Oklahoma Administrative Code
Title 260 - Office of Management and Enterprise Services
Chapter 25 - Personnel Administration Rules
Subchapter 7 - Salary and Payroll
Part 3 - PAYROLL
Section 260:25-7-31 - Certification of payrolls

(a) Certification. No state disbursing or auditing officer shall make, approve or take part in making or approving any payment for personal service to any person holding a position in state government, unless the payroll voucher or account of such pay bears the certification of the Appointing Authority that the persons named therein have been appointed and employed in accordance with the provisions of applicable Oklahoma law.

(b) Withholding of certification. The Appointing Authority may for proper cause withhold certification from an entire payroll or from any specific item or items [74:840-1.18(B)]. Whenever the Office of Management and Enterprise Services finds that any person is employed or is proposed to be paid as an employee in any amount not provided for under the provisions of applicable law, the Office of Management and Enterprise Services shall notify the concerned state disbursing or auditing officer. After such notice, the concerned state disbursing or auditing officer shall not approve any payment to such person except in accordance with the provisions of the Act or the Merit Rules.

(c) Recovery of erroneous payments. Any sum paid contrary to any provision of the applicable law may be recovered in an action maintained by any citizen, from any officer who made, approved or authorized such payment or who signed or countersigned a voucher, payroll, check or warrant for such payment, or from the sureties on the official bond of any such officer [74:840-1.18(B)]. All monies recovered in any such action shall be paid into the State Treasury [74:840-1.18(B)].

(d) Right of action by employees employed in contravention to applicable law. Any person appointed or employed in contravention of any provision of applicable law and who performs service for which unpaid, may maintain an action against the officer or officers who purported to appoint or employ the person in order to recover the agreed pay for such services, or the reasonable value thereof if no pay was agreed upon. [74:840-1.18( B)] No officer shall be reimbursed by the state at any time for any sum paid to such person on account of such services [74:840-1.18(B)].

(e) Action to compel payroll certification. If the Appointing Authority wrongfully withholds certification of the payroll voucher or account of any employee, such employee may maintain an action or proceeding in the courts to compel the Appointing Authority to certify such payroll voucher or account [74:840-1.18(B)].