Title 21 — Public Officers and Employees

(a) This section shall be entitled the “Veterans Preference Law”. (b) For purposes of this section, “veteran” means:(1) A person honorably discharged from a tour of active duty, other than active duty for training only, with the United States Armed Forces; or(2) Any person who ha…

(a) If requested by the veteran applicant and in addition to the requirements under § 21-3-302(d), a hiring official or selection authority for a state agency or institution of higher education subject to the Uniform Classification and Compensation Act, § 21-5-201 et seq., shall …

(a) A department or agency director or institution of higher education president or chancellor may separate any employee without prejudice because of lack of funds, curtailment of work, or in order to permit reinstatement of employees upon their release from periods of military s…

(a) An employee as defined in § 21-5-203 who has established veterans preference eligibility and has resigned while in good standing or who has been separated without prejudice shall be eligible for reemployment within a period of time no less than the continuous period of his or…

(a) It is declared to be the intent of the General Assembly that any person who holds an other than temporary position in the employ of the State of Arkansas shall not be denied retention in employment or any promotion or other incident or advantage of employment or transferred i…

(a) Recognizing the tremendous potential represented by the young people attending Arkansas institutions of higher education, and in due consideration of the great interest of the people of the State of Arkansas in retaining graduates of Arkansas institutions of higher education …

(1) For the purposes of this subchapter:(1) “Academic credit” means the recognized unit requirements which students attending eligible institutions must accomplish in order to receive a degree for completion of a two-year or four-year course of study;(2) “Arkansas Cooperative Edu…

Nothing in this subchapter is to be construed as barring or in any way limiting the employment of students within the State of Arkansas governmental system, even though the student is participating in the cooperative education program at an institution of higher education during …

There is established a cooperative education program for hiring qualified students from eligible institutions of higher education within the State of Arkansas to be administered by the State Personnel Administrator and the Arkansas Cooperative Education Advisory Committee, as pro…

(a) The Governor shall appoint an Arkansas Cooperative Education Advisory Committee to advise and consult with the State Personnel Administrator in carrying out the administration of this subchapter. (b) The State Personnel Administrator shall serve as chair ex officio of the com…

All offices, branches, and agencies within state government shall be eligible to participate in the cooperative education program.

(1) A student shall be eligible for a cooperative education placement upon:(1) Certification to the State Personnel Administrator by the student's cooperative education program director or coordinator that the student:(A) Has completed twenty-four (24) or more college credit hour…

(1) In order for any institution of higher education within the State of Arkansas to participate in the cooperative education program, that institution must meet the following criteria, as determined by the Arkansas Cooperative Education Advisory Committee:(1) The institution has…

(a) The State Personnel Administrator shall have the responsibility to administer the cooperative education program. (b) The duties of the State Personnel Administrator include, but are not limited to:(1) Disseminating information on the availability of students through the coope…

(a) The Department of Shared Administrative Services shall establish an internship program to be known as the “Arkansas Public Service Internship Program”. (b) The program shall utilize graduate students and undergraduate students to perform duties for the cabinet-level departmen…

This subchapter shall be known as the “Exceptional Employee Recruitment Program”.

(a) The Department of Finance and Administration shall promulgate rules providing for the recruitment of retired members of the Arkansas Public Employees' Retirement System to return to employment for the state. (b) Before a person recruited under the Exceptional Employee Recruit…

This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the “E-Verify Requirement Act”.

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Employee” means a person directed, allowed, or permitted to perform labor or services of any kind for a state employer;(2) “Employer” means a state government department, board, bureau, political subdivision, or agency licensed under statute or…

(a) (1) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, an employer shall register and create an E-Verify employer account.(2) After hiring an employee, an employer shall:(A) Employ provisionally the employee until the employee's work authorization has been verified through…

Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed to abrogate an employer's obligation to comply with federal immigration laws, including without limitation the completion and maintenance of federal employment eligibility verification forms or documents.

(a) An employer shall not employ an unauthorized alien. (b) Failure to comply with the requirements under this subchapter shall be presumed a violation of this section.

(a) For the purpose of enforcement of this subchapter, the Department of Labor and Licensing may request, and an employer shall provide, copies of any documentation relied upon by the employer for the verification of a new employee's employment eligibility. (b) A person or an ent…

(a) Any person who is employed by any person, firm, or corporation in the State of Arkansas shall be granted a leave of absence, upon the election of any such employee to a public office in the State of Arkansas, or upon appointment by the Governor of any such person to a board o…

Any employee of the Office of Child Support Enforcement who was formerly employed by a public contractor with a contract in effect as of January 1, 1998, with the office and who moved from employment with the public contractor to employment with the office without a break in serv…

(a) An employee of the state, a city of the first class, a city of the second class, an incorporated town, a county, or a school district who is a member of:(1) The United States Civil Air Patrol or the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary and desires to take a leave of absence fo…

(a) All employees of the State of Arkansas, as defined in § 21-4-203, who have been rated by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or its predecessor to have incurred a military service-connected disability and have been scheduled by the department to be reexamined or …

(a) As used in this section:(1) “Employee” means a full-time employee of the State of Arkansas or any branch, department, agency, board, bureau, including the Bureau of Legislative Research, or commission of any branch of state government;(2) “Healthy Employee Lifestyle Program” …

(a) (1) A paid firefighter for the state or any political subdivision of the state who has completed five (5) or more years of employment as a paid firefighter shall be granted a minimum of one thousand four hundred fifty-six (1,456) hours of paid leave upon the initiation of tre…

This subchapter may be referred to and cited as the “Uniform Attendance and Leave Policy Act”.

It is the purpose and intent of this subchapter to establish a uniform attendance and leave policy for all affected state employees of agencies, boards, and commissions covered by the provisions of this subchapter.

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Agency head” or “agency director” means the executive head of an agency, department, board, commission, bureau, council, or other entity of the state;(2) “Annual leave” means vacation time with pay but does not include compensatory time;(3) “Ca…

(a) (1) Except for the employees under subdivision (a)(2) of this section, each permanent or probationary employee shall be entitled to annual leave with full pay computed on the basis of the following schedule for each complete month of service including the probationary period:…

(a) (1) Except as provided in subdivision (a)(2) of this section, whenever an employee is separated from the state agency by reason of resignation, layoff, termination of appointment, or dismissal, the unused annual leave to his or her credit as of his or her last duty date shall…

(a) (1) Sick leave with pay shall be granted to employees when they are incapacitated for the performance of their duties by sickness, injury, or for medical, dental, or optical treatment.(2) Sick leave may not be granted for slight illness or indisposition not incapacitating the…

(a) (1) (A) Except for the employees under subdivision (a)(1)(B) of this section, each permanent or probationary employee shall be entitled to sick leave with full pay computed on the basis of one (1) day for each complete month of service including the probationary period.(B) Ea…

(a) (1) Employees who are absent from work due to a temporary occupational injury or illness and who are entitled to workers' compensation benefits, upon proper application, may utilize their accrued sick leave as a supplement to their workers' compensation benefits so as to rece…

(a) Maternity leave shall be treated as any other leave for sickness or disability. Accumulated sick leave and annual leave, if requested by the employee, shall be granted for maternity use, after which leave without pay may be used. (b) Catastrophic leave under § 21-4-214 may be…

(a) (1) Upon application in writing to and written approval by the agency director, a state employee may be eligible to obtain a continuous leave of absence without pay up to six (6) months unless:(A) Granted in accordance with § 21-4-212; or(B) The agency director has determined…

(1) A permanent employee who is given out-service training may be granted educational leave by the agency director on the following basis:(1) The employee will continue in the service of the agency for a period of time as statutorily required or, in the absence of a specific law,…

(a) (1) Employees who are members of the armed forces of this state or any other state, including without limitation the National Guard or a reserve component or auxiliary of the United States Armed Forces, shall be granted leave at the rate of fifteen (15) days per calendar year…

(a) An employee serving as a juror in state or federal court shall be entitled to full compensation in addition to any fees paid for such services, and such services or necessary appearances in any court shall not be counted as annual leave. (b) If an employee is subpoenaed as a …

(a) (1) The Department of Shared Administrative Services shall have administrative responsibility for developing, implementing, and maintaining the statewide catastrophic leave bank program.(2) (A) Each state agency shall participate in a catastrophic leave bank to be administere…

(a) As used in this section:(1) “Bone marrow donor” means a person from whose body bone marrow is taken to be transferred to the body of another person;(2) “Organ” means a human organ that is capable of being transferred from the body of a person to the body of another person, in…

(a) As used in this section:(1) (A) “Child” means a person enrolled in an educational program for prekindergarten through grade twelve (preK-12) who is of the following relation to a state employee:(i) Natural child;(ii) Adopted child;(iii) Stepchild;(iv) Foster child;(v) Grandch…

A.C.A. § 21-4-217Current through all legislation of the 2025 Regular Session.Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated Official EditionCopyright © 2026 by the State of Arkansas All rights reserved

(a) As used in this section, “child” means a person who is eighteen (18) years of age or younger. (b) (1) Except for an employee employed in a position included under subsection (e) of this section, each employee is eligible for forty (40) hours per calendar year of foster care l…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Active service” or “active duty” shall include the period during which a person in military service is absent from duty on account of sickness, wounds, leave, or other lawful cause;(2) “Military service” shall signify federal service on active …

(a) Subject to the provisions of this subchapter, the following officers shall be granted leave of absence from their respective offices and duties to perform active military service:(1) State officials;(2) County officials;(3) County school officials;(4) Municipal officials;(5) …

(a) Officers who are authorized by law to appoint deputies shall appoint capable and competent deputies to take over and perform the duties of the office while the officers are on leave. (b) The deputy shall be required to furnish good and sufficient bond in the same sum as requi…