The Arizona Labor Law Guide

Minimum wage is the lowest hourly pay rate that employers are legally obligated to pay employees. The federal minimum wage is a wage baseline, but different states, cities, and regions can adopt their own rates. 

As of 2024, the minimum wage is $14.35 per hour for most employees.

Cities that have higher minimum wage as of 2024:

• Flagstaff: $17.40 per hour

Starting January 1st, 2025, the minimum wage will be $14.70 for most employees.

Cities that will have a higher minimum wage as of January 1st, 2025:

• Flagstaff: $17.85 per hour

• Tucson: $15.00 per hour

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Tipped minimum wage is the lowest hourly pay rate employers are legally obligated to pay employees who earn a significant portion of their income through tips. 

As of 2024, the tipped minimum wage is $11.35 per hour for most employees.

Cities that have higher tipped minimum wage as of 2024:

• Flagstaff tipped minimum wage: $15.90 per hour

Starting January 1st, 2025, the tipped minimum wage will be $11.70 for most employees. 

Cities that have a higher minimum wage in 2025:

• Flagstaff tipped minimum wage: $16.85 per hour

Arizona does not have any state-based overtime laws. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) applies to most employers in Arizona. 

The FLSA requires covered employers to pay non-exempt employees at 1.5 times their regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek.

Arizona doesn’t have wage and hour laws requiring an employer to provide employee meal periods or breaks; thus, the federal rule applies. 

The federal rule does not require an employer to provide either a meal period or breaks. However, if an employer chooses to do so, breaks, usually lasting less than 20 minutes, must be paid. 

Meal or lunch periods (usually 30 minutes or more) do not need to be paid as long as the employee is completely relieved of all duties and free to do as they wish during the period.

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Vacation leave
Arizona does not require employers to provide paid time off to their employees. The employer can choose to offer vacation leave at their discretion. 

Paid Sick Leave
For employers with 15 or more employees (including temporary, part-time and full-time employees):

• Accrual rate: Employees must accrue 1 hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked.

• Accrual cap: Employees are entitled to accrue up to 40 hours of paid sick leave per year. The only exception is if the employer allows a higher limit. 

For employers with fewer than 15 employees:

• Employees must accrue 1 hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked. 

• Employees are entitled to accrue up to 24 hours of paid sick leave annually. The only exception is if the employer allows a higher limit. 

Holidays
Arizona law doesn’t require private employers to provide paid or unpaid holiday leave.

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Arizona’s child labor laws apply to persons under the age of sixteen. They restrict working hours as follows:

Laws for minors under 16 years old who are enrolled in school and school is in session:

• Cannot work more than 3 hours on a school day

• Cannot work more than 18 hours per week

Laws for minors under 16 years old who are not enrolled in school or when school is not in session:

• Cannot work more than 8 hours per day

• Cannot work more than 40 hours per week

Laws for all minors under 16 years old:

• Cannot work between 9:30 PM and 6 AM on a school night

• Cannot work between 11 PM and 6 AM on a non-school night

Special rules for minors under 16 years old doing door-to-door solicitation sales or deliveries:

• Cannot work between 7 PM and 9:30 PM on a school night

• Cannot work between 7 PM and 11 PM on any other night

None of the above restrictions apply to minors delivering newspapers to consumers.

Hiring
The Arizona Civil Rights Act (ACRA) provides fair employee practices and protection. The law applies to employers with 15 or more employees and prohibits employment discrimination based on these characteristics: 

• Race

• Color

• Religion

• Sex (including pregnancy and maternity)

• Age (40 and over)

• National origin

• Physical or mental disability

• Genetic test results

• Retaliation

Arizona law also prohibits harassment in employment, including sexual harassment.

Arizona law prohibits employers from taking any action against employees who make complaints, testify, or participate in an investigation into an employer’s alleged discrimination. 

Termination of Employment
Arizona supports “at-will” employment laws. All Arizona employers have the right to terminate employees at will for nearly any reason and no reason at all, as long as it’s not discriminatory, retaliatory, or otherwise unlawful.