New hiring laws in Arkansas for 2027: E-Verify for state employers, job board matching for unemployment claimants, the 2026 tax cut and what employers do next

As of November 2026, Arkansas made few changes to hiring that take effect in 2026 or 2027. The General Assembly held a fiscal session in 2026 and meets in regular session again in 2027, so the changes come from 2025 acts with delayed dates and a 2026 extraordinary session. Since January 1, 2026, state government employers must run new hires through E-Verify (Act 948), with Department of Labor and Licensing enforcement from July 1, 2026; unemployment claimants must keep a profile on the state job board, which matches them to posted jobs, and report five work search contacts a week (Act 708); and a law enforcement agency that hires an officer trained elsewhere in the past 24 months owes training repayment (Act 748). Act 1 of the 2026 First Extraordinary Session cut the top individual income tax rate to 3.7% for 2026.

Arkansas passed no pay transparency, salary history, AI hiring or private-employer E-Verify rule, and the minimum wage stays at $11.00. Each item below links to the act on the Arkansas State Legislature's site. The standing checklist (Division of Workforce Services registration, the AR4EC withholding form, new-hire reporting, workers' compensation) is in our Arkansas hiring hub; this page is the dated list of what is new.

Which Arkansas hiring laws changed in 2026, and what changes in 2027?

Arkansas acts and the federal rules that apply to Arkansas employers, sorted by date.

Which Arkansas employers must use E-Verify since January 1, 2026?

State government employers. Act 948 of 2025, approved April 21, 2025, adds the "E-Verify Requirement Act" at Ark. Code 21-3-901 to 21-3-906. It defines an employer as "a state government department, board, bureau, political subdivision, or agency licensed under statute or rule to operate in this state." A covered employer must create an E-Verify account and, after hiring, "employ provisionally the employee until the employee's work authorization has been verified," submit every new hire even if the job ends within three business days, and keep the record for the length of employment or three years, whichever is longer. Employees hired before January 1, 2026 are not covered, and Form I-9 is still completed for every hire.

Some compliance summaries describe July 1, 2026 as a start date for private employers. The act does not say that. July 1, 2026 is when section 21-3-906(c) lets the Department of Labor and Licensing notify a covered employer that failed to use E-Verify and give it 30 days to cure. A tentative nonconfirmation is not a final result, so public HR teams need a written process for the contest period; the federal steps are in E-Verify tentative nonconfirmation, and the coverage questions (including how political subdivisions read the definition) are in E-Verify requirements in Arkansas.

What changed for jobs posted on Arkansas's state job board?

More matched applicants. Act 708 of 2025 (HB 1582), effective January 1, 2026, amends Ark. Code 11-10-507 so that a person claiming unemployment benefits must have "created an account on the state-maintained job board listing his or her work experience, credentials or licenses held or earned," and must report at least five work search contacts in each week claimed. The job board must match open jobs with claimants, where "match" means the claimant's qualifications correspond to "at least seventy-five percent (75%) of the requirements of the open job," and a claimant with five or more matches is encouraged to apply to the top five. A claimant who misses the five contacts is not eligible for that week, and the Division of Workforce Services must audit at least 100 work search reports a week.

For employers, postings on the state job board now feed a matching engine that steers claimants toward them, so clear must-have requirements matter: the match is calculated against what the posting lists. Expect more applications from people logging work search contacts, answer them consistently, and keep the screening record, since a claimant's report of an employer contact may be among those the division audits.

What do Arkansas police and sheriff's departments owe when they hire a trained officer?

Act 748 of 2025 (SB 521), effective January 1, 2026, rewrites Ark. Code 12-9-209. When a county, city, town or state law enforcement agency hires an officer within 24 months (it was 18) after another agency paid for the officer's academy training, the hiring agency reimburses the full cost if the hire comes within 12 months and 50% if it comes between 12 and 24 months, unless the training agency had terminated the officer. The request must be written, itemized and made within six months of the hire, and the Treasurer of State can withhold unpaid amounts from county or municipal aid. The hiring agency must also notify the Division of Law Enforcement Standards and Training immediately, and the division then tells the agency that paid for the training. Lateral-hire offers and recruiting budgets for police roles should price in that repayment.

Did Arkansas change income tax withholding for 2026?

The rates changed. Act 1 of the First Extraordinary Session of 2026 (HB 1001), approved May 6, 2026, amends Ark. Code 26-51-201 "for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2026": the top rate for individuals is 3.7%, and residents with net income of $94,700 or less use a table running from 0% to 3.7%. Act 2 of the same session (SB 1) carries the same subtitle. The act does not itself set withholding tables, so confirm with your payroll provider that the Department of Finance and Administration's current formula is applied, and remind new hires that the AR4EC is still the state withholding form.

Which 2025 Arkansas changes are already in force?

Three 2025 acts that took effect in 2025 still shape hiring and are often mistaken for new ones: Act 232 makes a covenant not to compete unenforceable for certain licensed medical professionals (see Arkansas non-compete law); Act 438 repealed the Arkansas Private Employment Agency Act of 1975 and agency licensing (see our Arkansas staffing agency guide); and Act 369 lets a current or former employer disclose substantiated allegations of sexual abuse or harassment to a prospective employer with the employee's written consent (see Arkansas background check laws).

What did not change in Arkansas?

• Minimum wage. Still $11.00 an hour for employers with four or more employees, as the Department of Labor and Licensing lists it.
• No pay range or salary history law; see the Arkansas pay transparency guide and Arkansas salary history page.
• Criminal history. No ban-the-box rule for private employers; see Arkansas ban-the-box. With the EEOC guidance rescinded, a job-related review using the Green factors from the 1975 Eighth Circuit case (the nature and gravity of the offense, the time since it and the nature of the job) is still a sound way to decide and document.
• Federal contractors. The FAR E-Verify clause, FAR 52.222-54, is separate from the OFCCP rule removal and still binds covered federal contractors.
• Drug testing and recording. The voluntary drug-free workplace program and one-party recording consent are unchanged; see Arkansas drug testing laws and Arkansas recording consent for interviews.

What should Arkansas employers do before January 1, 2027?

1. Public employers: confirm E-Verify coverage and that every hire since January 1, 2026 has a case and a retained record.
2. Tighten must-have requirements in postings on the state job board, because claimants are matched against them.
3. Law enforcement agencies: budget for training repayment on lateral hires within 24 months of the academy, and notify the standards division at each hire.
4. Check payroll withholding against the 2026 rates.
5. Check Form I-9 versions and EAD reverification dates under the federal changes in the table; see Form I-9 reverification.
6. Remove references to the 2012 EEOC guidance from background check procedures.

What does this mean for staffing agencies in Arkansas?

Since Act 438, an Arkansas staffing agency needs no state employment agency license, but the 2026 changes still reach it. An agency placing temporary workers into state agencies or political subdivisions should expect those clients to ask how workers were verified, and an agency that posts openings on the state job board will receive matched claimant applications. Agencies that place officers into police departments should know that repayment falls on the hiring agency. The federal I-9 and EAD changes apply to every temporary worker an agency employs; see E-Verify for staffing agencies and employer of record in Arkansas. Other states' 2027 changes are in new hiring laws for 2027.