Arizona Employment Laws for Employers

Arizona minimum wage is $15.15 per hour. (Arizona minimum wage law (U.S. DOL WHD State Minimum Wage Laws table))

“Arizona Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $15.15”

“the State’s minimum wage will increase to $15.15 per hour, effective January 1, 2026.”

dol.gov · des.az.gov

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Employers must designate two or more fixed paydays in each month, not more than 16 days apart. (U.S. DOL WHD State Payday Requirements, footnote 3)

“Arizona. Payday two or more days in a month, not more than 16 days apart.”

“A. Each employer in this state shall designate two or more days in each month, not more than sixteen days apart, as fixed paydays for payment of wages to the employees.”

dol.gov · azleg.gov

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• Accrual: Arizona earned paid sick time: employees accrue at least one hour for every 30 hours worked. (A.R.S. § 23-372)

  Same official text as quoted below (see the quote; A.R.S. § 23-372 · azleg.gov).

  “Beginning July 1, 2017, employees would earn at least 1 hour of sick time for each 30 hours worked;”

  azleg.gov · azleg.gov · verified Sep 24, 2026 · 2 official pages from the same agency

• Annual cap 15 or more employees: Employees of employers with 15 or more employees may accrue or use up to 40 hours of earned paid sick time per year (unless the employer sets a higher limit). (A.R.S. § 23-372)

  “A. Employees of an employer with 15 or more employees shall accrue a minimum of one hour of earned paid sick time for every 30 hours worked, but employees shall not be entitled to accrue or use more than 40 hours of earned paid sick time per year, unless the employer selects a higher limit.”

  “employees in companies with 15 or more employees would not be entitled to accrue or use more than 40 hours of sick time each year.”

  azleg.gov · azleg.gov · verified Sep 24, 2026 · 2 official pages from the same agency

• Annual cap under 15 employees: Employees of employers with fewer than 15 employees may accrue or use up to 24 hours of earned paid sick time per year (unless the employer sets a higher limit). (A.R.S. § 23-372)

  “B. Employees of an employer with fewer than 15 employees shall accrue a minimum of one hour of earned paid sick time for every 30 hours worked, but employees shall not be entitled to accrue or use more than 24 hours of earned paid sick time per year, unless the employer selects a higher limit.”

  “employees in companies with fewer than 15 employees would not be entitled to accrue or use more than 24 hours of sick time each year”

  azleg.gov · azleg.gov · verified Sep 24, 2026 · 2 official pages from the same agency

• Effective date: Arizona earned paid sick time began to accrue on July 1, 2017 (or at the start of employment, if later). (A.R.S. § 23-372)

  “1. Earned paid sick time as provided in this section shall begin to accrue at the commencement of employment or on July 1, 2017, whichever is later.”

  Same official text as quoted above (see the quote; Arizona Legislative Council, ballot analysis of initiative I-24-2016 (Fair Wages and Healthy Families Act), adopted · azleg.gov).

  azleg.gov · azleg.gov · verified Sep 24, 2026 · 2 official pages from the same agency

• Employer coverage: Arizona's earned paid sick time applies to private employers of any size, including small businesses exempt from the state minimum wage law; the State of Arizona and the United States are not covered employers. (A.R.S. § 23-371)

  “G. "Employer" includes any corporation, proprietorship, partnership, joint venture, limited liability company, trust, association, political subdivision of the state, individual or other entity acting directly or indirectly in the interest of an employer in relation to an employee, but does not include the State of Arizona or the United States.”

  “A small business currently exempt under the state minimum wage law would be covered as an employer for the purposes of the sick time requirements.”

  azleg.gov · azleg.gov · verified Sep 24, 2026 · 2 official pages from the same agency

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Arizona's Employment Protection Act replaced the common-law Wagenseller rule: a fired employee has a wrongful termination claim only in the circumstances the statute lists, such as discharge in violation of a state statute or in retaliation for refusing to break the law or for reporting violations. (A.R.S. § 23-1501(A)(3); Noriega v. State of Arizona, No. CV-16-01015-PHX-JJT (D. Ariz. June 22, 2016), citing Wagenseller v. Scottsdale Memorial Hospital, 710 P.2d 1025 (Ariz. 1985), and Galati v. Am. W. Airlines, 69 P.3d 1011 (Ariz. Ct. App. 2003))

“An employee has a claim against an employer for termination of employment only if one or more of the following circumstances have occurred: (a) The employer has terminated the employment relationship of an employee in breach of an employment contract, as set forth in paragraph 2 of this subsection, in which case the remedies for the breach are limited to the remedies for a breach of contract. (b) The employer has terminated the employment relationship of an employee in violation of a statute of this state.”

“In response, the Arizona legislature enacted the EPA to spell 11 out the public policy of the state and set forth the circumstances when an employee may 12 bring an action for wrongful termination.”

azleg.gov · govinfo.gov

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In Arizona employment is severable at will unless there is a written contract; a handbook or manual can create such a contract only if it expresses the intent that it is a contract of employment. (A.R.S. § 23-1501(A)(2); Noriega v. State of Arizona, No. CV-16-01015-PHX-JJT (D. Ariz. June 22, 2016), describing A.R.S. § 23-1501(A)(2))

“Both the employee and the employer must sign this written contract, or this written contract must be set forth in the employment handbook or manual or any similar document distributed to the employee, if that document expresses the intent that it is a contract of employment, or this written contract must be set forth in a writing signed by the party to be charged.”

“The EPA provides that under the public policy of the state an employment 15 relationship is severable at the pleasure of either the employee or the employer, unless 16 both have signed a written contract.”

azleg.gov · govinfo.gov

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