Arizona: Paid Sick Leave Requirements
The short answer
Arizona requires every private employer to provide earned paid sick time, accrued at one hour for every 30 hours worked, with no minimum employer size (A.R.S. §§ 23-371 to 23-375). Employer size sets the annual cap — 40 hours for employers with 15 or more employees and 24 hours for smaller employers — and an employee may generally begin using time on the 90th day of employment. Leave covers the employee's or a family member's health needs, public-health-emergency closures, and domestic-violence safety, paid at the employee's normal rate; unused time carries over (or may be paid out and re-fronted) but is not cashed out at separation.
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This is the general rule in Arizona. Ezel applies current Arizona law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law and local interaction | Fair Wages and Healthy Families Act, earned paid sick time, A.R.S. §§ 23-371 to 23-375, enforced under § 23-364 (Proposition 206, 2016; effective July 1, 2017; voter-protected under Proposition 105). Statewide mandate covering private employers. A county, city, or town may set higher wages or benefits (§ 23-364(I)); the article is a floor and does not limit more protective local or employer policies. The State of Arizona and the United States are not covered employers. |
|---|---|
| Employer and employee coverage | Every private employer must provide earned paid sick time to each employee; there is no minimum headcount for coverage. Employer size sets only the annual cap: 40 hours for an employer with 15 or more employees, 24 hours for fewer than 15 (headcount uses a 20-calendar-week test). Overtime-exempt employees are assumed to work 40 hours per week. The State of Arizona and the federal government are excluded as employers (§§ 23-371(G), 23-372(A)-(C)). |
| Accrual and annual entitlement | One hour of earned paid sick time for every 30 hours worked, accruing from the start of employment. Accrual and annual use are capped at 40 hours (15+ employees) or 24 hours (fewer than 15), unless the employer sets a higher limit. An employer may make an employee hired after July 1, 2017 wait until the 90th calendar day to use accrued time. Overtime-exempt employees are assumed to work 40 hours per week (§ 23-372(A), (B), (D)). |
| Frontloading, caps, and carryover | Unused earned paid sick time carries over to the next year, subject to the 40- or 24-hour usage cap. Alternatively, the employer may pay out unused time at year-end and provide a compliant amount available for immediate use at the start of the next year. A sufficient paid-time-off policy can substitute. No payout of unused time at separation; rehire within nine months restores previously accrued unused time (§ 23-372(D)(4)-(5), (E)-(F)). |
| Qualifying uses and family | The employee's or a family member's mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition, medical diagnosis, care, or treatment, and preventive care; a public-health-emergency closure of the workplace or a child's school or place of care, or a communicable-disease exposure determination; and absences due to domestic violence, sexual violence, abuse, or stalking (medical care, victim services, counseling, relocation, or legal services). Family is broad: child, parent, spouse or registered domestic partner, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, and any blood or affinity equivalent (§§ 23-371(H), 23-373(A)). |
| Requests, notice, documentation, and increments | A request may be oral, written, or electronic and should state the expected duration. Foreseeable use needs a good-faith advance notice and non-disruptive scheduling; for unforeseeable use, an employer that requires notice must publish a written policy or may not deny time for noncompliance. No replacement worker may be required. Time is used in the smaller of hourly increments or the employer's smallest payroll increment. Documentation may be required only for absences of three or more consecutive workdays and may not demand the nature of the condition or details of abuse (§ 23-373(B)-(I)). |
| Pay, payout, reinstatement, and records | Paid at the same hourly rate and benefits the employee normally earns, never below the state minimum wage. No separation payout of unused time; rehire within nine months restores it, and a successor employer honors accrued time. The available, used, and paid earned paid sick time must be recorded on or with each paycheck, and payroll records kept four years; inadequate records raise a rebuttable presumption the time was not provided (§§ 23-371(D), 23-372(D)-(F), 23-375(C), 23-364(D)). |
| Posting, retaliation, enforcement, and remedies | Written notice at hire (English, Spanish, and other required languages) plus a workplace poster; an absence-control policy may not penalize protected use; interference and retaliation are barred, with a rebuttable 90-day retaliation presumption. The Industrial Commission or any injured private party may enforce. Underpaid time is owed back plus interest and an additional equal amount, retaliation carries at least $150 per day, recordkeeping/posting/notice violations carry $250 then $1,000 penalties, and a prevailing plaintiff recovers attorney fees; suit within two years (three if willful) (§§ 23-374, 23-375, 23-364(B), (F)-(H)). |
Compare this rule across all 50 states + DC →
Requirements one by one
One hour per 30 hours, with a size-based annual cap
Arizona's earned paid sick time comes from Proposition 206, the Fair Wages and
Healthy Families Act, codified at A.R.S. §§ 23-371 to 23-375 and enforced through
§ 23-364. Every private employer is covered — there is no minimum headcount
for the mandate itself. An employee accrues at least one hour of earned paid
sick time for every 30 hours worked, beginning at the start of employment.
Employer size does one thing: it sets the annual cap. An employer with 15 or
more employees must let an employee accrue and use up to 40 hours a year; an
employer with fewer than 15 must allow up to 24 hours. The 15-employee
line is measured by a 20-calendar-week test, so a business that crosses the
threshold for part of a day in 20 weeks of the current or prior year uses the
40-hour cap. Overtime-exempt employees are assumed to work a 40-hour week for
accrual.
Accrual starts on day one, but an employer may make anyone hired after July 1,
2017 wait until the 90th calendar day to use the time.
Carry it over, or pay it out and refront it
Unused time carries over to the next year, still subject to the 40- or 24-hour
usage cap. As an alternative, the employer may pay out the unused balance at
year-end and then provide a fresh compliant amount available for immediate use at
the start of the next year (§ 23-372(D)(4)). A qualifying paid-time-off policy can
stand in for a separate sick-time bank.
At separation, nothing is owed for unused time. But if the employee is rehired
within nine months, previously accrued unused time is reinstated — a shorter
window than the 12 months several other states use.
What the time covers, and who is family
Earned paid sick time is available for the employee's own or a family member's
illness, injury, or health condition, for diagnosis, care, or treatment, and for
preventive care. It also covers a public-health-emergency closure of the
workplace or a child's school or place of care, and a public-health
communicable-disease determination. A fourth category covers absences due to
domestic violence, sexual violence, abuse, or stalking, to obtain medical
care, victim services, counseling, relocation, or legal services (§ 23-373(A)).
"Family member" under § 23-371(H) is broad: a child, parent, spouse or registered
domestic partner, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, and anyone whose close
association is the equivalent of a family relationship.
Requests, increments, and documentation
A request may be oral, written, or electronic, and should include the expected
duration. When the need is foreseeable, the employee must make a good-faith effort
to give advance notice and to schedule without unduly disrupting operations. No
employee may be required to find a replacement worker. Time is used in the
smaller of hourly increments or the employer's smallest payroll increment.
Documentation may be required only for an absence of three or more consecutive
workdays, and the employer may not require the documentation to state the nature
of the health condition or the details of abuse. For a domestic-violence absence,
the employee's own written statement is, by itself, reasonable documentation.
Notice, records, and pay
At hire the employer must give written notice of these rights in English, Spanish,
and any other required language, and must post a workplace notice (§ 23-375). Each
paycheck (or an attachment) must show the available, used, and paid earned paid
sick time.
Payroll records are kept four years; missing records raise a presumption the time
was not provided. Each hour is paid at the same rate and benefits the employee
normally earns, never below the state minimum wage.
Enforcement and remedies
Interference and retaliation are unlawful, and an absence-control policy may not
count protected time against the employee (§ 23-374). An adverse action within
90 days of protected activity is presumed retaliatory. The Industrial
Commission or any injured private party may sue. An employer that fails to pay owes
the balance plus interest and an additional equal amount; retaliation costs at
least $150 per day; recordkeeping, posting, or notice violations draw $250
then $1,000 penalties; and a prevailing plaintiff recovers attorney fees. Suit
must be filed within two years, or three for a willful violation (§ 23-364).
What trips people up
No employer is too small to be covered. Size only changes the cap — 40 hours
versus 24 — not whether the mandate applies. A one-person shop still owes earned
paid sick time.
Carryover is not the only compliant path. An employer may skip carryover by
paying out the unused balance at year-end and re-fronting a compliant amount. The
choice is the employer's, but the substitute must actually meet the article's
minimums.
The rehire-restoration window is nine months, not a year. An employee rehired
within nine months gets prior unused time back; after nine months, that balance is
gone.
The law is voter-protected. Because Proposition 206 was enacted by initiative,
the "Prop 105" banner on each section means the Legislature cannot casually amend
it, which is why the rules have stayed stable.
Common questions
Does a very small Arizona business have to provide paid sick time?
Yes. There is no size exemption. An employer with fewer than 15 employees must
provide up to 24 hours a year; an employer with 15 or more must provide up to 40.
Can my employer make me bring a doctor's note for a one-day absence?
No. Documentation may be required only for absences of three or more consecutive
workdays, and even then it may not have to reveal the nature of the condition.
Do I get paid for unused sick time when I leave?
No. Arizona does not require a payout of unused earned paid sick time at
separation. If you return to the same employer within nine months, your unused
balance is restored.
What happens if my employer punishes me for using sick time?
That is illegal. Any adverse action within 90 days of your protected activity is
presumed to be retaliation. You may complain to the Industrial Commission or sue;
remedies include back pay plus an equal additional amount, at least $150 per day
for retaliation, and attorney fees.
Statutes and sources
- A.R.S. §§ 23-371 to 23-375 (Fair Wages and Healthy Families Act — earned
paid sick time; Proposition 206, 2016, effective July 1, 2017). Definitions,
accrual, size-based caps, use, notice, and documentation. Arizona
Legislature (accessed July 22, 2026). - A.R.S. § 23-364. Enforcement: retaliation presumption, recordkeeping,
penalties, back pay plus an equal additional amount, attorney fees, and
limitations. Arizona
Legislature (accessed July 22, 2026).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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