Minimum Wage
Arizona’s current minimum wage is $12.80.
Employers may pay them $3 per hour less than the standard minimum wage if employees earn tips. However, tipped workers must earn a minimum wage of $9.80 per hour, which, when combined with tips, must earn at least the standard minimum wage of $12.80 per hour. There are also some situations where employers may be allowed to pay certain employees a subminimum wage.
For more information on Arizona’s minimum wage laws, visit our Arizona Minimum Wage Laws page, which includes topics such as minimum wage, tip minimum wage, tip sharing and pooling, and subminimum wages.
Related topic covered on other pages include:
Overtime
Arizona labor laws do not have laws governing the payment of overtime. Federal overtime laws apply.
Federal laws state that employees are eligible for overtime if they work more than 40 hours per week unless otherwise exempt. Standard overtime pay is 1.5 times the regular pay.
See FLSA: Overtime for more information regarding overtime requirements.
Prevailing Wages
Under certain circumstances, employers in Arizona may be required to pay residents wage rates established by the federal or state prevailing wage rates and rules. The prevailing wage rates may be different from the state’s standard minimum wage rates.
Employees may be eligible for prevailing wages if they work on federal or state government or government-funded construction projects or perform certain federal or state government services. See the Arizona Prevailing Wages, Davis-Bacon and Related Acts, McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act (SCA), and Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act (PCA) for more information about prevailing wages.
Meals and Breaks
Arizona does not have any labor laws requiring an employer to provide a meal period or breaks to employees, thus the federal rule applies. The federal rule does not require an employer to provide either a meal (lunch) period or breaks. However, if an employer chooses to do so, breaks, usually of the type lasting less than 20 minutes, must be paid. Meal or lunch periods (usually 30 minutes or more) do not need to be paid, so long as the employee is free to do as they wish during the meal or lunch period. DOL: Breaks and Meal Periods.
Nursing Mother Breaks
Arizona labor laws do not require employers to provide nursing mothers with breaks to express breast milk. However, the federal Fair Labor Standards Act requires certain employees to provide nonexempt nursing mothers for one (1) year following a child’s birth with reasonable rest breaks to express milk and private spaces, other than a bathroom, to express breast milk.
Vacation Leave
Employers in Arizona are not required to provide their employees with vacation benefits, whether unpaid or paid. However, if an employer provides such vacation benefits to employees, it must comply with the terms established in the employment contract or vacation leave policy. Employers in Arizona may also implement a use-it or lose-it policy. There are no established laws regarding the payment for accrued vacation days.
Information about Arizona vacation leave laws may now be found on our Arizona Leave Laws page.
Sick Leave
Employers are required to provide their employees with paid sick leave. In Arizona, employees are required to provide their employees with one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours that they have been worked. If the company has 15 or more employees, employees can earn up to 40 hours of paid sick leave per year. If a place of business has fewer than 15 workers, employees can earn up to 24 hours of paid sick leave per year.
Information about Arizona sick leave laws may now be found on our Arizona Leave Laws page.
Holiday Leave
Employers in Arizona are not required to provide their employees with unpaid or paid holiday leave. An employer in Arizona may also require employees to work holidays; however, they do not have to pay their employees premium pay, such as 1.5 times the standard rate, unless working on these hours also qualifies for overtime under federal overtime laws.
However, if an employer provides employees with unpaid or paid holiday leave, it must comply with the employment contract or the established holiday leave policy. Arizona State holidays are officially recognized and observed.
Information about Arizona holiday leave laws may now be found on our Arizona Leave Laws page.
Jury Duty Leave
Employers are required to allow employees to take time off for jury duty as required but may not require that employees use sick leave, vacation time, or annual leave for this purpose. However, an employer is not required to pay an employee any wages for the time spent performing jury duty.
Upon return from jury duty, an employee must be returned to their original position or a higher position and cannot lose seniority. An employer who fails to allow employees to attend jury duty is guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor.
Information about Arizona jury duty leave laws may now be found on our Arizona Leave Laws page.
Voting Leave
In Arizona, as long as the request is made the day before the election, employers must provide employees with time off to vote for primary and general elections. This is paid time off. Employers are required to give employees paid time off to vote to allow for at least three consecutive hours between the opening of the polls and the start of their shift, or the end of their shift and the closing of the polls.
However, the employer may be allowed to specify the hours during which the employee can leave to go vote. An employer that does not provide an employee with the right to pay the voting leave is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor.
Information about Arizona voting leave laws may now be found on our Arizona Leave Laws page.
Severance Pay
Arizona labor laws do not require employers to provide employees with severance pay. See the AZ Industrial Commission’s pamphlet, “The State of Arizona’s Labor Law: Your Wages and Working” (not available online). If an employer chooses to provide severance benefits, it must comply with the terms of its established policy or employment contract.
Unemployment
Under certain circumstances, NY residents may be eligible for unemployment benefits while they search for another job. You are required to certify that you are unemployed on a weekly basis to receive these benefits.
To qualify for unemployment benefits in Arizona, you must be willing to work, able to work, and actively seeking new employment. In addition, you must have also earned at least 390 times the Arizona minimum wage in your highest earning quarter, and the total wage of the other three quarters must equal at least half of the amount earned in your highest quarter.
See Arizona State Unemployment Benefits.
