Wrongful Termination in Arkansas (2026): Laws, Deadlines, How to File

Arkansas is an employment-at-will state, so a firing is wrongful only when it breaks a specific law or agreement. The main state law is the Arkansas Civil Rights Act of 1993 (Ark. Code 16-123-101 and following), which protects "the right to obtain and hold employment without discrimination" and lets a fired employee sue an employer of 9 or more people directly in court. Arkansas courts also recognize a claim for a firing that violates a well-established public policy of the state, under Sterling Drug, Inc. v. Oxford (1988).

Arkansas has no state civil-rights agency step for these claims, and its deadlines are short: one year to sue under the state act, and 180 days to file a federal charge with the EEOC. To compare other states, see our guide to wrongful termination laws by state.

Information last verified on October 10, 2026. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Arkansas law on firing private-sector employees: the employment provisions of the Arkansas Civil Rights Act (Ark. Code 16-123-102, 16-123-107 and 16-123-108), the public-policy and personnel-manual exceptions recognized by the Arkansas Supreme Court, and narrower Arkansas statutes on workers' compensation, jury service and public-employee whistleblowing, with short notes on the federal laws that also apply. The federal rules in full are on our wrongful termination laws by state guide. It does not cover severance agreements; see Arkansas severance pay laws.

About the Arkansas statute text on this page: Except where this page quotes a court opinion, an EEOC page or an Act of the legislature, the Arkansas statute text described here comes from a November 2020 release of the Arkansas Code in our research library. The Arkansas Legislature's index of code sections amended in the 2021 through 2026 sessions shows no later change to the sections relied on here, except the 2023 CROWN Act definitions added to 16-123-102 (described below) and a 2025 agency-name change in 21-1-604(f).

Is Arkansas an at-will state?

Yes. Arkansas has no statutory just-cause rule, and its courts have carved only specific exceptions to at-will employment. The Arkansas Supreme Court calls the public-policy claim "a limited exception to the employment-at-will doctrine." For how the doctrine works day to day, see Arkansas at-will employment laws.

So the real question after an Arkansas firing is which law, if any, the firing broke. The sections below list the options.

Grounds for a wrongful termination claim in Arkansas

Discrimination under the Arkansas Civil Rights Act

Ark. Code 16-123-107(a) declares the right to obtain and hold employment without discrimination because of "race, religion, national origin, gender, or the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability." Under 16-123-102(1), discrimination "because of gender" includes pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions.

Who is covered. An "employer" is a person who employs nine or more employees in Arkansas in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year (16-123-102(5)). The employment provisions do not apply to religious corporations, associations, societies or other religious entities (16-123-103(a)).

Hairstyle. Act 514 of 2023, the Arkansas CROWN Act, added definitions to Ark. Code 16-123-102 under which discrimination "because of race" or "because of national origin" includes discrimination on account of a natural, protective, or cultural hairstyle, such as afros, locs, braids, twists and Bantu knots.

What is not listed. The act does not list age, so Arkansas age claims run under the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act. The act also does not list sexual orientation or gender identity.

Federal law adds Title VII and the ADA for employers with 15 or more employees, and the federal age law for employers with 20 or more (42 U.S.C. 2000e(b); 42 U.S.C. 12111(5); 29 U.S.C. 630(b)). Title VII and the ADA do not reach an employer with 9 to 14 employees, but the Arkansas act does.

Retaliation for opposing discrimination

Ark. Code 16-123-108(a) says a person "shall not discriminate against any individual because the individual in good faith has opposed any act or practice made unlawful" by the act, or made a charge, testified, assisted or participated in a proceeding under it. An employment-related retaliation claim may be brought only against the employer, and its remedies are those of 16-123-107(c), including the damages caps (16-123-108(c)(2)).

The deadline differs from the discrimination claim. In Smith v. ConAgra Foods, Inc., 2013 Ark. 502, answering a certified question, the Arkansas Supreme Court held that the three-year limitations period of Ark. Code 16-56-105 applies to retaliation claims under 16-123-108.

Firing in violation of public policy (Sterling Drug v. Oxford)

In Sterling Drug, Inc. v. Oxford, 294 Ark. 239 (1988), the Arkansas Supreme Court held "that an at-will employee has a cause of action for wrongful discharge if he or she is fired in violation of a well-established public policy of the state." The court added that the exception "is not meant to protect merely private or proprietary interests." The employee in that case had reported suspected false submissions to a federal agency.

The court treated the claim as a contract claim, based on an implied term that an employer will not fire an employee for an act done in the public interest. That choice limits the damages: the measure is lost wages from the firing to the day of trial, minus what the employee earned or could have earned with reasonable diligence, plus other tangible employment benefits lost. "Future damages are not recoverable."

Deadline. No Arkansas decision our research reviewed sets the limitations period for a Sterling claim. Get legal advice promptly rather than assuming a particular deadline.

Personnel manuals and implied contracts (Gladden)

In Gladden v. Arkansas Children's Hospital, 292 Ark. 130 (1987), the Arkansas Supreme Court held that where an employee relies on a personnel manual that "contains an express provision against termination except for cause he may not be arbitrarily discharged in violation of such a provision." The hospital's manuals in that case described dismissal procedures but did not promise that employees would be fired only for cause, so the employees lost.

The practical point: a manual that lists discipline steps is not enough on its own under Gladden; the court looked for an express for-cause promise. Our research did not find an Arkansas Supreme Court holding that adopts a general covenant of good faith limiting at-will firing.

Workers' compensation retaliation

Ark. Code 11-9-107(a) provides that an employer who "willfully discriminates in regard to the hiring or tenure of work" because of an employee's claim for workers' compensation benefits "shall be subject to a fine of up to ten thousand dollars ($10,000)" set by the Workers' Compensation Commission. The prevailing party may recover costs and an attorney's fee from the fine, and the employer may also be guilty of a Class D felony.

The section is narrower than it looks. Subsection (d) says it "shall not be construed as establishing an exception to the employment at will doctrine," and the fine goes to the state's Second Injury Trust Fund rather than to the worker. For the benefits side, see Arkansas workers' compensation laws.

Medical marijuana patients

Arkansas Constitution Amendment 98, section 3(f)(3), as amended by Act 593 of 2017, bars an employer with nine or more employees in Arkansas from firing an employee based on past or present status as a qualifying medical marijuana patient or designated caregiver. An employer may still enforce a drug-free workplace policy, act on a good-faith belief that the employee used or was under the influence of marijuana on the premises or during work hours (a positive test alone is not enough), and exclude a patient from a safety-sensitive position based on a good-faith belief that the patient is currently using marijuana.

Damages are limited to those under 16-123-107(c), including its caps, and the suit must be brought within one year of the alleged discrimination.

Jury service and voting

• Jury service: under Ark. Code 16-31-106, a person summoned for jury duty "shall not be subject to discharge from employment, loss of sick leave, loss of vacation time, or any other form of penalty" for the absence, after giving reasonable notice. A violation is a Class A misdemeanor; the section does not state a private lawsuit.
• Voting: Ark. Code 7-1-102 requires employers to schedule work hours on election days so each employee has an opportunity to vote, with a fine of $25 to $250 on conviction. It is a scheduling duty rather than an express ban on firing.

Whistleblowing

The Arkansas Whistle-Blower Act (Ark. Code 21-1-601 and following) protects public employees only. A public employer may not take adverse action against a public employee who communicates in good faith to an appropriate authority about waste of public funds or a violation of law (21-1-603(a)(1)), and the employee may sue for injunctive relief or actual damages within 180 calendar days after the violation (21-1-604(a)).

Our research found no general private-sector whistleblower statute in Arkansas; a private employee fired for reporting illegal conduct generally looks to the Sterling public-policy claim. For more, see Arkansas whistleblower laws.

Wrongful termination deadlines in Arkansas

The EEOC deadline in Arkansas is 180 days. Both the EEOC's Little Rock Area Office and its Memphis District Office say an individual has 180 days from the date of alleged harm to file a charge against an Arkansas employer with 15 or more employees for race, color, national origin, sex, religion or disability discrimination, and 180 days for age against an employer with 20 or more. Each discrete act, such as a demotion followed by a firing, generally has its own deadline.

The state clock runs separately. The Arkansas suit deadline in 16-123-107(c)(4) is one year from the discrimination or 90 days from an EEOC right-to-sue letter or determination, and whichever of those two dates is later controls.

Where to file in Arkansas

• Arkansas Civil Rights Act claims: directly in court. The act gives a civil action "in a court of competent jurisdiction" (16-123-107(c)(1)(A)), and our research found no state agency that takes private-sector employment discrimination charges.
• Federal discrimination claims: the EEOC, through the EEOC Public Portal or by phone at 1-800-669-4000 when a deadline is near. Arkansas is served by the Little Rock Area Office and the Memphis District Office.
• Workers' compensation retaliation: the fine under 11-9-107 is set by the Arkansas Workers' Compensation Commission.
• Public-policy and contract claims: directly in court.

What a court can award in Arkansas

Arkansas Civil Rights Act. The court may order the employer to stop the practice and "provide affirmative relief," and may award back pay, interest on back pay and, in its discretion, costs and a reasonable attorney's fee (16-123-107(c)(1)(A)). "No liability for back pay shall accrue from a date more than two (2) years prior to the filing of an action" (16-123-107(c)(1)(B)).

For intentional discrimination, the employee may also recover compensatory and punitive damages (16-123-107(c)(2)(A)), capped in total by employer size under 16-123-107(c)(2)(B):

Back pay is listed in a separate subsection from the cap. For employers with 15 or more employees, the Arkansas damages may not duplicate or increase an award over the limit allowed by state or federal law (16-123-107(c)(3)), so a worker who sues under both the Arkansas act and Title VII or the ADA does not recover two capped amounts. Retaliation claims under 16-123-108 carry the same remedies and caps.

Sterling public-policy claim. Lost wages from the firing to trial, less earnings from other work or what reasonable diligence would have earned, plus other tangible benefits lost; no future damages.

Federal law. Title VII and the ADA cap combined compensatory and punitive damages at $50,000 to $300,000 depending on employer size, with back pay outside the cap (42 U.S.C. 1981a(b)(3)). The wrongful termination guide lists the tiers.

Constructive discharge, reasons for firing and personnel files

Our research did not cover an Arkansas test for constructive discharge (quitting because conditions became intolerable), and it did not establish whether Arkansas requires a private employer to state a reason for a firing or to give a former employee access to a personnel file. Do not assume either way; ask a lawyer licensed in Arkansas if one of these matters to your situation.

Practical steps after a firing in Arkansas

Write down the date you were fired, who told you, the reason given, and any complaint, report, injury claim or jury summons involved, and keep copies of the personnel manual, messages and any termination notice. In Arkansas the deadlines to watch are 180 days for an EEOC charge and one year for a state discrimination suit. For your last wages, see Arkansas final paycheck laws.

If the employer offers money for a release, read it before signing: a release can give up the claims described here. Our Arkansas severance pay laws page covers those agreements, and the wrongful termination guide has more on preparing for a claim.

Recent changes

The Arkansas Legislature's index of code sections amended shows one change to the Arkansas Civil Rights Act in the 2021 to 2026 sessions: Act 514 of 2023 (the CROWN Act), which added the hairstyle definitions to 16-123-102 described above. The same index shows no 2021 to 2026 amendment to 11-9-107, 16-31-106 or 21-1-603, and only a 2025 agency-name change in 21-1-604(f) (Act 205 of 2025). The section text itself still comes from the 2020 code release, so check the current code before relying on a cap tier, protected class or deadline above.

Related

• Wrongful termination laws by state
• Arkansas at-will employment laws
• Arkansas whistleblower laws
• Arkansas workers' compensation laws
• Arkansas severance pay laws

Disclaimer: This article provides general legal information about Arkansas wrongful termination law (the Arkansas Civil Rights Act of 1993, the Sterling and Gladden exceptions to at-will employment, Ark. Code 11-9-107, 16-31-106 and the Arkansas Whistle-Blower Act) and the federal laws that apply in Arkansas. It is not legal advice. The information was verified on October 10, 2026, except that the Arkansas statute text comes from a 2020 code release as explained above. For advice about your situation, contact the EEOC, a legal aid office or a lawyer licensed in Arkansas.

Last updated: October 10, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I sue for wrongful termination in Arkansas?

Only when the firing broke a specific law or agreement, such as the Arkansas Civil Rights Act, a federal discrimination law, a personnel-manual promise of firing only for cause, or a well-established public policy recognized in Sterling Drug v. Oxford (1988).

How long do I have to sue under the Arkansas Civil Rights Act?

One year after the discrimination, or 90 days after receiving an EEOC right-to-sue letter or determination, whichever is later (Ark. Code 16-123-107(c)(4)). A retaliation claim under 16-123-108 has three years (Smith v. ConAgra Foods, 2013).

What is the EEOC deadline in Arkansas?

The EEOC's Little Rock and Memphis offices both say 180 days from the date of alleged harm, for employers with 15 or more employees (20 or more for age).

Is there an Arkansas agency where I file a discrimination complaint?

The Arkansas Civil Rights Act gives a direct lawsuit in court, and our research found no state agency step for private-sector employment claims. Federal charges go to the EEOC.

Does Arkansas law protect against age discrimination at work?

The Arkansas Civil Rights Act does not list age. Age claims generally run under the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act, which covers employers with 20 or more employees.

Can I sue my employer for firing me over a workers' comp claim in Arkansas?

Ark. Code 11-9-107 lets the Workers' Compensation Commission fine a willfully discriminating employer up to $10,000, but it says the section is not an exception to at-will employment and is not written as a damages action for the worker.

What damages can I get under the Arkansas Civil Rights Act?

Back pay with interest, an injunction, and in the court's discretion costs and attorney's fees; for intentional discrimination, compensatory and punitive damages up to a cap of $15,000 to $300,000 based on employer size (16-123-107(c)).