Oklahoma is offering $1,200 to a limited number of unemployed workers who head back to work Dale Denwalt, Oklahoman Replay Video Oklahoma will pay people $1,200 to get off unemployment benefits and start working. Gov. Kevin Stitt signed an executive order creating the Return to Work Incentive, which incentivizes finding a job instead of continuing to claim unemployment benefits. The first 20,000 people who qualify and apply for the program will receive $1,200 after completing six weeks of a new job. "Our challenge is not to get businesses back open; we've done that. It's been getting employees back to work," Stitt said Monday. "Without a doubt, one of the factors causing this has been the continued extension of extra federal benefits."