Arizona Paid Leave Laws: Sick Leave, Family Leave & FMLA (2026)

Does Arizona Require Paid Sick Leave?

Yes. Arizona requires all private employers to provide earned paid sick time under the Fair Wages and Healthy Families Act, A.R.S. § 23-371 et seq., enforced by the Industrial Commission of Arizona. The law took effect July 1, 2017, and applies to virtually all private-sector employers in the state regardless of size. The Industrial Commission’s Labor Department administers and enforces these requirements at azica.gov/labor-department.

Which Employers Are Covered by Arizona Paid Sick Leave?

Under A.R.S. § 23-371(G), “employer” encompasses any corporation, proprietorship, partnership, joint venture, limited liability company, trust, association, or political subdivision of the state acting in the interest of an employer in relation to an employee. Critically, the statute does not establish a minimum employer size for coverage — both large and small private employers are covered. The only excluded employers are the State of Arizona and the United States federal government. Employer size does affect the annual usage cap (see Accrual, Frontloading & Caps below), but it does not determine whether the law applies.

Arizona’s sick leave statute preempts local variation: no city or county in Arizona may enact a paid sick leave ordinance providing less protection than the state law, though the statute does not bar localities from providing greater protections. As of March 2026, no Arizona city has enacted a separate paid sick leave ordinance that exceeds state requirements.

Source: A.R.S. § 23-371(G) (azleg.gov/ars/23/00371.htm); A.R.S. § 23-364(I) (azleg.gov/ars/23/00364.htm)

Which Employees Are Eligible?

Under A.R.S. § 23-372, all employees — full-time, part-time, temporary, and on-call — begin accruing earned paid sick time at the commencement of employment. Independent contractors, as defined under Arizona and federal law, are not covered. Recipients of public benefits engaged in work activity as a condition of receiving public assistance are also covered as “employees” under the statute’s definition at A.R.S. § 23-371(F).

Accrual begins on the first day of employment (or July 1, 2017, for employees hired before that date). Employers may require employees hired after July 1, 2017, to wait 90 calendar days from the start of employment before using accrued sick time, though the leave continues to accrue during that waiting period.

Employees exempt from overtime requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) are treated as working 40 hours per week for accrual purposes, unless their normal work week is fewer than 40 hours, in which case accrual is based on their actual normal schedule.

Source: A.R.S. § 23-372(D) (azleg.gov/ars/23/00372.htm)

Accrual, Frontloading & Caps

Arizona’s sick leave law establishes a two-tier system based on employer size. All employers use the same accrual rate; the difference is in annual usage caps.

Employers with 15 or more employees (A.R.S. § 23-372(A)):

• Accrual rate: 1 hour of earned paid sick time for every 30 hours worked
• Annual usage cap: 40 hours per year
• Employers may set higher limits at their discretion

Employers with fewer than 15 employees (A.R.S. § 23-372(B)):

• Accrual rate: 1 hour of earned paid sick time for every 30 hours worked
• Annual usage cap: 24 hours per year
• Employers may set higher limits at their discretion

Employee count includes all employees working on a full-time, part-time, or temporary basis. An employer that maintained 15 or more employees for some portion of a day in each of 20 different calendar weeks in either the current or preceding calendar year is subject to the 40-hour cap, regardless of whether it currently employs 15 or more workers.

Frontloading: Under A.R.S. § 23-372(D)(1), employers may provide the full year’s allotment of earned paid sick time at the start of the accrual year rather than tracking accrual per hour worked. If frontloaded, the employer is not required to carry over unused leave at year-end; the employer simply restores the full amount at the beginning of the next year.

Carryover: Accrued but unused earned paid sick time carries over to the following year under A.R.S. § 23-372(D)(4), subject to the usage caps. Alternatively, an employer may pay out unused sick time at year-end and provide the equivalent amount at the start of the next year with immediate availability. Regardless of carryover, employees are never entitled to use more than the applicable annual cap (40 or 24 hours) in a given year unless the employer chooses a higher limit.

No payout on separation: A.R.S. § 23-372(F) provides that nothing in the law requires financial reimbursement for unused earned paid sick time upon termination, resignation, retirement, or other separation.

Reinstatement: When an employee is rehired by the same employer within nine months of separation, previously accrued and unused earned paid sick time must be reinstated under A.R.S. § 23-372(D)(5). When a successor employer takes over a business, employees’ previously accrued sick time carries over under A.R.S. § 23-372(D)(6).

Source: A.R.S. § 23-372 (azleg.gov/ars/23/00372.htm)

Qualifying Reasons for Arizona Paid Sick Leave

Under A.R.S. § 23-373(A), earned paid sick time is available for the following purposes:

1. Employee’s own health: Mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; need for medical diagnosis, care, or treatment; need for preventive medical care.
2. Care for a family member: Care of a family member with a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; care for a family member needing medical diagnosis, care, or treatment; care for a family member needing preventive care.
3. Public health emergency: Closure of the employee’s place of business or a child’s school or place of care by a public official due to a public health emergency; a public health official’s or health care professional’s determination that the presence of the employee or a family member in the community would jeopardize the health of others because of the employee’s or family member’s exposure to a communicable disease, regardless of whether the employee or family member has actually contracted the communicable disease.
4. Domestic violence, sexual violence, abuse, or stalking: Absence necessary to allow the employee or the employee’s family member to obtain medical attention to recover from injury or disability caused by domestic violence, sexual violence, abuse, or stalking; services from a domestic violence or sexual violence program or victim services organization; psychological or other counseling; relocation or steps to secure an existing home; or legal services including preparation for or participation in civil or criminal legal proceedings.

Source: A.R.S. § 23-373(A) (azleg.gov/ars/23/00373.htm)

Definition of Family Member

A.R.S. § 23-371(H) defines “family member” broadly to include:

• Biological, adopted, foster, or step children; legal wards; children of a domestic partner; children to whom the employee stands or stood in loco parentis — regardless of age
• Biological, foster, step, or adoptive parents; legal guardians; persons who stood in loco parentis to the employee, the employee’s spouse, or the employee’s domestic partner
• A person to whom the employee is legally married under any state’s laws, or a domestic partner registered under any state or political subdivision
• Grandparents, grandchildren, and siblings (biological, foster, adoptive, or step) of the employee, the employee’s spouse, or domestic partner
• Any other individual related by blood or affinity whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship

Source: A.R.S. § 23-371(H) (azleg.gov/ars/23/00371.htm)

Pay Rate, Notice & Documentation

Rate of pay: Under A.R.S. § 23-371(D), earned paid sick time is compensated at the same hourly rate — and with the same benefits, including health care benefits — as the employee normally earns during hours worked. In no case may the rate fall below minimum wage (currently $15.15 per hour in Arizona as of January 1, 2026).

Employee notice: Under A.R.S. § 23-373(C), when use is foreseeable, the employee must make a good-faith effort to notify the employer in advance and schedule use of sick time in a way that does not unduly disrupt operations. When leave is not foreseeable, employers may require compliance with written notification policies, provided those policies were made available to the employee. An employer that has not given the employee a copy of its written notification policy may not deny sick time for noncompliance with that policy.

Medical documentation: For earned paid sick time of three or more consecutive work days, an employer may require reasonable documentation that the time was used for a covered purpose under A.R.S. § 23-373(G). Documentation signed by a health care professional indicating the sick time is necessary is considered reasonable. For domestic violence, sexual violence, abuse, or stalking absences, acceptable documentation includes a police report, a protective order, or the employee’s own written statement affirming victim status — selected by the employee.

Recordkeeping and paycheck notice: Under A.R.S. § 23-375, employers must report to employees on every regular paycheck or paycheck attachment: the amount of earned paid sick time available to the employee; the amount taken to date in the year; and the amount of pay received as earned paid sick time. Employers must maintain payroll records for at least four years under A.R.S. § 23-364(D).

Source: A.R.S. §§ 23-371(D), 23-373(C), 23-373(G), 23-375 (azleg.gov); Industrial Commission FAQ (azica.gov/frequently-asked-questions-about-wage-and-earned-paid-sick-time-laws)

Retaliation Protections

Under A.R.S. § 23-374, no employer may discriminate or retaliate against any employee for asserting any right under the Fair Wages and Healthy Families Act, assisting another person in asserting their rights, or informing any person about their rights. Under A.R.S. § 23-364(B), taking adverse action — including discharge, suspension, demotion, or reduction of hours — against a person within 90 calendar days of that person engaging in protected activities raises a legal presumption of retaliation. That presumption can be rebutted only by clear and convincing evidence that the action was taken for another permissible reason.

Penalties: Under A.R.S. § 23-364(F) and (G):

• First violation of recordkeeping, posting, or other requirements: civil penalty of at least $250
• Subsequent or willful violations: at least $1,000 per violation
• Failure to pay required earned paid sick time: employer must pay the full amount owed plus interest, plus an additional amount equal to twice the underpaid sick time
• Retaliation: damages of not less than $150 per day for each day the violation continues, until legal judgment is final, plus any other compensatory amounts

Civil actions may be filed up to two years after the last violation, or three years in the case of a willful violation. A prevailing plaintiff is entitled to reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs.

Source: A.R.S. §§ 23-364, 23-374 (azleg.gov/ars/23/00364.htm, azleg.gov/ars/23/00374.htm)