Act 914, HB 1846 – TO AMEND AND CLARIFY THE MINIMUM WAGE ACT OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY

Arkansas Session Laws of the 2017 Regular Session (2017)

HB 1846, Act 914

For An Act To Be Entitled

AN ACT TO AMEND AND CLARIFY THE MINIMUM WAGE ACT OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS; TO OVERRULE GERBER PRODUCTS COMPANY V. HEWITT, 2016 ARK. 222, 492 S.W.3D 856; TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

Subtitle

TO AMEND AND CLARIFY THE MINIMUM WAGE ACT OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS:

SECTION 1.

DO NOT CODIFY. Purpose.

The purpose of this act is to resolve questions that have arisen regarding:

(1) The proper interpretation of 11-4-205 and 11-4-218(b); and

(2) What activities constitute "work" under the Minimum Wage Act of the State of Arkansas, 11-4-201 et seq., as interpreted by the Supreme Court in Gerber Products Company v. Hewitt, 2016 Ark. 222, 492 S.W.3d 856.

SECTION 2.

Arkansas Code 11-4-205 is amended to read as follows

11-4-205. Right of collective bargaining not affected.

Nothing in this subchapter, including the provisions of 11-4-218(b), shall be deemed to interfere with, impede, or in any way diminish the right of employers and employees to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing in order to establish wages or other conditions of work.

SECTION 3.

Arkansas Code 11-4-218, concerning employees' remedies for underpayment of wages, is amended to add an additional subsection to read as follows

(f) When construing this subchapter, a court may look for guidance to state and federal decisions interpreting the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended and codified in 29 U.S.C. 201 et seq., as it existed on January 1, 2017, which decisions and act shall have persuasive authority only.

SECTION 4.

Arkansas Code Title 11, Chapter 4, Subchapter 2, is amended to add an additional section to read as follows

11-4-221. Relief from liability under this subchapter for failure to pay minimum wage or overtime compensation.

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, an employer is not subject to liability under this subchapter, on account of the failure of the employer to pay an employee minimum wages or to pay an employee overtime compensation, for or on account of any of the following activities of the employee:

(1) Walking, riding, or traveling to and from the actual place of performance of the principal activity or activities which the employee is employed to perform; and

(2)(A) An activity that is...