Compliance
Home Care Overtime Rules: What Agencies Owe Caregivers
Since 2015, home care agencies must pay caregivers overtime after 40 hours in a workweek. How the rule works, what counts as hours worked, and which states add daily overtime.
Arkansas overtime rules for home care workers
Last verified October 28, 2026 · All Arkansas resources
In Arkansas, overtime is time-and-a-half after 40 hours in a workweek. The state minimum wage is $11.00 an hour. The federal Home Care Rule bars agencies from the companionship and live-in exemptions, though the Department of Labor stopped enforcing it against agencies in July 2025 while it considers undoing it. Arkansas's own law also requires overtime for agency caregivers, with limits explained below.
What are Arkansas's overtime and minimum wage rules?
| Minimum wage | $11.00 an hour |
|---|---|
| Weekly overtime | After 40 hours |
| Daily overtime | None |
Applies to employers with 4 or more employees.
Does Arkansas law require overtime for agency caregivers?
Yes, for most caregivers. Arkansas requires overtime after 40 hours (Ark. Code 11-4-211) for employers with 4 or more employees, and its companionship exemption covers only workers employed "on a casual basis" (Ark. Code 11-4-203). Live-in domestic workers are exempt from state overtime, and the state text does not limit that to workers hired by the household.
Can sleep time be unpaid on 24-hour shifts in Arkansas?
For duty of 24 hours or more, employer and employee may agree to exclude meal periods and a regularly scheduled sleep period of up to 8 hours, if adequate sleeping facilities are provided and the employee can usually sleep through the night. Interruptions are paid, and if the employee gets less than 5 hours of sleep the whole period is paid (11 CAR 11-804).
Calculate a week of overtime in Arkansas
Preset with Arkansas's daily overtime rule. Enter each day's hours across all clients.
Checking the whole roster? Open Overtime watch for Arkansas →
Sources
More for Arkansas
Overtime rules by state: other states
Related guides
Compliance
Do Home Care Agencies Have to Pay Caregivers Overtime?
Yes. Since January 1, 2015, agencies cannot use the companionship or live-in exemptions, so every caregiver gets time-and-a-half after 40 hours. Who is covered, what counts, and the 2025 proposal to change it.
Compliance
Which States Require Daily Overtime for Caregivers?
California, Alaska, Nevada and Colorado require overtime after a set number of hours in a day. What each rule says, with sources, and what it does to 10-, 12- and 24-hour shifts.
Compliance
Overtime for Caregivers Who Work for Two Clients in One Week
Hours for every client you assign a caregiver add up in one workweek. Over 40 is overtime at a weighted-average rate. How to calculate it and when a private family's hours count.
Compliance
Live-In Caregiver Pay: Sleep Time, Meal Breaks and the 24-Hour Rule
When an agency can exclude sleep and meal time from a live-in or 24-hour shift, what the written agreement must say, and what happens when sleep is interrupted.
These free tools are made by the team behind Caregiver Scheduling, caregiver scheduling software for home care agencies.
Simple pricing
From $199 /month
Up to 10 caregivers on Starter, 50 on Growth.
More than 50 caregivers? We'll put together a custom Scale plan for your agency.