Employee Expense Reimbursement Requirements in Arkansas

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Arkansas has no general necessary-expense mandate

The current Title 11 chapter structure contains no general statute requiring an ordinary private employer to reimburse necessary business expenses such as mileage, tools, uniforms, supplies, phone service, or home-office costs. It therefore supplies no universal necessary-or-reasonable standard, employer- benefit test, expense-request procedure, policy cap, payment deadline, interest rule, or general reimbursement remedy.

A right to repayment for those ordinary costs must come from an employer policy, agreement, or another applicable law. Workers' compensation benefits, public-employee travel, and wage deductions are separate subjects outside this survey.

A covered drug-free workplace pays required employee test costs

Ark. Code Ann. § 11-14-103 applies Chapter 14 to a drug-free-workplace program implemented under Workers' Health and Safety Division rules. The chapter applies only when an employer covered by Arkansas workers' compensation law maintains a drug-free workplace under the chapter and says in the required posting that the policy is being implemented under Chapter 14. The statute says the chapter has no effect on an employer outside that definition.

For a covered employer, Ark. Code Ann. § 11-14-107 provides:

A covered employer shall pay the cost of all drug and alcohol tests, initial and confirmation, that the covered employer requires of employees.

An employee or applicant pays for an additional drug or alcohol test not required by the covered employer. The chapter states no receipt form, reimbursement request, payment deadline, payment method, interest rule, or cap for the employer-paid test cost.

The program is voluntary and tied to a premium discount

Under Ark. Code Ann. § 11-14-105, the employer must give employees and applicants its written testing policy once before testing. At least 60 days must pass between the general employee notice and the program's effective date. A rescission likewise takes effect for employees and applicants no earlier than 60 days after the posted notice.

Failure to maintain the program according to Chapter 14 and its rules makes the employer ineligible for the workers' compensation premium discount. Chapter 14 states no expense-specific damages action for an unpaid test cost, and § 11-14-108 says no cause of action arises merely because an employer did not establish a testing program.

What trips people up

The testing rule is not a general expense statute. It does not create a state mileage rate, tool allowance, uniform payment, phone percentage, or home- office reimbursement right.

The cost sentence distinguishes employees from applicants. Section 11-14-107 expressly assigns the covered employer the cost of tests it requires of employees. Its next sentence assigns an employee or applicant the cost of an additional test not required by the employer; the chapter should not be read as silently broadening the first sentence.

Rehabilitation is separate from testing costs. If the covered employer pays for an employee's participation, it may select the assistance or rehabilitation program unless a collective bargaining agreement says otherwise. The chapter does not require an employer to provide or permit rehabilitation.

Common questions

Does Arkansas require private employers to reimburse business mileage?

Not under a general Title 11 statute. A mileage right may instead depend on a policy, agreement, or a different law governing a specific setting.

Who pays for a required workplace drug or alcohol test?

A covered employer under Chapter 14 must pay initial and confirmation tests it requires of employees. An employee or applicant pays for an additional test not required by the covered employer.

Must an Arkansas employer adopt the Chapter 14 testing program?

No. The definition limits Chapter 14 to an employer that maintains and expressly elects the program, and § 11-14-108 bars a cause of action based only on an employer's failure to establish one.

Statutes and sources

• Official Code of Arkansas Annotated, Title 11. Complete labor-title structure and absence of a general private-employee business-expense scheme. Official-code publication (accessed July 17, 2026).
• Ark. Code Ann. §§ 11-14-102, 11-14-103, and 11-14-105. Covered-employer definition, applicability, written policy, 60-day implementation period, and rescission notice. Official Chapter 14 text (accessed July 17, 2026).
• Ark. Code Ann. § 11-14-107. Employer-paid required employee tests, employee/applicant-paid additional tests, and the rehabilitation-cost boundary. Official text (accessed July 17, 2026).
• Ark. Code Ann. §§ 11-14-104 and 11-14-108. Loss of the premium discount for program noncompliance and no cause of action merely for not establishing a program. Official Chapter 14 text (accessed July 17, 2026).