Appeals court rules portion of Arkansas whistleblower law unconstitutional

The Arkansas Court of Appeals struck down a key part of a state law Wednesday protecting public employees from being fired for reporting wrongdoing or misuse of funds by a government agency.

A three-judge panel of the court ruled that a provision of the 1999 Arkansas Whistleblower Protection Act violates the state Constitution. The stricken provision allows employees who have filed a civil lawsuit claiming they were retaliated against to seek temporary reinstatement during the case.

The provision says employees must be reinstated if  they demonstrate that “a reasonable person would conclude that his or her termination was a result of adverse action.”

The judges ruled that the Legislature did not have the authority to grant such a process.

“The Legislature overstepped its bounds by dictating pleading, practice and procedure” with the provision, Judge Casey Tucker wrote in the court’s decision.

The ruling reverses a Pulaski County judge’s decision granting a former Little Rock school district employee’s request for a preliminary injunction reinstating him as executive director of human resources.

The employee, Robert Robinson, was one of three human resources directors whose positions were consolidated into two during budget cuts in 2024. All three directors applied for the two new positions, but Robinson was not hired.

Robinson claimed the action was in response to him advocating that teachers whose contracts were terminated or not renewed were entitled to hearings and for telling the district it needed to increase a female high school principal’s pay.

A Pulaski County judge ordered the district to reinstate Robinson and place him on paid administrative leave until the conclusion of the case. 

Chris Heller, an attorney for the district, said he thought the decision was “a well reasoned and correct opinion.” An attorney for Robinson did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

Robinson’s attorneys argued in court filings the whistleblower protection being challenged didn’t violate the Arkansas Constitution because it didn’t create or alter procedural rules in court. The provision just set an evidentiary standard for reinstatement, the attorneys said.