Arkansas - Workers’ Rights

Definition of agricultural worker under state law:

• “Agricultural labor,” as defined under the Arkansas chapter governing the Department of Workforce Services at ARK. CODE ANN. § 11-10-210(f)(1).

Wages and Overtime

Minimum Wage

• Arkansas has a state minimum wage law.  (Arkansas Code Annotated § 11-4-210)
• The Arkansas minimum wage is $11.00 per hour.
•  Agricultural workers exempt from the FLSA minimum wage provisions are generally exempt from the Arkansas minimum wage law (Arkansas Code Annotated § 11-4-203(3)(F), (H), (I) and (J))

Overtime

• While Arkansas has a state overtime law, agricultural workers are expressly exempt. (ARK. CODE ANN. § 11-4-211(b) and (c)). A court recently noted that the definition of “agricultural employees” under the Arkansas overtime statute is “the same definition, essentially” as that of FLSA, despite the lack of definition in the overtime statute. (See Cea v. Cobb-Vantress, Inc., 2019 WL 1607291 (W.D. Ark. Apr. 15, 2019).

State Enforcement Agency

State Enforcement Agency:
Arkansas Department of Labor: 

Website: https://www.labor.arkansas.gov/wage-claims
Relevant Forms: http://labor.publishpath.com/wage-claim-request?__m=2  

Occupational Safety and Health

Workers’ Compensation

• Agricultural workers are not covered by the state workers’ compensation law. Employers may elect to provide workers’ compensation coverage to their employees. (Arkansas Code Annotated  § 11-9-102(11)(A)(iii))

State Enforcement Agency:
Arkansas Workers’ Compensation Commission 

Website: http://www.awcc.state.ar.us/forms.html

Field Sanitation

• Arkansas does not have a state law regarding field sanitation. 

Federal Enforcement Agency:
USDOL, OSHA – Arkansas Office

Website: https://www.osha.gov/contactus/bystate/AR/areaoffice

Pesticide Safety

• Arkansas has a state law regarding pesticide safety in agriculture, the Arkansas Pesticide Control Act (Arkansas Code Annotated § 2-16-401, et seq.)
• Suspected pesticide poisoning is a reportable illness for health care providers. Pesticide poisoning has to be reported within 24 hours. 

State Enforcement Agency:
Arkansas State Plant Board, Pesticide Division

Website: https://www.agriculture.arkansas.gov/worker-protection-standards

Reporting instructions: https://www.healthy.arkansas.gov/images/uploads/pdf/List_and_Instructions_Reportable_Diseases.pdf

Right to Join Unions and Collective Bargaining in Agriculture

• There is no provision (or judicial interpretation of a provision) in the state constitution that grants farmworkers the right to join and organize labor unions free from retaliation.

• Arkansas is a ‘right to work’ state. (Article 34, Section 1, Arkansas Constitution), meaning no person can be compelled to join a union as a condition of employment or be required to pay union dues.  The Arkansas“right to work” provision prohibits denial of employment because a worker is a member or affiliate of a union.

State Legal Services Organizations

Southern Migrant Legal Services – A Project of Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, Inc.
https://www.trla.org/southern-migrant-legal-services-smls 

Southern Poverty Law Center- Immigrant Justice Project
https://www.splcenter.org/issues/immigrant-justice