New hiring laws in Oklahoma for 2027: medical marijuana testing, clean slate sealing, higher OSBI fees, CPA paths and roofing endorsements

As of November 2026, most of Oklahoma's 2026 hiring changes took effect November 1, 2026, the state's usual date for new laws. HB 3127 lets employers act on a medical marijuana patient's positive test under a written policy that complies with the state testing act and puts safety-sensitive jobs under a zero-tolerance standard. SB 1921 raises the OSBI's Oklahoma criminal history fee from $15 to $20, SB 1277 requires unemployment claimants to make three work search actions a week, and HB 4317 rewrites the education routes to a CPA certificate. Earlier, SB 2030 rewrote expungement and clean slate sealing from July 1, 2026, and from January 1, 2027 residential roofing work needs a roofer endorsement and a new consumer privacy law begins, one that leaves employment data out.

Oklahoma passed no pay transparency, salary history, ban-the-box, AI hiring or private-employer E-Verify law in 2026. Each item below links to the bill's page on the Legislature's site, which carries the enrolled text, the Governor's action and the staff bill summaries. The standing checklist (OESC account, Oklahoma Tax Commission withholding, the OK-W-4, workers' compensation and new-hire reporting) is in our Oklahoma hiring hub; this page is the dated list of what is new.

Which Oklahoma hiring laws changed in 2026, and what changes in 2027?

Oklahoma measures and the federal rules that apply to Oklahoma employers, sorted by date.

What changed for medical marijuana and drug testing on November 1, 2026?

HB 3127, approved April 17, 2026, amends 63 O.S. 427.8. Unless federal law or federal funding requires otherwise, an employer still may not refuse to hire, discipline or discharge an applicant or employee "solely on the basis" of medical marijuana license status, or solely on a positive marijuana test, unless the person has no valid license, possesses, consumes or is under the influence of medical marijuana at work or while fulfilling job duties, or, new from November 1, "such action is taken pursuant to a written drug and alcohol testing policy adopted and enforced in accordance with the Standards for Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing Act." The act adds that "an applicant or employee employed in a safety-sensitive position ... shall be subject to a zero-tolerance drug and alcohol standard," whatever the employer's policy says for other jobs. A safety-sensitive position is one where the employee performs listed duties, such as operating vehicles, machinery or power tools, handling hazardous materials, firefighting, utilities work, dispensing pharmaceuticals, carrying a firearm, or direct patient or child care.

The exception only helps an employer whose testing program actually follows the state testing act, which has its own written policy and procedure requirements. The comparison of the old and new rules, and the testing act's requirements, are in Oklahoma drug testing laws.

What changed for criminal records and background checks?

• Felony classes. Since January 1, 2026, the Oklahoma Sentencing Modernization Act of 2024 places every felony in a class: "Class Y" for first degree murder and Classes A1 to A3, B1 to B6, C1, C2 and D1 to D3 for the rest, as later amended by HB 2104 and HB 2105 of 2025. If a report shows a class designation, judge the offense itself against the job, not the letter.
• Clean slate and expungement. SB 2030, approved May 11, 2026 and effective July 1, 2026, rewrites 22 O.S. 18 and 19. Clean slate eligible records can be sealed without a court petition, subject to funds; the OSBI must open an online portal for expedited requests by November 1, 2026 and begin an automatic sealing process on or before November 1, 2027. Employers "shall not, in any application or interview or otherwise, require an applicant to disclose any information contained in sealed records," and an applicant "may state that no such action has ever occurred." As sealing proceeds, fewer older records will appear in state searches.
• OSBI fees. SB 1921 became law without the Governor's signature and took effect November 1, 2026. Its fee schedule in 74 O.S. 150.9 sets "Oklahoma criminal history record only" at $20 each, the same record with fingerprint analysis at $25, and a national record with fingerprint analysis at $41 submitted electronically or $55 by mail. Budget for the increase if you or your screening company order state searches.

The full picture, including the OSBI's open name search and the Long-term Care Security Act checks, is in Oklahoma background check laws. With the EEOC's 2012 guidance rescinded, a job-related review using the Green factors from the 1975 Eighth Circuit case (the nature and gravity of the offense, the time since it and the nature of the job) remains a sound way to decide, and Title VII still applies; Oklahoma's ban-the-box picture is in Oklahoma ban-the-box.

What changed in unemployment and workers' compensation?

SB 1277, approved May 11, 2026, amends 40 O.S. 2-417 from November 1, 2026. A claimant must "conduct three weekly search actions, or more if required" by the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission, and acceptable actions include "submitting a resume to an employer," "completing and submitting a job application" and "attending and completing an interview with an employer." Recruiters may see more applications from claimants; screen them on the same job-related criteria as everyone else.

SB 1944, approved May 12, 2026, raises the payroll threshold in the Administrative Workers' Compensation Act's agricultural exemption: a person employed in agriculture, ranching or horticulture is outside the definition of employee if the employer's prior-year payroll for those workers was under $250,000, up from $100,000. The exemption also applies to an independent contractor who meets at least four of five listed conditions, such as controlling how the work is done and being paid per job. Farms and ranches near the old threshold should recheck their coverage.

What changed for licensed professionals and contractors?

• CPAs. HB 4317, approved May 5, 2026, lets an applicant qualify with a post-baccalaureate degree or a bachelor's degree plus 30 semester credit hours and one year of experience, or a bachelor's degree with an accounting concentration and two years, with the accounting course content set out by date in the act.
• Roofing. Under HB 3800, from January 1, 2027 roofing contractors doing residential work need a residential roofer endorsement from the Construction Industries Board, earned with an exam score of at least 70%. Contractors registered and in good standing on that date have until January 1, 2028 to pass the exam or complete ten hours of approved continuing education, and holders of a current commercial roofer endorsement are exempt from both.
• Health care licenses. SB 1653 adopts the Occupational Therapy Licensure Compact and SB 540 the Dentist and Dental Hygienist Compact; SB 1557 moves licensing of behavior analysts and assistant behavior analysts to the State Board of Examiners of Psychologists with a national criminal history check; and SB 1651 creates a special training license for physicians in postgraduate training.
• Teachers. SB 346 replaces the prior district's letter with an affidavit that must say whether the teacher was the subject of an allegation of inappropriate behavior with a student and how any investigation ended, and the hiring district must contact the prior district to confirm it.

Does Oklahoma's new privacy law cover applicant data?

No. SB 546, approved March 20, 2026 and effective January 1, 2027, gives consumers rights to access, correct and delete data held by larger businesses, but its definition of consumer "does not include an individual acting in a commercial or employment context." Candidate and employee records stay under the FCRA and the state rules above.

Which federal hiring changes apply in Oklahoma?

• Form I-9. The USCIS Form I-9 page lists the 01/20/25 edition as current and the 08/01/23 edition as valid until its 05/31/2027 expiration.
• Work permits. The DHS final rule effective October 14, 2026 ends automatic EAD extensions in the affected categories; see I-9 and the EAD automatic extension.
• E-Verify. Public employers and their contractors must already verify new hires under 25 O.S. 1313, as E-Verify requirements in Oklahoma explains. Since August 11, 2026 the Status Change Report lists invalidated EADs in five categories, to be reverified on Supplement B without a new case, and records last updated on or before December 31, 2016 are disposed of on January 11, 2027.
• Federal contractors. The OFCCP's Executive Order 11246 rules ended October 26, 2026, under 91 FR 54444.

What did not change in Oklahoma?

• No pay range or salary history law; see Oklahoma pay transparency and Oklahoma salary history.
• No private-employer E-Verify mandate; the 2026 bill to create one was not enacted.
• Non-competes still cannot stop a former employee from working in the same business, though they may bar direct solicitation of established customers; see Oklahoma non-compete law.
• Recording interviews still needs one party's consent; see Oklahoma recording consent for interviews.

What should Oklahoma employers do now, and before January 1, 2027?

1. Check your written drug and alcohol testing policy against the state testing act before acting on a medical marijuana positive, and list which positions are safety-sensitive under 63 O.S. 427.8.
2. Word criminal history questions to exclude sealed and expunged records, and expect clean slate sealing to remove more records over time.
3. Budget for the higher OSBI fees in background check costs.
4. Confirm roofer endorsements for residential roofing crews before January 1, 2027, and track the January 1, 2028 grandfathering deadline.
5. Update CPA job requirements so ads do not demand 150 credit hours.
6. Check Form I-9 editions and work permit dates, and download any E-Verify cases from 2016 or earlier by January 8, 2027.

What does this mean for staffing agencies in Oklahoma?

Oklahoma no longer licenses employment agencies, as our Oklahoma staffing agency guide explains, so the 2026 changes reach agencies as employers. An agency that tests its own temporary workers needs its own compliant written policy before acting on a medical marijuana positive, and should agree with each client which assignments are safety-sensitive. Agencies that supply direct-care staff to nursing homes or home care agencies still run the state's long-term care checks before placement, and pay the higher OSBI fees where they order state searches. Employer of record rules are in employer of record in Oklahoma, and other states' 2027 changes are in new hiring laws for 2027.