In the 91st General Assembly of the Arkansas State Legislature, the following acts have been passed that relate to labor and employment issues:
In the 91st General Assembly of the Arkansas State Legislature, the following acts have been passed that relate to labor and employment issues:
Act 734: An Act to Amend the Taxable Wage Base, Weekly Benefit Amount, Maximum Benefit Amount and Certain Eligibility Requirements Under the Department of Workforce Services Law.
Read Act 734; House Bill 2405
What it means for you: The act reduced the unemployment taxes paid by Arkansas employers by $50 million. It also reduced the maximum weeks of benefits from 20 to 16 and disqualifies employees who receive severance pay for the period of time represented by the severance pay.
Act 792: An Act to Amend the Law Concerning the Social Media Accounts of Current and Prospective Employees.
Read Act 792; House Bill 2216
What it means for you: The act broadened the prohibitions on employers requiring access to employees’ social media accounts. An employer cannot require or even suggest an employee to accept a friend request of any other supervisor or administration employee.
Act 191: An Act to Amend the Definition of "Employer" and the Hate Offense and Retaliation Provisions of the Arkansas Civil Rights Act of 1993.
Read Act 191; House Bill 1126
What it means for you: The act removed individual supervisors from the definition of "employer" under the Arkansas Civil Rights Act. This bill stops the practice of filing lawsuits against individual supervisors so as to avoid the case from being moved to federal court.
Act 783: An Act to Amend and Clarify the Discrimination and Retaliation Provisions of the Arkansas Civil Rights Act of 1993.
Read Act 783; House Bill 1737
What it means for you: Prohibits double recovery of damages under the Arkansas Civil Rights Act and federal anti-discrimination laws. This keeps Plaintiffs from attempting to recover twice for the same alleged discrimination.