Equal Pay Act - Arkansas

Summary of differences between federal and state regulations

Arkansas state law, as well as federal laws, prohibit wage discrimination on the basis of sex.

Employer defined

“Employer” means a person who employs nine or more employees in the State of Arkansas in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year, or any agent of such person. “Employer” includes any person, natural or artificial, acting in the interest of an employer directly or indirectly.

Unlawful employment practices

The unlawful employment practices are similar to those under the federal Equal Pay Act.  It is unlawful  to discriminate in the payment of wages as between the sexes or to pay any female a salary or wage rates less than the rates paid to male employees for comparable work.

Nothing in regulation prohibits a variation in rates of pay based upon a difference in seniority, experience, training, skill, ability, differences in duties and services performed, difference in the shift or time of the day worked, or any other reasonable differentiation except difference in sex.

Recordkeeping

Employers must keep records of the name, address, and occupation of each employee, the daily and weekly hours worked by each person, and of the wages paid each pay period. Covered employers must maintain records of the salaries and wage rates, job classifications, and other terms and conditions of employment for each employee. These records must be preserved for three years.

State

Contact

Arkansas Department of Labor

Regulations

Ark.Code Ann. §11-4-610. Wage discrimination between sexes prohibited

Federal

Contact

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

Regulations

29 CFR Part 1620, The Equal Pay Act

29 CFR 1621, Procedures — The Equal Pay Act