At-will employment doctrine
Arkansas recognizes the doctrine of "employment at will." Either the employer or the employee may end the employment relationship at any time for any reason or for no reason at all. This common-law rule is the default for Arkansas employment relationships unless modified by contract or statute. Exceptions exist under state and federal law, including prohibitions on termination based on protected characteristics (age, sex, race, religion, national origin, disability, genetic information) and protections for employees who refuse to break the law, serve on jury duty, obey a subpoena, or report suspected legal violations.
Final paycheck timing — involuntary termination
Under Arkansas law, when an employer discharges an employee (involuntary termination), the employer must pay all wages due by the next regular payday. This is the baseline requirement under Ark. Code § 11-4-405(a). The statute applies to all earned wages owed to the terminated employee at the time of discharge, regardless of the reason for termination.
Penalty for late payment
If the employer fails to pay the final wages within seven (7) days of that next regular payday, the employer becomes liable for double the wages due under Ark. Code § 11-4-405(b). This penalty is automatic and statutory — no additional employee showing of harm or intent is required. The seven-day grace period runs from the next regular payday, not from the date of termination itself.
Practical timeline
For example, if an employee is terminated on a Wednesday and the employer's regular payday is every other Friday, the employer must issue the final paycheck by the next scheduled payday (the Friday following termination, or the Friday after that if the termination falls just after a payday). The seven-day penalty window begins on that payday. If the employer misses the payday and still has not paid within seven days thereafter, the double-wage penalty attaches.
Voluntary resignation
Arkansas has no parallel state-law requirement governing the timing of final paychecks for employees who resign voluntarily. Employers should follow their regular payroll schedule for voluntary separations, and federal wage-payment timing rules under the Fair Labor Standards Act still apply (which generally require payment on the next regular payday, though FLSA does not impose a specific state-level deadline for final paychecks). In practice, many employers apply the same next-regular-payday standard to voluntary resignations to maintain consistency, but Arkansas statute imposes no state penalty for delayed payment in that scenario.
What wages are "due"
The statute requires payment of "all wages due." This includes all regular hours worked through the last day of employment, any earned overtime, commissions or bonuses that have become payable under the employer's established policy, and — if the employer has a written policy or practice providing for it — accrued but unused paid time off. Arkansas law does not mandate payout of accrued vacation or PTO upon separation unless the employer's own policy commits to such payment; if the policy is silent or explicitly forfeits unused PTO, the employer has no statutory obligation to include it in the final check.
Enforcement
Employees may file wage claims with the Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing, Labor Standards Division. The statute of limitations for wage claims, including final-paycheck claims, is generally three years for willful violations under state law.