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On April 14, 2020, the Governor of Arkansas, Asa Hutchinson, issued Executive Order (EO) 20-19 in which he suspended provisions of Ark. Code. Ann § 11-9-601(e)(3), erroneously listed as (C)(3) in the Order but corrected in a later EO, which bars compensation for exposure to a disease to which the general public is exposed to allow front-line healthcare workers to seek workers compensation for exposure to COVID-19, if contracted in the line of duty. Successful prosecution of a claim still requires demonstration on the part of the Claimant that a causal connection exists between their workplace duties and the claimed Covid-19 illness.

Governor Hutchinson then issued Executive Order 20-22 on April 21, 2020, clarifying the definition of a front-line healthcare worker to include healthcare professionals who provide: (a) treatment, diagnosis, care, or mitigation of COVID-19; (b) assessment or care of an individual with a confirmed or suspected case of COVID-19; or (c) otherwise provides services determined by the Arkansas Workers Compensation Commission to mitigate COVID-19 that are consistent with the executive order. This follow up proclamation gives further deference to the Commission in determining the applicability of workers compensation law to a claim of entitlement to benefits.