01 June 2017 Arkansas law prevents localities from imposing paid leave and other employment benefits Recently enacted SB 668 (Act 643) prohibits Arkansas localities from passing and enforcing laws/ordinances (i.e., minimum wage increases, paid sick leave) that require employers to provide employment benefits exceeding those mandated under federal or state law. The new law does not retroactively preempt local ordinances enacted prior to the effective date of the Act; however, there is currently no Arkansas locality imposing a minimum wage higher than the state minimum. The Arkansas state minimum wage is currently $8.50 per hour. See the Economic Policy Institute’s website for an all-state chart of the state and local minimum wages currently in effect throughout the US. Arkansas joins several states that have recently enacted legislation (i.e., Iowa, Ohio, South Carolina) to halt the trend of city/local ordinances that enforce unique minimum wage, paid leave or other employment requirements beyond that required under state or federal law.
Document ID: 2017-0890 | ||||||||||
