Filing a Workplace Harassment Complaint in Arkansas
Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team - Arkansas - Last updated September 15, 2026
Arkansas is the state where the missing agency is not the bad news. There is no Arkansas civil rights agency that takes workplace discrimination complaints. The Arkansas Civil Rights Act of 1993, at Ark. Code Ann. 16-123-101 through 16-123-108, creates no commission, no charge, no investigation, no hearing and no right to sue letter. The only commission created anywhere in the state's civil rights chapter is a fair housing commission, and its subject is housing rather than employment, so a complaint sent there about a supervisor is in the wrong place. What Arkansas gives instead is a direct route to court. Section 16-123-107(c)(1)(A) provides that an individual injured by employment discrimination has a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction, and because there is no agency there is nothing to exhaust: no charge to file first, no waiting period to sit out, and no letter to collect before a state claim can be brought. That is the opposite of Texas, California, Illinois and Ohio, where the agency step is a prerequisite, and it is the reason Arkansas is not a thin state even though it has no agency. The deadline sits in the next subsection. Section 16-123-107(c)(3) states that an action based on employment discrimination must be brought within one year after the alleged employment discrimination occurred, or within ninety days of receipt of a right to sue letter or a notice of determination from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, whichever is later. Read that tie breaker, because in Arkansas the federal agency's letter can extend the state deadline rather than shorten it. Read the trigger too, because the section says occurred rather than ceased and the subchapter carries no continuing violation language. Confirm the current text of that section before you count days on it. The number that bites first, though, is federal, and it is short. The EEOC's Little Rock Area Office states that an individual has 180 days from the date of alleged harm to file a charge with that office. Not 300. Arkansas has no state or local law supplying the longer federal window, so a reader who has absorbed the common 300 day advice can lose the federal claim on day 181 while believing months are left. Coverage is the other lever, and here Arkansas reaches further down than federal law does. Section 16-123-102(5) defines a covered employer by reference to nine or more employees in the State of Arkansas in each of twenty or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year, against the 15 employees Title VII requires. Confirm that definition and your employer's count with an Arkansas attorney rather than deciding on a headcount alone, and check the exemptions first, because section 16-123-103(a) places employment by a religious entity outside the Act's employment provisions entirely. One caution about the statute's own language. The word harassment does not appear in the Act's employment provisions, which confer the right to obtain and hold employment without discrimination and say nothing about a hostile work environment or a severity standard. How the Act applies to a course of harassment is a question of Arkansas case law rather than something the text answers, so an Arkansas attorney is worth a call early. If what you are dealing with involves assault, threats or stalking, contact emergency services and speak with an attorney; that needs more than a complaint form.
Find out where you stand in Arkansas
Where are you with the harassment complaint?
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How long do I have to file a workplace harassment complaint in Arkansas?
Two clocks run and the federal one is shorter. The EEOC's Little Rock Area Office states that an individual has 180 days from the date of alleged harm to file a charge with that office, and that is the Arkansas number for every basis, not 300 days. The state clock is in Ark. Code Ann. 16-123-107(c)(3), which as written requires an action based on employment discrimination to be brought within one year after the discrimination occurred, or within ninety days of receipt of a right to sue letter or a notice of determination from the EEOC, whichever is later. Confirm the current text of that section before you count on it, and calendar the 180 day federal date first because it arrives first.
Do I have to file with a state agency before I can sue for harassment in Arkansas?
No, and in Arkansas there is no agency to file with. The Arkansas Civil Rights Act of 1993 creates no commission, no charge procedure and no right to sue letter, so there is nothing to exhaust before going to court. Section 16-123-107(c)(1)(A) gives an individual injured by employment discrimination a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction, full stop. Filing an EEOC charge is still a precondition to a federal Title VII claim, and it is worth doing on its own timetable, but it is not a gate you have to pass through to bring the Arkansas claim.
Which Arkansas agency handles workplace harassment complaints?
None does, and this is the point at which Arkansas trips people up. The only commission created in the state's civil rights chapter is a fair housing commission, and its subject matter is housing: its operative provisions deal with refusing to sell or rent a dwelling, not with anything that happens at work. A complaint about a supervisor sent to a housing agency will not be investigated, and waiting for an answer can burn the 180 day federal charge deadline. The only administrative forum for an Arkansas workplace harassment complaint is the federal EEOC, through its Little Rock Area Office.
Arkansas created no civil rights agency for employment, so the state claim goes straight to court while the federal charge runs on a short 180 day clock.
There is no Arkansas state agency that takes workplace discrimination complaints. The Arkansas Civil Rights Act of 1993 runs eight sections, from Ark. Code Ann. 16-123-101 to 16-123-108, and it creates no commission, no charge, no investigation and no right to sue letter. The only commission in the state's civil rights chapter is a fair housing commission whose subject is housing, so it is not the place to send a complaint about a supervisor. Searching for an Arkansas civil rights commission will surface that housing body, and waiting for it to act on an employment complaint can cost you the federal deadline.
Relevant Laws
Ark. Code Ann. 16-123-107(c)(1)(A): A Civil Action in Court, With No Agency Step
An individual injured by employment discrimination has a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction. Arkansas created no agency for employment discrimination, so there is no charge to file, no waiting period and no right to sue letter before that action.
Ark. Code Ann. 16-123-102(5): Employer Defined by Reference to Nine Employees in Arkansas
The definition turns on nine or more employees in the State of Arkansas in each of twenty or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year, against 15 under Title VII. Employees are counted in state, so confirm coverage rather than relying on a raw headcount.
Ark. Code Ann. 16-123-107(a): The Bases the Employment Provision Names
The section recognizes the right to be free from discrimination because of race, religion, national origin, gender, or the presence of any sensory, mental or physical disability. Do not assume a basis outside that sentence is covered; ask an attorney and protect the federal route meanwhile.
Ark. Code Ann. 16-123-103(a): Religious Entities Sit Outside the Employment Provisions
The subchapter's employment provisions are stated not to apply to employment by a religious corporation, association, society or other religious entity. This carve out is wider than the federal one and can remove the state claim entirely.
Ark. Code Ann. 16-123-102(4): Who Does Not Count as an Employee
The term employee excludes an individual employed by a parent, spouse or child, an individual in a specialized employment training program at a nonprofit sheltered workshop or rehabilitation facility, and an individual employed outside the State of Arkansas.
Regional Variances
How Arkansas differs
Because there is no agency, there is nothing to
Because there is no agency, there is nothing to exhaust. Section 16-123-107(c)(1)(A) gives an individual injured by employment discrimination a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction, and no state charge, waiting period or right to sue letter comes before it. Arkansas is the reverse of the states where the agency step is a prerequisite: for a state claim the courthouse is the first stop rather than the last.
Section 16-123-107(c)(3) sets the state court deadline, and it
Section 16-123-107(c)(3) sets the state court deadline, and it has two branches. As that section is written, an action based on employment discrimination must be brought within one year after the discrimination occurred, or within ninety days of receipt of a right to sue letter or a notice of determination from the EEOC, whichever is later. The tie breaker runs in your favor, because the federal agency's letter can extend the state window instead of closing it. Confirm the current text of the section before relying on either branch, and calendar the earlier date while you do.
The clock that runs out first in Arkansas is
The clock that runs out first in Arkansas is the federal one. The EEOC's Little Rock Area Office states that an individual has 180 days from the date of alleged harm to file a charge with that office against an employer with 15 or more employees, and 180 days against an employer with 20 or more employees for an age based charge. It is 180 days in Arkansas and not 300, because the longer federal window applies only where a state or local agency enforces a law prohibiting the same discrimination. Treat 180 days as the date to calendar first.
Suggested Compliance Checklist
Ark. Code Ann. 16-123-102(4): Who Does Not Count as an Employee
See your deadline days after startingThe term employee excludes an individual employed by a parent, spouse or child, an individual in a specialized employment training program at a nonprofit sheltered workshop or rehabilitation facility, and an individual employed outside the State of Arkansas.
Ark. Code Ann. 16-123-104: The Subchapter Does Not Waive State Sovereign Immunity
See your deadline days after startingNothing in the subchapter is construed to waive the sovereign immunity of the State of Arkansas. State employees should not assume the Act supplies a damages claim against the State without advice on this section.
Ark. Code Ann. 16-123-107(c)(1)(B): Back Pay Reaches Back No More Than Two Years
See your deadline days after startingNo liability for back pay accrues from a date more than two years before the action is filed. The look back runs from the filing date, so waiting shortens the recoverable period even while the claim stays timely.
Arkansas Fair Housing Commission: A Housing Body, Not an Employment Forum
See your deadline days after startingThe only commission in the state's civil rights chapter deals with housing, including refusals to sell or rent a dwelling. Do not send a workplace complaint there or wait on it, because the federal charge deadline keeps running.
| Task | Description | Document | Days after starting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ark. Code Ann. 16-123-102(4): Who Does Not Count as an Employee | The term employee excludes an individual employed by a parent, spouse or child, an individual in a specialized employment training program at a nonprofit sheltered workshop or rehabilitation facility, and an individual employed outside the State of Arkansas. | - | See your deadline |
| Ark. Code Ann. 16-123-104: The Subchapter Does Not Waive State Sovereign Immunity | Nothing in the subchapter is construed to waive the sovereign immunity of the State of Arkansas. State employees should not assume the Act supplies a damages claim against the State without advice on this section. | - | See your deadline |
| Ark. Code Ann. 16-123-107(c)(1)(B): Back Pay Reaches Back No More Than Two Years | No liability for back pay accrues from a date more than two years before the action is filed. The look back runs from the filing date, so waiting shortens the recoverable period even while the claim stays timely. | - | See your deadline |
| Arkansas Fair Housing Commission: A Housing Body, Not an Employment Forum | The only commission in the state's civil rights chapter deals with housing, including refusals to sell or rent a dwelling. Do not send a workplace complaint there or wait on it, because the federal charge deadline keeps running. | - | See your deadline |
Frequently Asked Questions
That is how Ark. Code Ann. 16-123-107(c)(3) is written. The section gives two end points, one year after the alleged employment discrimination occurred or ninety days from receipt of a right to sue letter or a notice of determination from the EEOC, and directs that the claimant gets whichever is later. Read that way, an Arkansan who charged the EEOC and then waited eighteen months for a letter would still have ninety days from the letter to bring the state claim. Because that clause is the most valuable sentence on this page, confirm its current wording with an Arkansas attorney before you let the plain one year date pass in reliance on it.
You may have a state claim even where there is no federal one. Ark. Code Ann. 16-123-102(5) defines a covered employer by reference to nine or more employees in the State of Arkansas in each of twenty or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year, where federal Title VII requires 15. On that definition, workers at Arkansas employers in the nine to fourteen range can have a state claim and no federal one. The counting is not obvious, since the employees are counted inside Arkansas and the twenty week rule can put a seasonal employer outside the definition, so confirm coverage with an Arkansas attorney rather than settling it on a headcount.
It is 180 days. The EEOC's Little Rock Area Office states that an individual has 180 days from the date of alleged harm to file a charge with that office against an employer with 15 or more employees for discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, religion or disability, and 180 days against an employer with 20 or more employees for age. The 300 day extension applies only where a state or local agency enforces a law prohibiting the same discrimination, and Arkansas has no such agency. Generic guidance that quotes 300 days is not describing Arkansas, and relying on it can end the federal claim on day 181.
Section 16-123-107(a) recognizes the right of an otherwise qualified person to be free from discrimination because of race, religion, national origin, gender, or the presence of any sensory, mental or physical disability. Section 16-123-102(1) says that because of gender means, but is not limited to, on account of pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions. Do not assume the state act matches the federal list: if your claim rests on age, on color as a separate category, or on sexual orientation or gender identity, ask an attorney what the Arkansas act reaches before relying on it. Federal law is the surer route for several of those, since Title VII covers sexual orientation and gender identity under Bostock v. Clayton County and age claims run under the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act.
Section 16-123-103(a) states that the provisions of the subchapter relating to employment are not applicable with respect to employment by a religious corporation, association, society or other religious entity. That is broader than the federal exemption, which allows a religious employer to prefer people of its own religion but still leaves other kinds of discrimination claims available. On the face of the Arkansas section the employment provisions simply do not apply to a religious entity, whatever the basis of the complaint. If you work for one, talk to an attorney about the federal route rather than assuming the state act is available.
Section 16-123-107(c)(1)(A) describes a court order prohibiting the discriminatory practices, affirmative relief from the effects of the practices, back pay, interest on back pay, and, in the court's discretion, the cost of litigation and a reasonable attorney's fee. Section 16-123-107(c)(1)(B) limits the look back: no liability for back pay accrues from a date more than two years before the action is filed, so delay can shrink the award even where the claim is still timely. Section 16-123-107(c)(2) adds compensatory and punitive damages for intentional discrimination, subject to caps tied to the employer's size. No one can tell you what a court will do on your facts.
Retaliation is prohibited. Section 16-123-108(a) says that no person shall discriminate against any individual because that individual in good faith opposed an act or practice made unlawful by the subchapter, or in good faith made a charge, testified, assisted or participated in an investigation, proceeding or hearing under it. What is not settled is the deadline: the one year period in 16-123-107(c)(3) is written for actions in violation of subdivision (a)(1), and 16-123-108(c) routes retaliation remedies to a different subsection, so it should not be assumed that the same one year clock governs a retaliation claim. Treat a retaliation claim as urgent and get an Arkansas attorney on it quickly, and file the EEOC charge, which also protects the federal retaliation claim on the 180 day clock.
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