Title 21 — Public Officers and Employees

(a) (1) Any elected officer who is not authorized by law to appoint deputies to perform the duties of the office which he or she holds, except circuit judges and members of the General Assembly, shall select a competent and qualified person to perform the duties of the office dur…

A.C.A. § 21-4-305Current 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) Whenever a judge of a circuit court shall volunteer or be called into the military service of the United States, the office shall be filled during such leave of absence by the election of an emergency circuit judge by a majority of all regular licensed and practicing attorney…

(a) In the event the term of office of an official on leave shall expire during leave, the office of that official shall be filled by election or appointment as may be required by law. (b) However, the official on leave shall have the right to qualify and become a candidate for s…

(a) In the discretion of their employer, all employees of the state, counties, municipalities, or political subdivisions of Arkansas may be granted leave of absence under the terms of this subchapter and upon leave of absence’s being granted to officials under this subchapter. (b…

(a) Any public employee who may be granted a leave of absence under the provisions of this subchapter and who serves for not more than four (4) years, plus any period of additional service imposed pursuant to law shall be entitled, upon release from service under honorable condit…

(a) During a leave of absence, an official shall be entitled to preserve all seniority rights, efficiency rating, promotional status, and retirement privileges. (b) The period of active military service shall, for purposes of computations to determine whether such persons may be …

(a) Should any person appointed to fill the office or perform the duties of an employee to whom a leave of absence has been granted die, resign, or in any manner or for any cause vacate the office or position to which he or she was appointed, the Governor, or person whose duty it…

(a) The deputies or other persons appointed to fill the office or position of the official or employee during a leave of absence under the provisions of this subchapter shall receive the same compensation and shall be paid in the same manner as the official or employee whose duti…

(a) It shall not be required that a commission issue to any person appointed to fill any office or position of one who has been granted a leave of absence under the provisions of this subchapter. (b) Every person so appointed shall be required to take and subscribe to the same oa…

This subchapter shall remain in full force and effect in the event that subsequent legislation relative to vacations is enacted, unless it is specifically repealed.

(a) It shall be the duty of the officer in charge of each agency, department, commission, or board of the State of Arkansas, immediately upon the death of any employee thereof, to cause to be ascertained the number of days of vacation which have accrued and which have not been ta…

(a) In the event that the salary of a deceased employee is not fixed on the basis of a day, then the daily rate of pay shall be determined by dividing the monthly salary by thirty (30) or the annual salary by three hundred sixty (360), as the case may be. (b) (1) The number of da…

When a person dies while actively employed by any agency of the State of Arkansas, the deceased's estate or the person entitled to receive payment shall receive payment from the state agency for all unused annual leave and holidays which had accrued to the deceased at the time of…

(a) The Arkansas State Game and Fish Commission may pay all accrued and unused annual, holiday, and sick leave to the estate of a wildlife officer or game warden who dies in the line of duty. (b) A payment under subsection (a) of this section is subject to budgetary constraints a…

(a) The State Highway Commission may pay all accrued and unused annual, holiday, and sick leave to the estate of an officer of the Arkansas Highway Police Division of the Arkansas Department of Transportation who dies in the line of duty. (b) A payment under subsection (a) of thi…

(a) Upon retirement or death, any employee or beneficiary of any employee of any agency of the State of Arkansas shall receive compensation for accumulated unused sick leave as follows:(1) If the employee has accumulated at least fifty (50) days but fewer than sixty (60) days of …

A.C.A. § 21-4-502Current 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) The provisions of §§ 21-4-501 and 21-4-504 apply to:(1) Employees of the Arkansas State Game and Fish Commission;(2) Employees of the Arkansas Department of Transportation; and(3) Employees of all agencies of this state whether in the executive, legislative, or judicial branc…

All state agencies are encouraged to participate in the Department of Finance and Administration's state leave accounting system.

(a) At its discretion, a state-supported institution of higher education may compensate an employee of the state-supported institution of higher education for accumulated unused sick leave by providing to the employee the same compensation for accumulated unused sick leave under …

(a) It is the intent of the General Assembly that each state agency, board, commission, and institution of higher education evaluate the performance of its employees annually. (b) (1) State agency, board, and commission employees shall be evaluated using an instrument approved by…

(a) When an officer or employee of a state office or agency excluded from the provisions of the Uniform Attendance and Leave Policy Act, § 21-4-201 et seq., by the definition of “state agencies” in § 21-4-203 leaves employment of the excluded office or agency and becomes employed…

(a) This section and § 19-4-1601 shall be known as and may be cited as the “Regular Salary Procedures and Restrictions Act”. (b) Arkansas Constitution, Article 16, § 4, provides: “Except as provided in Arkansas Constitution, Article 19, § 31, the General Assembly shall fix the sa…

(a) The Department of Health is authorized to pay from maintenance and operation appropriations of either state or federal funds, as reimbursement of actual costs to any regular and full-time employee of the Department of Health, the excess cost to the employee for insurance cove…

If, in any year, the funds available for the payment of salaries of elected county officers and employees of a county are inadequate to pay all such salaries and it becomes necessary to reduce salaries, the salary of each elected constitutional officer and each employee in the co…

(a) No state, county, or municipal employer in this state shall deduct from the usual compensation of any employee, all or any part of the fees or compensation received by the employee for appearing for grand or petit jury duty or serving on any grand or petit jury in any court i…

A.C.A. § 21-5-105Current 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) (1) (A) Employees of state agencies shall become eligible for annual career service recognition payments upon completion of ten (10) or more years of service in either elected positions or classified or nonclassified positions with a state agency.(B) To receive the full amoun…

(a) (1) A person holding more than one (1) elective office shall be entitled to receive compensation from only one (1) of the offices held.(2) The person shall select the office from which he or she may receive compensation by filing a statement with the Secretary of State and th…

The annual salaries of court reporters and case coordinators shall be paid in twenty-four (24) equal semimonthly installments.

(a) (1) (A) As a condition of employment, a person hired or appointed to a position in any agency in state government on or after August 12, 2005, shall be required to accept payment of salary or wages by electronic warrants transfer.(B) The electronic warrants transfer shall be …

(a) (1) The State Insurance Department shall maintain the Arkansas Firefighter Cancer Relief Network Trust Fund.(2) (A) The purpose of the fund is to fund relief for firefighters who are diagnosed with cancer and participating in a firefighter cancer relief network created and go…

(a) (1) The Department of Transformation and Shared Services is authorized to develop and establish a merit increase pay system in accordance with the performance evaluation process under § 21-5-1001 et seq. for employees of all state agencies, boards, and commissions covered by …

(a) The Department of Human Services may issue nursing/direct care recruitment and retention bonuses in addition to the maximum annual amounts provided for regular salaries in the operative appropriation act for the department for:(1) Registered nurses;(2) Licensed practical nurs…

(a) As used in this section:(1) “Firefighter” means a person who is a:(A) Paid, full-time member of a fire department or firefighting unit of a public employer and who actively engages in the fighting of fires on a regular basis;(B) Paid, full-time instructor of the Arkansas Fire…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Emergency nature or contingency” means:(A) Any case or imminent danger of invasion, disaster, insurrection, riot, or breach of peace;(B) A threat to the public health or security; or(C) A threat to the maintenance of law and order; and(2) “Stat…

(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of the Uniform Attendance and Leave Policy Act, § 21-4-201 et seq., during the period that an employee of a state agency or institution of higher education is called to active duty after September 11, 2001, as a member of the National Guard or a…

(a) Notwithstanding any other law, during the period that an employee of a public school district is called to active duty after September 11, 2001, as a member of the National Guard or any of the reserve components of the armed services by order of the President of the United St…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) (A) “Agency” means a board, commission, department, officer, or other authority of the government of the State of Arkansas.(B) “Agency” does not include the General Assembly, the courts, and Governor; and(2) “Savings program” means an account as…

(a) When a state employee begins his or her employment with an agency, the agency shall notify the state employee of:(1) Each savings program that is available; and(2) The state employee's ability to have a regular distribution made to a savings program from his or her salary bef…

This subchapter may be referred to and cited as the “Uniform Classification and Compensation Act”.

(a) It is the purpose and intent of this subchapter to establish uniform classifications for all affected state employees of agencies, boards, commissions, and institutions of higher education covered by the provisions of this subchapter and to establish a uniform compensation pl…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Agency director” means the head of an independent executive state agency who has autonomous authority over the administration and operations of the state agency;(2) “Apprenticeship” means an employee who is learning a trade or obtaining other j…

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, this subchapter does not apply to:(1) The employees of:(A) Elected constitutional officers of this state;(B) The General Assembly, including employees of the Bureau of Legislative Research and Arkansas Legislative Audit; a…

(a) All appropriation acts of all state agencies subject to the provisions of this subchapter shall be governed by the provisions of this subchapter with respect to grades, class titles, salary increases, salary increase eligibility, and other provisions unless special language i…

(1) In order to assist the General Assembly in more efficiently performing its constitutional duty, that being “… the number and salaries of the clerks and employees of the different departments of the State shall be fixed by law”, the Legislative Council shall:(1) Review the est…

(a) It shall be the duty of the Office of Personnel Management to perform the following administrative responsibilities, subject to this subchapter:(1) To determine that each position of a state agency affected by this subchapter is allocated to a class having a written job descr…

(a) There are established for state agencies covered by this subchapter the following classification titles and grades. (b) The following classification titles with grades indicated are approved for the state classification plan, subject to the appropriation acts for the various …

(a) There is established for state agencies covered by this subchapter a compensation plan for the setting of salaries and salary increases, when deserved, of all employees serving in positions covered by this subchapter. (b) An employee whose salary falls below the entry pay lev…