Federal & State Regulations | Recordkeeping - Arkansas

Summary of differences between federal and state regulations

Federal

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act does not require employers to allow employees access to their personnel files. This access is generally a matter of agreement between an employer and an employee (or the employee’s representative). However, while federal law does not, some state laws require employers to allow employees access to their files. Employers need to comply with the state laws.

Federal OSHA requires that employers must allow employees and their designated representatives to inspect and/or copy records pertaining to exposure to hazardous substances. Access must be provided in a reasonable time, place, and manner. Access must be provided within 15 days working days. No costs may be incurred for the first provision, but subsequent provisions may be charged reasonable, nondiscriminatory administrative costs.

Employees and former employees must be guaranteed access to their individual OSHA 301 forms. Employee representatives will be provided access to the “information about the case” section of the OSHA 301 form in establishments where they represent employees.

The federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requires employers to allow employees to inspect and/or obtain a copy of any of their own protected health information that is used to make decisions about them. Employers must provide access within 30 days of receiving a request if the information is maintained or accessible onsite. If not, employers have 60 days to act. Employers must arrange for a mutually convenient time and place for employee access. Employers may charge reasonable, cost-based fees for copying information, but not for retrieving or handling the information or processing a request.

State

Records to be kept on file
Wage and Hour/Payroll	Wage/hour Employers must keep records of the daily and weekly hours worked by each employee for at least one year. This does not apply to organizations employing fewer than five employees nor employers who engage solely in farming operations. Arkansas Code §11-2-115
	For each employee, employers must keep records containing the following information for at least three years: Name; Address; Occupation; Rate of pay; Amount paid each pay period; and Any other information prescribed by director of the Arkansas Department of Labor. This does not apply to organizations employing fewer than five employees nor employers who engage solely in farming operations. Arkansas Code §11-4-217
	Unemployment Employers liable for unemployment insurance must keep employment records containing the following information for a period of five years from the end of the month next following the end of the calendar quarter to which such records pertain: The pay period covered by any payroll; Full name and Social Security number of each worker employed during any pay period (a penalty may be assessed for failure to provide the Social Security number); Place of employment; Amount of wages paid for each pay period, segregated as to cash payment and payment made in other forms; Amounts paid as allowance or reimbursement for traveling or other business expenses, dates of payment, and amounts of such expenditures actually incurred and accounted for by the employee; Date each worker was hired, rehired, or returned to work after a temporary lay off; and The number of hours spent in covered employment and, if applicable, the number of hours spent in non-covered employment in each pay period. Additionally, all employers, in industries declared seasonal by the director of the Department of Workforce Services, must keep a separate record of the wages paid for employment within a seasonal period and the wages paid outside a seasonal period. Arkansas Code §11-10-318, Unemployment Insurance Handbook For Arkansas Employers: Keeping Records
	Public contractors' records Contractors and subcontractors performing work on public works projects must keep certain records for all workers employed by them in connection with the public works projects. These records must show the following information on each worker: Name, Address, Social Security number, Occupation or work classification, Hours worked, and Wages paid. Arkansas Code §22-9-310
Accessible Records	Public employees Under Arkansas' Freedom of Information Act, employees of public employers and their designated representatives may view and copy their individual job performance and evaluation records. Requests can be made by telephone, mail, e-mail, facsimile or in person. However, access to records can be denied to those who, at the time of the request, have pleaded guilty to or been found guilty of a felony and is incarcerated in a correctional facility. Access also can be denied to this person's representative, unless that representative is the person's attorney. Public records mean writings, recorded sounds, films, tapes, electronic, or computer-based information. They include data compilations in any medium required by law to be kept or otherwise kept and that constitute a record of the performance or lack of performance of official functions. Records kept in public offices or by public employers within employment capacity are understood as public records. Arkansas Code §25-19-105
	All employees In wage discrimination action proceedings, employers must allow records of salaries, wage rates, job classifications, and other terms and conditions of employment to be made available to parties involved in the action to recover unpaid wages. Arkansas Code §11-4-612