Stitt, Brown say DHS employees to see 13 percent pay raise

Justin Brown and Gov. Kevin Stitt.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt and his new pick to lead the Department of Human Services say more than 3,700 agency employees will be getting a 13 percent pay raise.

Stitt and DHS Director Justin Brown announced the pay hikes Thursday and said most of those receiving the raises are “frontline” employees working in the agency’s 92 field offices across the state.

Brown says the pay boost will bring the salaries of those workers closer to their peers in other state agencies. He says the agency also has more than 500 vacancies that it’s looking to fill in the coming months.

The agency says the raises will be funded through its existing budget.