Arkansas Code of 1987 (2023) › Title 11 - LABOR AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS (§§ 11-1-201 — 11-15-105) › Chapter 10 - DEPARTMENT OF WORKFORCE SERVICES LAW (§§ 11-10-101 — 11-10-1018) › Subchapter 5 - BENEFITS GENERALLY (§§ 11-10-501 — 11-10-545) › Section 11-10-513 - Disqualification - Voluntarily leaving work - Definitions

(a)
(1)
If so found by the Director of the Division of Workforce Services, an individual shall be disqualified for benefits if he or she voluntarily and without good cause connected with the work left his or her last work.
(2)
(A)
An individual working as a temporary employee will be deemed to have voluntarily quit employment and will be disqualified for benefits under this subsection if upon conclusion of his or her latest assignment, the temporary employee without good cause failed to contact the temporary help firm for reassignment, provided that the employer advised the temporary employee at the time of hire that he or she must report for reassignment upon conclusion of each assignment and that unemployment benefits may be denied for failure to do so.
(B)
(i)
As used in this subsection, "temporary help firm" means a firm that hires its own employees and assigns them to clients to support or supplement the client's workforce in work situations such as employees' absences, temporary skill shortages, seasonal workloads, and special assignments and projects.
(ii)
The term does not include employee leasing companies regulated under §
11-10-717(e)
.
(C)
"Temporary employee" means an employee assigned to work for the clients of a temporary help firm.
(3)
Any person who leaves his or her last work to comply with the order of a correctional institution or to satisfy the terms of his or her parole, post-release supervision, or probation shall be deemed to have left work "voluntarily and without good cause connected with the work".
(4)
The disqualification shall continue until, subsequent to the effective date of the disqualification, he or she has had at least thirty (30) days of employment covered by an unemployment compensation law of this state, another state, or the United States.
(b)
No individual shall be disqualified under this section if after making reasonable efforts to preserve his or her job rights he or she left his or her last work:
(1)
Due to a personal emergency of such nature and compelling urgency that it would be contrary to good conscience to impose a disqualification;
(2)
(A)
Because of illness, injury, pregnancy, or disability of the individual or a member of the individual's immediate family.
(B)
As used in subdivision (b)(2)(A) of this section, "immediate family member" means a spouse, child, parent, brother, sister, grandchild, or grandparent of the individual;
(3)
(A)
Due to domestic violence that causes the individual reasonably to believe that the individual's continued employment will jeopardize the safety of the individual or a member of the individual's immediate family.
(B)
As used in subdivision (b)(3)(A) of this section, "immediate family member" means a spouse, child, parent, brother, sister, grandchild, or grandparent of the individual; or
(4)
To accompany the individual's spouse because of a change in the location of the spouse's employment that makes it impractical to commute.
(c)
(1)
No individual shall be disqualified under this section if he or she left his or her last work because he or she voluntarily participated in a permanent reduction in the employer's workforce after the employer announced a pending reduction in its workforce and asked for volunteers.
(2)
Such actions initiated by the employer shall be considered layoffs regardless of any incentives offered by the employer to induce its employees to volunteer.
(3)
Any incentives received shall be reported under §
11-10-517
.
Amended by Act 2023, No. 659,§ 56, eff. 1/1/2024.
Amended by Act 2019, No. 453,§ 4, eff. 10/1/2019.
Amended by Act 2019, No. 910,§ 241, eff. 7/1/2019.
Acts 1941, No. 391, § 5; 1947, No. 398, § 4; 1949, No. 155, § 5; 1953, No. 162, § 3; 1955, No. 395, §§ 9, 10; 1963, No. 93, § 6; 1967, No. 248, § 1; 1977, No. 366, § 6; 1979, No. 492, § 7; 1979, No. 922, § 7; 1983, No. 482, § 16; A.S.A. 1947, § 81-1106; Acts 1997, No. 234, § 12; 2003, No. 1223, § 5; 2005, No. 902, § 2; 2007, No. 490, § 5; 2009, No. 802, § 4.