Arkansas Workers' Compensation Laws: Benefits, Deadlines, and Your Rights

Arkansas requires most employers to carry workers' compensation insurance. If you are injured on the job, you receive guaranteed medical care and partial wage replacement without having to prove fault. In exchange, workers' compensation is generally your exclusive remedy against your employer, meaning you give up the right to sue them in civil court.

Is workers' comp required in Arkansas?

Arkansas law requires workers' compensation coverage for every employment in which 3 or more employees are regularly employed by the same employer. The Arkansas Workers' Compensation Commission (AWCC) administers the system. Employers can satisfy the requirement through a commercial insurance policy or, with AWCC approval, through approved self-insurance.

The 3-employee figure is only the general rule, and smaller employers are often covered anyway. Ark. Code Ann. 11-9-102(11) also defines covered employment to include every employment in which 2 or more employees are employed by any person engaged in building or building repair work, every employment in which 1 or more employees are employed by a contractor who subcontracts any part of his or her contract, and every employment in which 1 or more employees are employed by a subcontractor. If you do construction work for a one-person or two-person outfit, do not assume you are outside the system. The AWCC makes the same point, warning that there are exceptions to the three-or-more requirement and that employers with fewer than three employees should check before assuming the law does not reach them.

The exemptions from the 3-employee rule are also more specific than a general "agricultural and domestic work" summary. Section 11-9-102(11)(A) excludes domestic servants in or about a private home; gardening, maintenance, repair, remodeling, or similar work in or about a private home or residence; agricultural farm labor; the State of Arkansas and its political subdivisions except as other statutes provide; people covered by a federal rule of liability for workplace injury; people performing services for a nonprofit religious, charitable, or relief organization; newspaper and magazine vendors, sales agents, and distributors; and licensed real estate agents who are qualified real estate agents under federal tax law.

If your employer fails to carry required coverage, you retain the right to sue them directly in tort court as an alternative path to recovery. Employers who knowingly fail to secure coverage can also face penalties from the Commission.

The AWCC maintains a searchable employer coverage database and handles all disputed claims through an administrative hearing process. If you need to verify your employer's coverage or file a claim, the AWCC is your starting point. Its official site is at labor.arkansas.gov/workers-comp/.

Benefits you can receive

Arkansas workers' compensation provides two broad categories of benefits: medical and wage replacement.

Medical benefits cover all reasonably necessary treatment related to your work injury, including emergency care, surgery, hospitalization, prescription drugs, and physical therapy. There are no copays or deductibles for covered medical expenses. Treatment must be authorized through the employer or insurer's designated treating physician (see the doctor-choice section below).

Wage replacement for temporary total disability (TTD) pays 66 2/3% of your average weekly wage (AWW), up to a maximum the AWCC adjusts annually. There is a 7-day waiting period before weekly benefits begin. However, if your disability lasts 14 or more days, benefits are paid retroactively to the day after the injury, so you are not permanently penalized for shorter impairments that extend past the two-week mark.

The main disability categories in Arkansas track the standard national framework:

• Temporary Total Disability (TTD): you cannot work at all during recovery.
• Temporary Partial Disability (TPD): you can work in a limited capacity at reduced wages.
• Permanent Partial Disability (PPD): your injury causes a lasting but partial impairment; benefits are often calculated on a scheduled-body-part basis.
• Permanent Total Disability (PTD): you cannot return to gainful employment.
• Death and survivor benefits: payable to dependents if an injury results in death.

Vocational rehabilitation may also be available if you cannot return to your previous job. Many claims ultimately resolve through a negotiated lump-sum settlement.

Deadlines: reporting your injury and filing a claim

Two separate obligations govern every Arkansas workers' compensation claim, and they do not work the same way. One is a hard filing deadline with a date attached. The other is a reporting duty with no fixed number of days attached, but with real financial consequences for waiting.

First: report to your employer. Arkansas sets no fixed numeric deadline for telling your employer about a work injury. Under Ark. Code Ann. 11-9-701, unless the injury leaves you physically or mentally unable to do so, or the employer learns of it immediately after it happens, you must report the injury on a form prescribed or approved by the Workers' Compensation Commission, to the person or at the place your employer specifies. Any reporting procedure the employer sets must be reasonable and must give you reasonable notice of what it requires. If you need emergency medical treatment outside your employer's normal business hours, you must have a report of the injury made on the employer's next regular business day.

The consequence of waiting is financial rather than absolute: your employer is not responsible for disability, medical, or other benefits for the period before it receives your report. Failing to give notice does not by itself end your claim. Section 11-9-701(b) provides that failure to give notice shall not bar a claim if the employer had knowledge of the injury or death, if you had no knowledge that the condition arose out of and in the course of employment, or if the Commission excuses the failure because for some satisfactory reason notice could not be given. An objection to your failure to give notice must be made at or before the first hearing on the claim.

None of that is a reason to delay. Report every work injury on your employer's prescribed form as soon as you can, in writing, even if you think you can push through it: every day before your report is a day your employer does not owe benefits for, and the exceptions above are things you would have to prove after the fact.

Second: file a formal claim. You have 2 years from the date of the compensable injury to file a formal claim with the AWCC. If compensation has already been paid on your injury, a claim for additional compensation must be filed within 1 year from the date of the last payment of compensation or 2 years from the date of the injury, whichever is greater. That filing bar is strict, and it is not tolled simply because you were receiving medical treatment.

For related information on Arkansas civil deadlines, see the Arkansas statute of limitations page.

Choosing your doctor

Arkansas is an employer/insurer-directed state. Your employer or their workers' compensation insurer selects the treating physician and controls the medical care plan. You do not generally have the right to choose your own doctor for primary treatment.

In practice, this means you should seek medical care through the channels your employer or insurer directs from the start. If you see a doctor of your own choosing without authorization, the insurer may refuse to cover that treatment.

If you disagree with the authorized physician's findings or treatment plan, you have limited rights to request a change of physician through the AWCC process, but approval is not guaranteed. This is one of the most common areas of dispute in Arkansas workers' comp claims, and consulting an attorney is advisable if you believe the authorized physician is not properly addressing your condition.

The employer/insurer-directed model is a significant practical constraint. Knowing this rule upfront lets you avoid losing coverage by acting independently before seeking authorization.

Can you sue your employer? The exclusive-remedy rule

Workers' compensation is built on a no-fault bargain: you receive guaranteed benefits regardless of whether the employer was negligent, and in exchange you give up the right to sue your employer in tort court. This is the exclusive remedy rule, and it applies in Arkansas under Ark. Code Ann. Title 11, Ch. 9.

That said, the exclusive remedy has standard exceptions:

1. Intentional harm by the employer. If your employer deliberately intended to injure you, you may be able to pursue a civil claim outside the workers' comp system.
2. Third-party claims. If a party other than your employer caused or contributed to your injury (such as a negligent equipment manufacturer, a careless driver, or a subcontractor), you can sue that third party in tort while still collecting workers' comp benefits. The State of Arkansas does not assert a lien on what you recover. Under Ark. Code Ann. 11-9-410, your employer or its carrier is entitled to reasonable notice and an opportunity to join that action, and only if they join are they entitled to a first lien on two-thirds of the net proceeds remaining after reasonable costs of collection. One-third of that remainder belongs to you in every case, and any excess above what the employer and carrier have paid or owe in compensation belongs to you as well.
3. Uninsured employer. If your employer was required to carry coverage but failed to do so, you can sue them directly in civil court rather than being limited to the workers' comp system.

The bar against suing your employer is real and broad. For the vast majority of workplace injuries, workers' comp benefits are the only recovery you will get from your employer directly. An attorney can help you identify whether any exceptions apply to your situation.

If you were hurt at work in Arkansas

Taking the right steps immediately after a workplace injury protects your claim and your health:

1. Report in writing, right away. Notify your supervisor or HR department using the reporting form and the channel your employer specifies. Put it in writing, even if only by email or text, and keep a copy. Your employer owes no benefits for the period before it receives your report, so delay costs you money even though it does not automatically bar your claim.
2. Get medical care through the authorized channel. Follow your employer's or insurer's instructions for which treating physician to see. Unauthorized treatment may not be covered.
3. File a formal claim with the AWCC before the deadline. Do not assume that receiving medical treatment means a formal claim has been filed. Contact the AWCC at labor.arkansas.gov/workers-comp/ to understand the filing process.
4. Document everything. Keep records of all medical visits, diagnoses, prescribed restrictions, and any lost-wage documentation. Save all correspondence with your employer and insurer.
5. Understand your rights around retaliation. Arkansas law prohibits employers from retaliating against workers who file a workers' comp claim. If you are disciplined, demoted, or terminated in connection with your claim, you may have a separate legal claim.
6. Consult a workers' comp attorney for disputes or serious injuries. If your claim is denied, your benefits are cut off early, you have a permanent disability, or you are offered a settlement, an attorney can help you evaluate your options. Many workers' comp attorneys in Arkansas work on contingency and offer free consultations.

Return to the Workers' Compensation Laws by State hub for information about other states or for a broader overview of how the system works nationwide.

This article is general legal information, not legal advice. Workers' compensation rules vary by state and change, and benefit amounts and deadlines depend on the specific facts. For advice about a specific claim, consult a licensed workers' compensation attorney in Arkansas.

More Arkansas Laws

• Arkansas At-Will Employment Laws
• Arkansas Car Accident Laws
• Arkansas Final Paycheck Laws
• Arkansas Slip and Fall Laws
• Arkansas Statute of Limitations