Arkansas’s restrictions on an Arkansas Act 746 vaccine mandate are actually spread across two separate statutes, not one. If you work for state or local government, Arkansas Code 20-7-146 flatly prohibits your employer from requiring COVID-19 vaccination. If you work for a private company, Arkansas Code 11-5-118 (originally Act 1113 of 2021) lets your employer require the vaccine only if it offers you a weekly testing alternative or proof of immunity. Which statute governs your situation depends entirely on who signs your paycheck.
Which Statute Covers You
Several 2021 Arkansas bills addressed COVID-19 vaccine mandates and they are routinely confused with one another. The two that matter in practice are 20-7-146 for public employment and 11-5-118 for private employment. The public-sector statute was further strengthened during a 2023 extraordinary session. If you work for a private employer and a vaccine requirement has come down, 11-5-118 is your law. If you work for any level of Arkansas state or local government, 20-7-146 is yours. The rules are not the same.
If You Work for State or Local Government
The rule here is a flat ban. COVID-19 vaccination cannot be required as a condition of employment, education, entry, services, or any state-issued license or permit. This is not a mandate with exemptions. It is a prohibition.
The statute also bars government employers from discriminating against or coercing anyone who refuses the shot. Coercion is defined broadly. It includes conditioning any employment benefit on vaccination, withholding career advancement, or docking pay, insurance, or insurance discounts because you declined. State agencies, counties, cities, school districts, and anyone working under a state or local official all fall inside this prohibition.
If You Work for a Private Employer
Private employers in Arkansas are not banned from requiring COVID-19 vaccination, but 11-5-118 limits how such a requirement can operate. A private employer that imposes a mandate must give employees who decline the shot a way to stay in compliance.
The Testing or Immunity Alternative
An employee who declines COVID-19 vaccination may instead submit a negative test result weekly. The test must be either an antigen detection test or a molecular diagnostic test. The employee can also provide proof of immunity, such as antibody evidence or documentation of a prior positive test, on a schedule no more frequent than once every six months.
Who pays depends on coverage. If your health insurance or available state or federal funding covers the testing, the cost is not yours. If no such coverage exists, you pay. Keeping up with the schedule matters: missing a test or letting your proof of immunity lapse can cost you the protection the statute provides.
Equal Treatment on the Job
An employer cannot single out unvaccinated employees for extra public health measures if vaccinated employees are not subject to the same rules. If you have opted into the testing alternative and are complying with it, your employer cannot require you alone to wear a mask, socially distance, or follow other mitigation protocols. Whatever workplace health rules exist have to apply across the board, regardless of vaccination status. This is where private employers most often slip into violation.
When the State Protections Don’t Apply
Healthcare facilities that participate in Medicare or Medicaid are subject to the federal CMS vaccination rule, which the U.S. Supreme Court upheld in January 2022. The CMS rule covers employees, contractors, students, trainees, and volunteers at participating facilities, and unlike Arkansas’s private-employer framework, it does not allow a weekly testing alternative. It does permit medical and religious accommodations.
Where federal and state law conflict, federal law wins. A hospital, nursing home, or similar facility receiving Medicare or Medicaid funding may still require COVID-19 vaccination under federal authority, even though state law would otherwise restrict that mandate. If your employer cites the CMS rule, the state testing alternative likely does not reach you. Enforcement of the CMS rule has shifted over time, so it’s worth confirming whether your facility is actively enforcing it. Federal contractors may face separate requirements tied to Executive Order 14042, which has been suspended but not formally revoked.
Non-COVID Vaccines Are Treated Differently
Employers in Arkansas may still require other vaccines, such as an annual flu shot or standard immunizations tied to the work, particularly in healthcare settings. The testing alternative under 11-5-118 does not apply to these. Instead, you can request an exemption under one of two categories:
- Medical exemption: a licensed healthcare provider supplies a written statement identifying a recognized medical reason you should not receive the vaccine.
- Religious exemption: you hold a sincerely held religious belief, practice, or observance that conflicts with vaccination. The employer may evaluate whether the belief is genuinely held but cannot question its theological validity or require affiliation with an organized religion.
If you qualify for either exemption, the employer must provide a reasonable accommodation unless doing so would create an undue hardship on operations. Accommodations can take many forms: reassignment, remote work, alternative protective measures. An employer that skips this analysis and goes straight to termination is exposed to liability.
What You Can Do If Your Employer Violates the Law
If you are fired or otherwise punished for exercising rights under these statutes, you have two main routes.
- Civil lawsuit: you may file in court seeking equitable relief, which can include reinstatement to the same or an equivalent position. Monetary damages are available for lost wages, lost benefits, and reasonable attorney’s fees.
- Unemployment benefits: an employee terminated in violation of the law may qualify for unemployment insurance, which provides some income while other remedies are pursued.
The civil action is the primary enforcement mechanism. There is no clearly established administrative complaint process at the Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing specifically for vaccine mandate violations. If you believe your rights have been violated, an employment attorney can evaluate whether state law, federal law, or both apply to your situation, and whether your employer’s conduct crosses the line the statute draws.