LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - The Arkansas Supreme Court has reaffirmed its strict stance on sovereign immunity, ruling for a second time that legislators can’t pass laws giving residents the right to take state agencies to court.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that the state’s high court on Thursday narrowly dismissed a lawsuit against the state.
Two former state employees filed the lawsuit alleging the Department of Veterans Affairs violated the Arkansas Minimum Wage Act by not paying them for working through lunch and while off the clock.
Similar wage allegations were made in a January case when justices overturned more than 20 years of precedent that had allowed lawmakers to draft exemptions to sovereign immunity.
Justice Rhonda Wood said Thursday the court already determined the minimum wage law violates the state constitution’s sovereign immunity provisions.
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Information from: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, http://www.arkansasonline.com
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