The Board of Trustees of the University of Arkansas, Appellant v. Matthew Andrews, Appellee

Summary

The court held that the Arkansas Minimum Wage Act's authorization for employees to seek equitable and monetary relief against the State is incompatible with the Arkansas Constitution's absolute prohibition on making the State a defendant. Because the University of Arkansas Board is an instrumentality of the State, sovereign immunity deprived the circuit court of jurisdiction over Andrews's overtime claim, requiring reversal and dismissal. Justice Baker, dissenting and joined by Justice Hart, would have upheld the statutory waiver and allowed the claim to proceed.