Wright Labor and Employment Newsletter |
Volume II, Issue 3, Winter 2007 |
An employer can be held liable for up to 60 days of wages if a discharged employee is not paid unpaid wages within seven days of the date of his or her discharge under Ark. Code Ann. § 11-4-405. A statute enacted in 1889 that initially applied to railway employees was expanded in 1905 to apply to all companies and corporations that do business in Arkansas. The statute requires employers to pay any employee who is discharged, upon request or demand, all wages due him or her within seven days of the last day of employment. If payment does not occur within this time limit, the employer is liable under the statute to continue payment of wages for up to 60 days. There are no published opinions interpreting this statute, and there are some uncertainties created by its wording, including what exactly is meant by the term “wages due.” |