Arkansas pay transparency law: no range rule, a reference law that shares wage history, and what applies (2026)

Arkansas has no law that requires employers to put a pay range in job postings or to give one on request, as of November 2026, and a search of the Legislature's bills for the 2025 and 2026 sessions finds none that would add one. State law in fact points the other way on pay history: Arkansas Code 11-3-204 lets a former employer share a candidate's "current pay rate and wage history" with a prospective employer once the candidate consents in writing. What limits pay decisions is the state equal pay law, Arkansas Code 11-4-610, the Arkansas Civil Rights Act, federal equal pay law, and other states' posting laws for remote roles.

Does Arkansas require a salary range in job postings?

No. Nothing we found in the Arkansas Code says what a job advertisement must disclose about pay, and there is no duty to give a range on request or after an interview. A Little Rock, Fayetteville or Fort Smith employer may post without a range and, under state law, may ask what a candidate earns now. The rest of Arkansas's hiring rules are in our guide to hiring employees in Arkansas.

Other Arkansas screening rules have their own pages: background checks, criminal history questions and E-Verify.

Has the Arkansas Legislature considered a pay transparency bill?

Not that the Legislature's records show. We searched the bill text of the 2025 regular session, the 2026 fiscal session and the 2026 special session on the Legislature's advanced search on November 3, 2026:

We found no posting bill and no salary history bill in the 2025–2026 biennium, so there is nothing pending to watch for 2027.

What does Arkansas law say about wage history in references?

This is the Arkansas rule recruiters are least likely to know. Arkansas Code 11-3-204(a)(1), "Providing references to prospective employers," says a current or former employer "may disclose the following information about a current or former employee's employment history to a prospective employer of the current or former employee upon receipt of written consent from the current or former employee," and the list includes the date and duration of employment and "current pay rate and wage history," along with job duties, the last written performance evaluation, attendance, recent drug or alcohol test results and eligibility for rehire. Act 369 of 2025, approved March 20, 2025, added substantiated allegations of sexual abuse or sexual harassment to the list.

So a written-consent reference check that asks for pay is lawful in Arkansas, the opposite of the many states that ban seeking pay history. Two cautions. The consent is the candidate's, so it should be specific and in writing. And a lawful way to learn prior pay is not a reason to use it: the equal pay rules below still judge the offer you build on it, and a remote candidate in a salary history ban state is protected by that state's law; see salary history ban states.

What does Arkansas's equal pay law require?

Arkansas Code 11-4-610, in the wage discrimination sections whose history notes cite Act 361 of 1955, says: "No employer shall discriminate in the payment of wages as between the sexes or shall pay any female in his or her employ salary or wage rates less than the rates paid to male employees for comparable work." Subsection (b) allows differences based on "seniority, experience, training, skill, ability, differences in duties and services performed, differences in the shift or time of the day worked, or any other reasonable differentiation except difference in sex."

• Remedy. Under 11-4-611 the employer is liable for the employees' unpaid wages, an agreement to work for less is no defense, and an action for wages and liquidated damages "must be commenced within two (2) years."
• Enforcement. Under 11-4-609 the Secretary of the Department of Labor and Licensing administers these sections.
• Civil rights. The Arkansas Civil Rights Act of 1993, Arkansas Code 16-123-107(a)(1), protects "the right to obtain and hold employment without discrimination" because of race, religion, national origin, gender or disability.

"Comparable work" is broader wording than the federal Act's "equal work," which is one more reason to set offers from the role's range rather than from what a reference check reported.

Can an Arkansas city require pay ranges?

We found no Arkansas city or county ordinance requiring pay ranges in postings as of November 2026. The Intrastate Commerce Improvement Act, Act 137 of 2015, bars local governments from adopting an ordinance that "creates a protected classification or prohibits discrimination on a basis not contained in state law." It does not mention pay disclosure, so it limits some local employment rules without directly addressing a posting ordinance. Our Arkansas ban-the-box page explains how the same Act affects local criminal history rules.

Which federal rules apply to Arkansas employers?

• Equal Pay Act and Title VII. The EEOC's equal pay page says the Equal Pay Act requires equal pay for "substantially equal" jobs and covers virtually all employers; Title VII and the ADA add pay claims at 15 or more employees.
• Prior pay in the Eighth Circuit. Arkansas is in the Eighth Circuit, which in Taylor v. White (2003) called for "a case-by-case analysis of reliance on prior salary or salary retention policies with careful attention to alleged gender-based practices," as quoted in the Ninth Circuit's en banc opinion in Rizo v. Yovino (2020). That is more room than the Ninth Circuit allows, but not a safe harbor: the employer still has to prove the factor was not sex.
• Pay discussions. The NLRB lists "talking with one or more co-workers about your wages and benefits" as protected concerted activity.
• Federal contractors. OFCCP's pay transparency provision, 41 CFR 60-1.35, is not in force. Executive Order 14173 revoked Executive Order 11246 on January 21, 2025, and the Labor Department's final rule rescinded part 60-1 effective October 26, 2026 (91 FR 54444).

When do other states' rules reach an Arkansas job?

Rarely through the neighbors. Missouri, Tennessee and Texas have no statewide posting law (see our Missouri, Tennessee and Texas pages), though Kansas City, Missouri bans salary history questions for employers located there with six or more employees. The posting rules that matter come with remote roles:

A Bentonville or Little Rock employer posting a role as "remote, US" should check each state it is open to; see pay transparency for remote jobs and pay transparency laws by state.

What should recruiters and staffing agencies hiring in Arkansas do?

1. Decide whether you will ask references about pay at all. Section 11-3-204 allows it with written consent; a range-first process does not need it.
2. If you do ask, get specific written consent and do not use the figure for candidates who live in a ban state.
3. Get the client's range in writing at intake and say it early; see salary expectation questions. Agency rules are in staffing agency license in Arkansas.
4. Check every remote req against the posting states it reaches.
5. Write down why each offer is what it is, in terms of experience, skill, duties or shift, the differences 11-4-610(b) allows.

Example only: a Rogers staffing firm fills a "remote, US" analyst role for a client. It posts "$72,000 to $86,000, medical, dental, 401(k), applications close January 10," which Arkansas does not require but Colorado and Washington do, and it skips the pay question on reference checks so the same process works for every candidate.

Arkansas pay rules at a glance

An Arkansas posting checklist

ARKANSAS POSTING CHECKLIST (as of November 2026)

[ ] Arkansas-only role: range optional under state law; have one ready
[ ] Remote role: check each state the ad is open to
    Colorado: pay or range + benefits + application close date
    Washington: range (or fixed wage) + benefits
    Illinois: pay scale + benefits (or a link)
[ ] Reference checks: pay asked only with written consent, or not at all
[ ] Candidate in a salary history ban state? Do not seek pay history
[ ] Offer reason written down (experience, skill, duties, shift)
[ ] No pay-secrecy language in the offer letter or handbook
[ ] Agency: client's range and benefits received in writing