unemployment rate is increasing. The state Board of Equalization has certified revenue that will be available to pay for...

Lawmakers Say Insurance Reform Veto Will Cost Oklahoma Agencies

Jun 22 2010 // Republican lawmakers in Oklahoma say a gubernatorial veto will keep numerous agencies, including some of the state’s largest, from saving millions in health care costs. Legislation that supporters say would have...

People

Jun 21 2010 // Lloyd Eisenrich, president of Weatherby-Eisenrich Inc. in Andrews, Texas, has been elected president of Combined Agents of America LLC (CAA), headquartered in Austin. The other members of the 2010 CAA management committee...

May Storms in Oklahoma Caused $1B in Damage

Jun 21 2010 // One of the most destructive weather months in Oklahoma history could end up having the state’s highest insurance loss payout in recent memory, industry experts have said. It will be months before all the claims are...

San Francisco Cell Phone Radiation Law Gets Preliminary OK

Jun 17 2010 // San Francisco could soon start requiring retailers to post notices showing how much radiation is emitted by the cell phones they sell. The Board of Supervisors voted 10-1 to give preliminary approval to the ordinance,...

Revamp of Oklahoma Workers’ Comp System Signed by Governor

Jun 15 2010 // Legislation intended to improve the Oklahoma workers’ compensation system for injured workers was signed into law June11 by Gov. Brad Henry. The governor’s signature on the measure also reduces by one the...