When does overtime start in Arkansas?

Arkansas's verified weekly overtime threshold in the registry is 40 hours in a workweek for covered nonexempt employees. Some workers and employers may be exempt, and federal law may also apply.

Does Arkansas have daily overtime?

Arkansas's verified overtime registry does not list a statewide daily overtime trigger. The calculator therefore uses the weekly workweek rule and does not add overtime merely because one shift was longer than eight or twelve hours.

Can daily, weekly, or seventh-day premiums stack in Arkansas?

No. This calculator assigns an hour the single highest applicable overtime premium. It does not pay both a daily and weekly premium on the same hour, which avoids double-counting while still preserving the more protective verified trigger.

What does this Arkansas overtime calculator not decide?

It does not decide exempt status, whether the employer is covered by the FLSA or state law, how a bonus must be allocated across multiple workweeks, or whether a special industry rule, collective-bargaining agreement, public contract, or local ordinance changes the result.

Arkansas Overtime Calculator | State Wage Tools

State

StateAll Arkansas tools

Arkansas overtime is owed at 1.5 times the regular rate after 40 hours in a workweek, under Arkansas Code § 11-4-211. — Source

Calculate Arkansas overtime pay

Enter one workweek. The calculator uses straight-time pay for all hours, then adds only the extra overtime premium for hours that qualify.

Arkansas overtime rule used by this calculator

Arkansas's verified weekly overtime rule pays 1.5 times the regular rate after 40 hours in a workweek. The calculation uses the registry source shown above.

Basic formula

straight-time pay = total hours × hourly rate regular rate = (straight-time pay + includable pay) ÷ total hours overtime premium = premium hours × regular rate × (1.5 − 1) gross pay = straight-time pay + includable pay + overtime premium

Worked example

Arkansas: weekly overtime only

45 hours at a single hourly rate weekly overtime hours = 45 − 40overtime premium = premium hours × regular rate × (1.5 − 1)

What this does not determine

Whether the worker is exempt from overtime under state law or the federal FLSA.
Whether the employer is covered by the FLSA, which matters especially when a state rule reaches only non-FLSA employers.
Multi-rate weighted-average regular-rate issues beyond the single additional-pay field.
Public works, prevailing wage, local ordinances, union contracts, agriculture, transportation, or other industry-specific rules.
Whether a bonus or commission must be allocated to a different workweek.

Sources and verification

This page reads the overtime threshold, multiplier, special daily/seventh-day flags, coverage cautions, and source URL from src/data/states.json. The visible source for this page is the verified registry source and the citation used in prose is Arkansas Code § 11-4-211. Automated tests cover the state's distinctive branch, weekly math, non-stacking of premium hours, and visible result rendering.

Arkansas overtime law: a state statute that covers only employers with four or more employees

Arkansas is one of the few states with its own overtime provision in a state statute — Arkansas Code § 11-4-211 — but that statute applies only to employers with four or more employees. Employers with fewer than four employees are excluded from the Arkansas Minimum Wage Act (AMWA) entirely. For covered employers, the AMWA requires overtime at 1.5× the regular rate for hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek, mirroring the FLSA standard.

The practical effect: most Arkansas workers have both a state and a federal overtime right under the same 40-hour threshold. The state law adds an additional enforcement avenue and the potential for a state-court lawsuit in addition to a federal FLSA claim. Arkansas workers at employers with fewer than four employees may still be covered by the federal FLSA individually (through interstate commerce contacts), but they have no state-law overtime right under the AMWA.

The Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing (labor.arkansas.gov) enforces the Arkansas Minimum Wage Act. Workers can file wage claims with that agency for both minimum wage and overtime violations covered by the state statute. The FLSA's federal enforcement through the U.S. DOL Wage and Hour Division runs in parallel for FLSA-covered employers.

How does Arkansas compare to its neighbors? Missouri reached $15.00 per hour on January 1, 2026 via the constitutional schedule set by Proposition B (2018) — nearly $4.00 above Arkansas's $11.00 rate, which has been static since January 1, 2021, with no increase mechanism. Oklahoma, to the west, also has a $7.25 minimum wage with a 10+ employee coverage threshold. Tennessee, to the east, has no state wage statute at all. Louisiana, to the south, has no state minimum wage and expressly prohibits local ordinances from setting one. Arkansas's $11.00 rate and four-employee overtime threshold make it more protective than its immediate southern and western neighbors.

Common questions

Does Arkansas have its own overtime law separate from the FLSA?

Yes — Arkansas Code § 11-4-211 (the Arkansas Minimum Wage Act) requires overtime at 1.5× the regular rate after 40 hours in a workweek. The coverage threshold is employers with four or more employees. This gives most Arkansas workers both a state-law and a federal-law overtime claim. Employers with fewer than four employees are exempt from the state act.

What happens to overtime for Arkansas workers at very small employers?

If an employer has fewer than four employees, the Arkansas Minimum Wage Act does not apply. Those workers might still have FLSA overtime rights if the employer meets the FLSA enterprise test or the worker is individually engaged in interstate commerce — but they have no Arkansas state-law overtime right under the AMWA.

Where do I file an overtime claim in Arkansas?

The Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing (labor.arkansas.gov) enforces the Arkansas Minimum Wage Act for covered employers with four or more employees. For FLSA-covered employers, the U.S. DOL Wage and Hour Division is an alternative. Workers with four or more employees in the business can use either or both paths.

How does Arkansas overtime compare to Missouri and Oklahoma?

Missouri uses a $15.00/hr minimum wage (effective January 1, 2026) but follows the federal FLSA 40-hour overtime threshold — the same as Arkansas. Oklahoma's minimum wage is $7.25 but its overtime coverage threshold is different: the Oklahoma Minimum Wage Act covers employers with 10 or more full-time employees or $100,000+ in gross sales. Arkansas's four-employee threshold gives its state overtime act broader reach than Oklahoma's among smaller businesses.