Title 21, Public Officers and Employees

(1) Notwithstanding any other provisions of the law, a state agency shall remit the employer's contribution for a state employee participating in the State and Public School Life and Health Insurance Program to the Employee Benefits Division when the state employee is:(1) In a le…

(a) A health savings account shall be a component of a consumer-driven health insurance plan option adopted by the State Board of Finance. (b) A school district may make an employer contribution into a participating public school employee's health savings account up to the maximu…

(a) It is the intent of the General Assembly that:(1) The Director of the Employee Benefits Division shall:(A) Maintain a reserve balance to ensure the solvency of the State and Public School Life and Health Insurance Program; and(B) Work to achieve an optimal reserve balance of …

(a) The General Assembly finds that:(1) Morbid obesity causes many medical problems and costly health complications, such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and stroke;(2) The cost of managing the complications of morbid obesity, largely due to inadequate treatment, far ou…

(a) As used in this section:(1) “Entity of the state” means any agency, board, bureau, commission, committee, council, department, division, institution of higher education, office, public school, quasi-public organization, or other political subdivision of the state; and(2) “Hea…

(a) The General Assembly finds that:(1) The continual evaluation of the State and Public School Life and Health Insurance Program by the General Assembly is critical for:(A) Maximizing the benefits to the state employees and public school employees who are participants in the pro…

(a) (1) The Public School Employee Health Benefit Advisory Commission is created, to be composed of the following voting members:(A) (i) Three (3) members appointed by the Governor and subject to confirmation by the Senate, who have a minimum of five (5) years of professional exp…

(a) (1) The State Employee Health Benefit Advisory Commission is created, to be composed of the following voting members:(A) (i) Three (3) members appointed by the Governor and subject to confirmation by the Senate, who have a minimum of five (5) years of professional experience …

(a) A vendor that contracts with the Employee Benefits Division under this subchapter and a fiscal impact is required shall agree to verify the accuracy of the data the vendor provides to the state. (b) The division shall not contract with a vendor for services for the division t…

For the purpose of this subchapter, “employee” means any person, partnership, or professional association whether appointed, elected, or under contract, providing services for the state, county, city, town, or other political subdivision for which compensation is paid.

This subchapter shall apply to all deferred compensation plans adopted by agencies subsequent to March 28, 1970, which shall all be subject to the rules issued by the Department of Finance and Administration under the authority granted in this subchapter.

The deferred compensation program established by this subchapter shall exist and serve in addition to retirement, pension, or benefit systems established by the state, county, city, town, or other political subdivision, and no deferral of income under the deferred compensation pr…

(a) (1) The state or a county, city, town, or other political subdivision may agree, by contract, with an employee to defer, in whole or in part, a portion of that employee's future compensation to a deferred compensation program.(2) (A) The participation of an employee in the au…

(a) The Department of Finance and Administration is authorized to enter into contractual agreements with employees on behalf of the state to defer any portion of that employee's future compensation. (b) The department may, upon request, designate an officer or officers within any…

(a) (1) The administration of the state government employees' deferred compensation program shall be under the direction of the Director of the Employee Benefits Division.(2) Administration of other deferred compensation programs authorized by this subchapter shall be under the d…

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the Director of the Employee Benefits Division or the appropriate officer of the county, city, town, or other political subdivision designated to administer the deferred compensation program is authorized:(1) To make…

A sum deferred under the deferred compensation program is not subject to income taxation until a distribution is made to the employee or beneficiary unless an employee has by contract directed that his or her contribution is to be deposited into a Roth deferred compensation plan.

All amounts of compensation deferred pursuant to a deferred compensation program, all property and rights purchased with such amounts, and income attributed to such amounts, property, and rights shall be held in one (1) or more annuity contracts, custodial accounts, or in trust f…

(1) The financial liability of the state, county, city, town, or other political subdivision under a deferred compensation program authorized by this subchapter shall be limited in each instance to:(1) An amount determined by reference to the value of the annuity contracts which …

(a) As used in this section:(1) “Deferred compensation plan” means the Arkansas Diamond Deferred Compensation Plan or subsequent deferred compensation plan administered by the Director of the Employee Benefits Division under this subchapter; and(2) (A) “Employee” means a person e…

This subchapter shall be known and cited as the “Public Employee Workers' Compensation Act”.

(1) It is the purpose of this subchapter to:(1) Provide workers' compensation coverage through state funds for all public employees, as defined in this subchapter, who are not otherwise covered under a workers' compensation liability insurance policy written and issued by a priva…

(a) The term “public employee”, as used in this subchapter, includes:(1) State employees and officers of any state agency, board, commission, department, institution, college, university, or community college receiving an appropriation for regular salaries, extra help, or authori…

(a) A workfare participant by participating in workfare does not enter into any employment contract, expressed or implied, with the State of Arkansas or its several political subdivisions. Participation in the project is for the purpose of retaining food stamp benefits and not fo…

(a) There is created a Public Employee Claims Division within the State Insurance Department. (b) The Director of the Public Employee Claims Division shall be appointed by the Insurance Commissioner. (c) The division is designated as the unit of state government primarily respons…

(a) The Director of the Public Employee Claims Division shall appoint lawyers of recognized ability admitted to practice in all state courts. (b) The lawyers shall be the attorneys for the Public Employees Claims Division and shall represent the public employer before the Workers…

To the extent not in conflict with this subchapter, the method and procedure of filing claims on behalf of the public employee and the review and appeal of compensation orders or awards of the Workers' Compensation Commission shall be the same as those provided by law and the rul…

(a) The appropriate public employer shall file with the Public Employee Claims Division, within ten (10) days after receiving notice of any personal injury, death, or occupational disease of any public employee, a report:(1) Showing the date, time, and place of the injury, death,…

(a) Benefits payable for the injury or death of a person appointed and regularly enrolled in an emergency services organization and covered by this subchapter shall be limited to the provisions of the Workers' Compensation Law, § 11-9-101 et seq. Such benefits are payable if the …

In the event that any public employee is entitled to receive workers' compensation benefits under the provisions of this subchapter, as a result of injury, disability, or death, and the injury, disability, or death also gives rise to an entitlement of benefits under a state or fe…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Child” or “children” means any natural child, adopted child, or stepchild who is eligible under § 21-5-707;(2) “Coroner” means a coroner or a deputy coroner who is engaged in official duty at a crime scene or death location;(3) “Covered public …

(a) The Arkansas State Claims Commission is vested with exclusive jurisdiction of, or authority with respect to, all claims filed against the state under this subchapter. (b) The commission shall make a determination as to whether a death or total and permanent disability was or …

(a) All claimants shall be subject to the same rules as are provided by the law governing procedure before the Arkansas State Claims Commission. (b) All claims asserted under this subchapter shall be filed within five (5) years of the following:(1) The date of the covered public …

(a) (1) (A) The state shall pay to the beneficiaries of any covered public employee who is killed in the official line of duty, the sum of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) with the following requirements for distribution of the award:(i) If the covered public employee has a desig…

(a) The state shall pay the additional sum of two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) to the qualified recipient or recipients of a:(1) Police officer, wildlife enforcement officer or game warden, commissioned law enforcement officer or emergency response employee of the De…

(a) All claims allowed under the provisions of this subchapter shall be paid upon award thereof by the Arkansas State Claims Commission from funds appropriated therefor. (b) The commission may impose reasonable requirements for protecting funds paid under this subchapter to child…

(a) Unless designated as the beneficiary of a covered public employee under § 21-5-708, in order for a natural child to be eligible to receive benefits under this subchapter:(1) The natural child must have been born prior to the date of the covered public employee's death or tota…

(a) (1) A covered public employee may designate a beneficiary on a form provided by his or her employer.(2) The form to designate a beneficiary shall be completed by the covered public employee, witnessed, and submitted to his or her employer to be kept in the covered public empl…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “State agency” means any office, department, commission, council, board, bureau, committee, institution, legislative body, or other agency of this state; and(2) “State officer” means elected state officials and members of commissions, boards, or…

(a) Any state officer or state employee who has been subjected to a lawsuit based on an act or omission of the officer or employee while acting within the course and scope of the office or employment and in performance of his or her other official duties shall be entitled to paym…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Cafeteria plan” means a written fringe benefits plan which meets the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code;(2) “Eligible employee” means full-time employees of governmental entities;(3) “Governmental entities” means any agency of the state,…

(a) Any eligible employee who chooses to participate in a cafeteria plan or a voluntary product may enter into a salary reduction agreement with the governmental entity. (b) The governmental entity is authorized, upon request of the eligible employee, to enter into a salary reduc…

The amount by which an eligible employee's salary is reduced pursuant to a salary reduction agreement shall continue to be included as compensation for the purpose of computing retirement benefits.

(a) The Director of the Employee Benefits Division shall have administrative responsibility for developing, implementing, and maintaining cafeteria plans on behalf of state employees. (b) (1) This section shall not apply to separate cafeteria plans established by governmental ent…

The Employee Benefits Division shall promulgate rules to administer this subchapter.