Arizona employment laws offer clear wage, sick leave, and anti-discrimination rules while preserving broad employer discretion in other areas, from mandatory E-Verify use to paid voting leave and state-enforced workplace safety.
When it comes to talent and workforce management, Arizona-based employers need to comply with the following state employment laws:
The below information was last updated May 7, 2025. It is not intended as legal advice. Also, unless otherwise noted below, the following laws predominantly apply to the private sector.
A subset of employment law, labor law focuses on the relationships between employers, employees, and labor unions, particularly in the context of collective bargaining and workplace rights.
Central to US labor law is the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), which protects employees’ rights to organize, join unions, and negotiate working conditions while restricting unfair labor practices. Still, states can enact additional laws, such as Right to Work statutes, that influence union membership and dues requirements.
Right-to-work states prohibit employers from requiring union membership or dues as a condition of employment (a.k.a. union security agreements).
Arizona is one of 26 states that currently have right-to-work laws, which the state adopted in 1946.
Employment law governs the individual rights of employees and their professional relationship with their employers, such as working hours, fair wages, anti-discrimination protections, and workplace safety.
| Arizona Minimum Wage | The state of Arizona uses its own minimum wage rate of $14.70, including a tipped minimum wage rate of $11.70 for employees who earn tips with their base pay. Note: Arizona also has local minimum wage rates. |
|
Arizona Overtime Pay Laws |
Arizona currently has no overtime pay laws or regulations for private employers. However, Arizona-based employers must still comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act's (FLSA) requirement that nonexempt employees receive 1.5 times their normal pay rate when working over 40 hours a week. |
| Arizona Pay Equity Law | Under the Arizona Equal Pay Law, no employer in the state shall pay any person in his employ a wage rate less than the rates paid to employees of the opposite sex in the same establishment for the same quantity and quality of the same classification of work. |
|
Arizona Pay Transparency Law |
Arizona currently has no pay transparency laws or regulations. |
|
Arizona Final Paycheck Law |
In Arizona, employees who voluntarily resign from a job must receive their final paycheck by the next regular payday. However, involuntarily terminated employees must receive their final paycheck within the next seven working days since the separation or the next regular payday, whichever comes first. |
|
Arizona PTO Payout Laws |
Arizona currently requires employers to pay out vacation wages if the employer has a policy or practice of making those payments. It does not, however, have any regulations regarding the use of "use-it-or-lose-it" policies. |
| Arizona Paid Sick Leave (PSL) | Arizona currently requires all employers within the state and/or those with employees working within the state to provide employees with 24 or 40 hours of paid, protected sick leave (depending on employer size) under its Fair Wages and Healthy Families Act. Eligible employees include full-time, part-time, and temporary employees, who accrue leave at a rate of one hour for every 30 hours worked. |
| Arizona currently has no PFML laws or regulations. Although, employers with 50 or more employees must still comply with the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which provides eligible employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave every 12 months for various reasons. | |
| Arizona Maternity Leave | Arizona doesn't have a maternity leave law, as this type of leave is an employer-provided benefit. As the state also doesn’t have a mandated PFML program, employees must instead use FMLA leave or another type of employer-provided leave. |
|
Arizona Voting Leave Law |
Under Arizona's state voting leave law, Arizona-based employers must provide employees with up to three hours of paid time off to vote in an election, but only if the employee doesn’t have three consecutive hours available while polls are open at the beginning or end of the shift. Furthermore, an employer may require the employee to request time off prior to the election, and the employer may specify the hours the employee may be absent to vote. |
All states must comply with federal health and safety standards overseen by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Arizona, however, adopted and imposes additional, OSHA-approved regulations that meet or exceed those federal standards. Overseen by the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health (ADOSH), the state conducts unannounced inspections of workplaces to determine whether employers are complying with required standards.
Arizona currently has no work break laws or regulations.
As described by the Arizona Civil Rights Act and enforced by the Attorney General’s Civil Rights Division, employers in Arizona are prohibited from discriminating against employees based on:
|
|
Arizona further requires employers to comply with specific anti-harassment mandates also outlined in its Civil Rights Act. Employers must not, for example, fail or refuse to hire or discharge any individual or discriminate against any individual because of the individual's race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, or disability.
Arizona doesn’t, however, require employees to complete any harassment or discrimination training requirements.
| Arizona Non-Compete Agreement Laws | Arizona currently has no laws or regulations banning or limiting the use of non-compete agreements. |
|
Arizona Retirement Plan Laws |
Arizona currently has no mandatory retirement plan laws or regulations. |
| Arizona Employment Verification Laws | State laws, such as the Legal Arizona Workers Act, require all employers to use E-Verify for new workers hired after December 31, 2007. |
This information is provided as a courtesy and may be updated at any time. It is not intended as legal guidance. If you have questions or concerns, we encourage you to seek the advice of a qualified employment or labor attorney or advisor.
Between constantly changing employment laws and updates to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), keeping your workplace compliant can be a time-consuming and costly challenge. Eliminate the stress and stay up to date with our Compliance Dashboard. View compliance alerts and get a bird’s eye view of what you need to do to avoid fines and penalties.
