The following words and terms, when used in this Chapter, shall have the following meaning, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Administrator" means the chief administrative officer of the Human Capital Management Division of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services. The term, as used in this Chapter, includes employees of the Human Capital Management Division of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services to whom the Administrator has delegated authority to act on his or her behalf.

"Appointing Authority" means the chief administrative officer of an agency. As the term is used in the Voluntary Payroll Deduction Rules, the term includes employees of an agency to whom the Appointing Authority has lawfully delegated authority to act on his or her behalf.

"Complaint" means a grievance with respect to any matter relevant to the Administrator's duties under Section 34.70.

"Complainant" means a person or an organization that has submitted a complaint.

"Declaratory ruling" means an explanation of a rule or order and its applicability to a particular matter.

"Dues-paying" means, with respect to a member of an employee association, the member is either currently paying dues or has provided a valid authorization to have such dues withheld from pay and remitted to the association. [62:34.70 (B)(5)]

"Employee association" means a formal and continuing affiliation of state employees with the principle objective of speaking for and benefiting their interests as employees, in which membership is restricted to state employees but unrestricted as to the geographic location of their duty stations, and which has at least 2,000 dues-paying members. An employee organization also falls within this definition.

"Member" means:

1. (A) with respect to a credit union, a shareholder; and
2. (B) with respect to a bank or savings association, an account holder; and,
3. (C) with respect to an employee association, a person who has sought and been granted recognition as one of those within the field of membership as defined by the association's governing instruments.

"Participation" means the total number of state employees reported to the Human Capital Management Division of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services for which amounts withheld from pay for a given month were remitted pursuant to employee authorization to a single billing unit as identified by its Federal Employer (Tax) Identification Number.

"Party" means any person, employee association, educational employee organization, credit union, bank, savings association or insurance organization that is the subject of, or requests, action by the Administrator in connection with any matter relevant to the Administrator's duties under Section 34.70.

"Product vendor" means any of the following entities approved for state employees' voluntary payroll deduction:

1. (A) an entity offering a supplemental retirement plan with a minimum participation of 500 state employees;
2. (B) a private insurance organization with a minimum participation of 500 state employees for supplemental life, accident, or health insurance;
3. (C) a private insurance organization with a minimum participation of 500 state employees for legal services;
4. (D) the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department as publisher of Oklahoma Today magazine.

"Provided for by the State" means:

1. (A) for insurance purposes, the basic health, life, dental, or disability plan or any other such insurance a state agency is authorized to provide for its employees as evidenced by financial participation in those policies or a group policy(s) the agency has negotiated as a basic employment benefit; and
2. (B) for retirement purposes, any state retirement system, deferred compensation program (commonly referred to as deferred annuities), or other retirement plan(s) a state agency is authorized to provide for its employees as evidenced by financial participation in those plans.

"Section 34.70" means Section 34.70 of Title 62 of the Oklahoma Statutes.

"State agency" means any office, department, board, commission, or institution of the State of Oklahoma."

"State employee" means any employee of a state agency.

"Supplemental" means:

1. (A) for insurance purposes, life, accident (including income continuation during disability), legal, and health insurance policies not provided for by the State; and
2. (B) for retirement purposes, plans that provide retirement income benefits and are not provided for by the State. In recognition of the powers conferred upon state institutions of higher education by Section 3905 of Title 70 of the Oklahoma Statutes, the Administrator will follow such institutions' decisions as to whether an insurance policy or retirement plan is a basic or a supplemental employee benefit.

Added at 31 Ok Reg 1346, eff 9-12-14