The current minimum wage in Arkansas is $11.
Wage and hour law stipulates that employers with fewer than four employees may pay the federal minimum wage.
The current minimum wage for tipped employees is $2.64.
Arkansas law allows employees to participate in tip pooling arrangements. They must consent to participating in arrangements where the employer collects all tips and redistributes them according to a predetermined policy.
Arkansas labor laws require employers with 4 or more employees to pay non-exempt employees overtime at a rate of 1½ times their regular rate when they work more than 40 hours in a workweek.
The federal overtime rule stipulates that the minimum salary requirement for administrative, professional, and executive exemptions is $684 per week, or $35,568 per year. Workers making at least this salary level may be eligible for overtime based on their job duties.
Arkansas does not require employers to provide meal breaks.
If employers choose to provide breaks, breaks less than 20 minutes must be paid. Meal periods do not need to be paid as long as the employees are free to do as they wish.
Lactating employees must be provided with a private place that is close to their work area to express milk and reasonable break time to do so. The space may not be a toilet stall.
Employers may require employees to take their lactation breaks during their rest and meal breaks if possible and that they make reasonable efforts to minimize disruption to the operations of the business.
If standard paid breaks are provided, time taken in excess of those breaks may be unpaid.
If no paid breaks are provided, all time may be unpaid. (Exempt employees’ pay may not be affected by lactation break time.)
Employers may be exempted from these requirements if they can show that providing the accommodation would create an undue hardship.