Fair Employment Practices | Several protected classes from employer discrimination are covered by the Arkansas Civil Rights Act (ACRA) provisions which apply to employers with nine or more employees, including race, religion, gender, national origin, genetic information, military service, and disability. |
Equal Pay | Arkansas law prohibits gender-based wage discrimination by employers. Any legitimate distinction other than gender may be used to justify a compensation differential, including seniority, experience, training, skill, aptitude, duties or services rendered, shift or time of day worked, and seniority. |
Minimum Wage | Employers in the state of Arkansas are required to pay their workers a minimum wage of $11.00 per hour under the Minimum Wage Act. |
Child Labor | Minors under 16 are not allowed to work in places that serve alcohol or in several dangerous jobs, although they are allowed to work in retail, food service, and petrol stations. During summer, minors under 14 may only work for a parent's or guardian's company. Children over 13 may operate as seasonal agricultural laborers during non-school hours, picking, sorting, or moving any product with their hands. |
Pay Frequency | All businesses operating in Arkansas must pay their salespeople, mechanics, laborers, and other service personnel at least twice a month.
Companies with a gross annual income of $500,000 or more must pay nonexempt employees at least semimonthly, and managers and executives are exempt from the federal Fair Labour Standards Act (FLSA) and earn more than $25,000 annually every month. |
Health Care Continuation | According to the Arkansas health care continuation statute, companies must offer employees and their dependents the option of maintaining health insurance if their coverage stops due to a change in their marital status, losing their jobs, or ceasing to be a part of the group health plan. |
Leaves of Absence | All employers are subject to many rules in Arkansas regarding mandated time off and leaves of absence for workers. These statutes cover leave for jury service, crime victim leave, voting leave, military leave, and leave for organ or bone marrow donation. |
Smoke-Free Workplace | All workplaces in Arkansas must comply with the Arkansas Clean Indoor Air Act, which forbids smoking in enclosed spaces such as conference rooms, private offices, elevators, corridors, cafeterias, employee lounges, stairs, and restrooms. |
Weapons in the Workplace | In some situations, an employer may not forbid a worker with a concealed handgun license from storing or moving a lawfully possessed handgun in the employee's vehicle in a business parking lot. |
Safe Driving Practices | According to Arkansas law, no driver can text, send emails, access the internet, read, post, or access social networking sites while operating a motor vehicle. |
Final Pay | When an employee gets fired involuntarily, their final salary must be paid by the following regular payday. The employee is entitled to twice the amount of unpaid wages if the company doesn't pay the last earnings within seven days of the next regular payday. |