{"id":6673,"date":"2012-05-11T08:40:00","date_gmt":"2012-05-11T13:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/?post_type=resources&p=6673"},"modified":"2026-07-29T11:45:04","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T16:45:04","slug":"arkansas-employment-law","status":"publish","type":"resources","link":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/resources\/hr-compliance\/arkansas-employment-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Arkansas employment law overview"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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by The<\/strong> Brightmine Editorial Team<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Arkansas has a few laws that provide greater protections to employees than federal law, including a higher minimum wage, health care continuation coverage obligations for smaller employers and organ and bone marrow donation leave, but generally follows federal law with respect to topics such as overtime pay, jury duty leave and military leave. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Select Arkansas employment requirements are summarized below to help an employer understand the range of employment laws affecting the employer-employee relationship in the state. An employer must comply with federal, state, and local law. Where there is overlap, complying with the law that offers the greatest rights or benefits to the employee will generally apply. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and worker protections <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Arkansas employers may be required to comply with requirements related to EEO<\/a> and worker protections.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fair employment practices <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Arkansas Civil Rights Act (ACRA) protects several protected classes from employer discrimination, including, but not limited to, race, religion, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions), national origin (including ancestry), and disability. The ACRA also prohibits retaliation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Equal pay <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

An Arkansas employer may not discriminate in the payment of wages based on sex. A variation in pay may be based on a difference in seniority, experience, training, skill, ability, duties or services performed, shift or time of day worked, or any other reasonable differentiation other than sex. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pay transparency <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Arkansas does not have a pay transparency law<\/a> applicable to private employers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Salary history inquiry restrictions <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Arkansas does not restrict an employer from inquiring into or relying upon an applicant’s salary history. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Employee wage disclosure rights <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Arkansas does not have a wage disclosure law applicable to private employers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pregnancy accommodation <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Arkansas does not have requirements for private employers related to pregnancy accommodation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Breastfeeding breaks <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

An employer must provide reasonable unpaid break time to an employee who needs to express breast milk, unless it would create an undue hardship. This can include a paid or unpaid break that the employer already provides. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If providing such a break would create a significant difficulty or expense on the employer, the employer may be excused from providing this break. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Access to personnel files <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Arkansas law does not require private employers to provide employees with access to their personnel files. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whistleblower protections <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Arkansas does not have a whistleblower law applicable to private employers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scheduling <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Arkansas does not have a scheduling law<\/a> applicable to private employers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recruiting and hiring <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Arkansas does not currently have laws relating to credit checks, ban the box<\/a> and E-Verify<\/a> applicable to private employers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wage and hour <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Arkansas employers may be required to comply with certain wage and hour requirements.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Minimum wage <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Minimum Wage<\/a> Act of the State of Arkansas requires an employer with four or more employees to pay employees at least $11.00 an hour. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overtime <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

An employer with four or more employees must pay employees one and one-half times their regular rate of pay for any time worked in excess of 40 hours in one week. An employer does not have to pay overtime compensation<\/a> to the employees who are exempt from overtime payments under federal law and other Arkansas laws. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meal and rest breaks <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In Arkansas, meal breaks are not compensable working time if the employee is completely relieved from duty and the break is 30 minutes or longer. Short rest periods of five to 20 minutes must be counted as hours worked.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, there are extensive meal and rest break requirements for minors in the entertainment industry, which are intertwined with working hour restrictions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Child labor <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Child labor laws<\/a> in Arkansas restrict the occupations in which minors may be employed and the number of hours and times during which they may work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Minors younger than 16 are prohibited from working in establishments that serve alcohol and in a variety of hazardous occupations; however, they may work in retail, food service and gas stations. Minors under the age of 14 may be employed only by a parent’s or guardian’s business during school vacation. Minors over the age of 13 may work during nonschool hours as a seasonal agricultural laborer picking, sorting or hauling any crop with their hands. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Minors who are 16 years old may not work: <\/p>\n\n\n\n