Arizona — Leave Laws

Arizona requires employees to accrue one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked. Employers with 15 or more employees must allow accrual and use of up to 40 hours per year; employers with fewer than 15 employees must allow up to 24 hours per year, unless the employer selects a higher limit. Accrual began on July 1, 2017, for existing employees or upon hire for employees starting after that date.

Source: A.R.S. § 23-372

Arizona earned paid sick time may be used for four categories of purposes under A.R.S. § 23-373(A):

Category 1 — Employee's own health needs: An employee's mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; or preventive medical care for the employee.

Category 2 — Family member's health needs: Care of a family member with a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; care of a family member who needs medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; or care of a family member who needs preventive medical care. "Family member" is defined in A.R.S. § 23-371(2) and includes the employee's child, parent, spouse, registered domestic partner, grandparent, grandchild, or sibling, plus a child or parent of the employee's spouse or registered domestic partner.

Category 3 — Public health emergencies and communicable disease exposure: This category covers three distinct sub-purposes:

• (a) Workplace closure: Closure of the employee's place of business by order of a public official due to a public health emergency.

• (b) Child's school or care-facility closure: An employee's need to care for a child whose school or place of care has been closed by order of a public official due to a public health emergency.

• (c) Communicable disease exposure — quarantine or isolation: Care for oneself or a family member when it has been determined by the health authorities having jurisdiction or by a health care provider that the employee's or family member's presence in the community may jeopardize the health of others because of his or her exposure to a communicable disease, whether or not the employee or family member has actually contracted the communicable disease. This sub-purpose permits use of paid sick time for precautionary isolation or quarantine following exposure, even absent a confirmed infection.

The statute uses "by order of a public official" (not "public health official") for the closure scenarios in sub-purposes (a) and (b). Sub-purpose (c) is triggered by a determination from "health authorities having jurisdiction" or "a health care provider," not necessarily a formal public-official order.

Category 4 — Domestic violence, sexual violence, abuse, or stalking: Notwithstanding A.R.S. § 13-4439, absence necessary due to domestic violence, sexual violence, abuse, or stalking, provided the leave is to allow the employee to obtain for the employee or the employee's family member: (a) medical attention needed to recover from physical or psychological injury or disability caused by domestic violence, sexual violence, abuse, or stalking; (b) services from a domestic violence or sexual violence program or victim services organization; (c) mental health or other counseling; (d) relocation or taking steps to secure an existing home due to the domestic violence, sexual violence, abuse, or stalking; or (e) legal services, including but not limited to preparing for or participating in any civil or criminal legal proceeding related to or resulting from the domestic violence, sexual violence, abuse, or stalking.

Source: A.R.S. § 23-373

Source: A.R.S. § 23-371 (definitions)

Arizona requires employers to carry over unused earned paid sick time to the following year, but the state caps the amount that must be carried over. Under A.R.S. § 23-372(D)(4), earned paid sick time "shall be carried over to the following year, subject to the limitations on usage in subsections A and B" — meaning the annual use caps of 40 hours (employers with 15+ employees) or 24 hours (employers with fewer than 15 employees) apply to carried-over time.

The Industrial Commission of Arizona clarified the carryover mechanics in regulation A.A.C. R20-5-1206(I). Carryover caps track the annual use limits:

• Employers with 15 or more employees: An employee may carry over up to 40 hours of unused earned paid sick time to the following year.
• Employers with fewer than 15 employees: An employee may carry over up to 24 hours of unused earned paid sick time to the following year.

Employers may permit greater carryover voluntarily. Importantly, carryover does not affect accrual rights: an employee who carries over 40 hours into Year 2 remains entitled to accrue another 40 hours during Year 2 (for a potential bank of 80 hours), but the annual use limit remains 40 hours per year unless the employer selects a higher limit.

Buyout alternative: In lieu of carryover, an employer may pay an employee for unused earned paid sick time at the end of the year under A.R.S. § 23-372(D)(4), but only if the employer also provides the employee with an amount of earned paid sick time that meets or exceeds the statutory requirements and is available for the employee's immediate use at the beginning of the subsequent year. An employer that pays out 40 hours at year-end must front-load at least 40 hours at the start of the next year; the buyout does not eliminate the employer's obligation to provide paid sick time going forward.

Front-loading safe harbor: Under A.A.C. R20-5-1206(G) and (H), an employer that front-loads the full annual allotment at the beginning of each year (40 hours for large employers, 24 hours for small employers) is not required to provide carryover or track additional accrual during the year. The front-loaded amount satisfies both the accrual and carryover obligations, and the employer simply renews the full allotment at the start of each subsequent year.

Source: A.R.S. § 23-372

Source: A.A.C. R20-5-1206

Under Arizona law, employees begin accruing earned paid sick time immediately upon hire (or on July 1, 2017, for employees hired before that date). The default rule is that an employee may use earned paid sick time as it is accrued, meaning there is no mandatory waiting period.

However, for employees hired after July 1, 2017, A.R.S. § 23-372(D)(2) permits employers to impose an optional 90-day waiting period before the employee may use accrued paid sick time. Specifically, the statute provides that "an employee may use earned paid sick time as it is accrued, except that an employer may require an employee hired after July 1, 2017, to wait until the ninetieth calendar day after commencing employment before using accrued earned paid sick time, unless otherwise permitted by the employer."

Key mechanics of the 90-day waiting period:

• Accrual continues during the waiting period. If an employer imposes the 90-day waiting period, the employee continues to accrue paid sick time during those first 90 days at the rate of one hour for every 30 hours worked. The waiting period restricts only use, not accrual. An employee who works 600 hours during the first 90 days will have accrued 20 hours of paid sick time, which becomes available for use on the 91st day.

• The waiting period is employer-optional. The statute uses "may require," not "shall require." An employer may permit use before the 90th day, or may waive the waiting period entirely and allow immediate use as time is accrued.

• The 90-day cutoff applies only to employees hired after July 1, 2017. Employees hired on or before July 1, 2017—the law's effective date—may use earned paid sick time as it is accrued, with no waiting period permitted.

• The waiting period is measured in calendar days, not workdays. The statute specifies "ninetieth calendar day after commencing employment." An employee hired on January 1 may use accrued paid sick time beginning on April 1 (90 calendar days later), regardless of how many days the employee actually worked during that period.

Front-loading and the waiting period. Under A.A.C. R20-5-1206, an employer that front-loads the full annual allotment of earned paid sick time (40 hours for employers with 15+ employees; 24 hours for smaller employers) at the beginning of each year is not required to track accrual. For a new hire, A.A.C. R20-5-1206 permits an employer to front-load a prorated amount for immediate use on the employee's 90th calendar day after hire, calculated to meet or exceed the employer's reasonable projection of what the employee would accrue from hire through the end of the employer's year at one hour per 30 hours worked. This front-loading approach satisfies the accrual requirement while honoring the 90-day waiting period.

Rehires and the waiting period. When an employee separates from employment and is rehired by the same employer within nine months, A.R.S. § 23-372(D)(5) requires reinstatement of previously accrued but unused paid sick time, and the employee is entitled to "use accrued earned paid sick time and accrue additional earned paid sick time at the re-commencement of employment." The statute does not explicitly address whether a rehired employee is subject to a new 90-day waiting period. Because the employee was "hired after July 1, 2017" (in the original hire), the plain language of § 23-372(D)(2) appears to permit the employer to impose the 90-day waiting period again on the new "commencing employment" date, though the statute is silent on whether the reinstated bank of previously accrued time is immediately available or also subject to the waiting period.

Source: A.R.S. § 23-372

Source: A.A.C. R20-5-1206

Arizona's earned paid sick time law defines "family member" broadly in A.R.S. § 23-371(H) to cover five distinct categories. Employees may use earned paid sick time to care for a family member's illness or other qualifying events under A.R.S. § 23-373(A), and the scope of who qualifies as a family member governs when that usage is protected.

Category 1 — Children: Regardless of age, the definition includes a biological, adopted, or foster child; stepchild; legal ward; a child of a domestic partner; a child to whom the employee stands in loco parentis; or an individual to whom the employee stood in loco parentis when that individual was a minor. The statute does not impose an age cap; an employee's 40-year-old biological child qualifies. The in loco parentis prong covers individuals who acted as the child's parent without a formal legal relationship — past-tense in loco parentis ("stood") extends coverage to adults the employee raised informally during their childhood.

Category 2 — Parents: The definition includes a biological, foster, stepparent, or adoptive parent or legal guardian of an employee or of the employee's spouse or domestic partner. It also includes a person who stood in loco parentis when the employee—or the employee's spouse or domestic partner—was a minor child. An employee may therefore use earned paid sick time to care for a parent-in-law or a domestic-partner's parent, as well as an individual who served in a parental role during the employee's (or spouse's / domestic partner's) childhood even if no formal adoption or guardianship existed.

Category 3 — Spouse and domestic partner: A "family member" includes a person to whom the employee is legally married under the laws of any state, or a domestic partner of the employee as registered under the laws of any state or political subdivision. The statute expressly recognizes marriages and domestic partnerships validly entered under the laws of other jurisdictions. An employee married or registered in another state may use Arizona earned paid sick time to care for that spouse or domestic partner.

Category 4 — Grandparents, grandchildren, and siblings: The definition includes a grandparent, grandchild, or sibling—whether of a biological, foster, adoptive, or step relationship—of the employee or the employee's spouse or domestic partner. This category extends horizontally (siblings) and vertically across two generations (grandparents and grandchildren), and includes the parallel relationships through the employee's spouse or domestic partner. An employee may use paid sick time to care for a stepsibling, a spouse's grandparent, or a foster grandchild.

Category 5 — Functional-family catchall: The statute concludes with a functional definition: "any other individual related by blood or affinity whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship." A.R.S. § 23-371(H)(5). This catchall is not limited to the enumerated relationships in categories 1–4. "Affinity" captures relationships by marriage; "blood" captures biological relationships outside the enumerated categories (e.g., aunt, uncle, cousin, niece, nephew). The phrase "close association … equivalent of a family relationship" permits coverage of individuals outside formal blood or affinity ties—potentially including long-term household members, chosen family, or close friends functioning as family—but the statute does not define the evidentiary threshold for "close association" or "equivalent." No Arizona case law or Industrial Commission guidance addresses the outer boundary of category 5 as of this writing.

Timing and relationship formality: The statute does not require that the relationship exist at the time the employee is hired or begins accruing paid sick time. A child born after the employee's hire date qualifies immediately; a newly married spouse qualifies immediately. The statute does not condition "family member" status on the employee providing financial support or sharing a household with the individual. A sibling who lives out-of-state and whom the employee has not seen in years remains a statutory family member, and the employer may not condition paid sick time usage on proof of closeness.

Interaction with usage categories: Under A.R.S. § 23-373(A), an employee may use earned paid sick time to care for a "family member" in three contexts: (1) the family member's own health needs (illness, injury, health condition, medical care, preventive care); (2) public health emergency scenarios (child's school closure; quarantine or isolation of the family member due to communicable disease exposure); and (3) domestic violence, sexual violence, abuse, or stalking affecting the family member (obtaining medical attention, counseling, relocation, legal services). The breadth of the family-member definition in § 23-371(H) applies uniformly across all three contexts.

Source: A.R.S. § 23-371

Source: A.R.S. § 23-373

Arizona law limits when and how an employer may require documentation to support an employee's use of earned paid sick time. The rules balance the employer's legitimate interest in verifying that leave was used for a covered purpose against employee privacy and the burden of obtaining formal verification for short absences.

## Three-consecutive-workday threshold

Under A.R.S. § 23-373(G), an employer may require reasonable documentation that earned paid sick time was used for a purpose covered by the statute only for absences of three or more consecutive work days. An employer may not demand documentation for absences shorter than three consecutive work days. "Work days" means days the employee was scheduled to work; the statute does not specify whether the count includes intervening weekends or holidays, but the plain language "consecutive work days" suggests the count runs only across scheduled workdays.

The three-day rule is a floor, not a mandate. An employer may choose never to require documentation at all, or may set a higher threshold (e.g., five consecutive work days). The statute uses the permissive "may require," not "shall require."

Consequence of the threshold: For a one-day or two-day absence, the employee's statement that the absence was for a covered purpose—made orally, in writing, electronically, or by any other means acceptable to the employer under A.R.S. § 23-373(B)—is sufficient. The employer may not condition approval of paid sick time on submission of a doctor's note, police report, or other external verification for these shorter absences.

## Reasonable documentation for health-related absences

When an absence meets the three-consecutive-workday threshold and was for a health-related purpose under A.R.S. § 23-373(A)(1), (2), or (3) (the employee's or family member's illness, injury, health condition, medical care, preventive care, or public health emergency scenarios), A.R.S. § 23-373(G) provides a safe-harbor form of reasonable documentation: documentation signed by a health care professional indicating that earned paid sick time is necessary.

Arizona regulation A.A.C. R20-5-1202(17) defines "health care professional" for purposes of A.R.S. § 23-373(G) to mean any of the following:

• A physician as defined by A.R.S. § 36-2351 (doctors of medicine and osteopathic medicine);
• A physician assistant as defined by A.R.S. § 32-2501;
• A registered nurse practitioner as defined by A.R.S. § 32-1601;
• A certified nurse midwife who is a registered nurse practitioner approved by the Arizona State Board of Nursing to provide primary care services during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period;
• A dentist licensed under A.R.S. Title 32, Chapter 11, Article 2;
• A psychologist licensed under A.R.S. Title 32, Chapter 19.1;
• A clinical social worker licensed under A.R.S. § 32-3293;
• A marriage and family therapist licensed under A.R.S. § 32-3311; or
• A professional counselor licensed under A.R.S. § 32-3301.

Documentation "indicating that earned paid sick time is necessary" does not require a detailed diagnosis or treatment plan; a simple statement that the employee (or family member) required medical attention or care on the dates in question satisfies the standard.

The statute states that healthcare-professional documentation "shall be considered reasonable documentation." This is a statutory deeming provision: if the employee provides it, the employer must accept it as reasonable and may not demand additional or different verification. The employer retains discretion to accept other forms of documentation as reasonable (e.g., an appointment reminder, a prescription label, a billing statement showing a medical visit), but the statute guarantees that healthcare-professional-signed documentation clears the bar.

## Documentation for domestic violence, sexual violence, abuse, or stalking

When an absence of three or more consecutive work days was taken for a purpose under A.R.S. § 23-373(A)(4)—absence necessary due to domestic violence, sexual violence, abuse, or stalking affecting the employee or a family member—A.R.S. § 23-373(G) provides that one of the following types of documentation, selected by the employee, shall be considered reasonable:

1. Police report. A police report indicating that the employee or the employee's family member was a victim of domestic violence, sexual violence, abuse, or stalking.

2. Court or prosecutorial evidence. A protective order; an injunction against harassment; a general court order; or other evidence from a court or prosecuting attorney that the employee or the employee's family member appeared, or is scheduled to appear, in court in connection with an incident of domestic violence, sexual violence, abuse, or stalking.

3. Documentation from a health care provider. (The statute lists this as part of the domestic-violence documentation menu, incorporating the healthcare-professional documentation described above when the absence relates to medical attention for physical or psychological injury caused by the violence.)

4. Documentation from a victim advocate. Documentation that the employee or the employee's family member received services from a victim services organization, an attorney, a member of the clergy, or a medical or other professional from whom the employee or the employee's family member sought assistance in addressing domestic violence, sexual violence, abuse, or stalking and the effects thereof. (This menu item captures documentation from domestic-violence shelters, victim advocates, legal-aid attorneys, and counselors.)

5. An employee's written statement. (Numbered "6" in the statute, but listed as item 5 in the enumerated menu in subsection G.) An employee's written statement affirming that the employee or the employee's family member is a victim of domestic violence, sexual violence, abuse, or stalking, and that the leave was taken for one of the purposes in A.R.S. § 23-373(A)(4). The employee's written statement, by itself, is reasonable documentation for absences under this category. The statute emphasizes that the written statement does not need to be in an affidavit format or notarized, but must be legible if handwritten and must reasonably make clear the employee's identity and, if applicable, the employee's relationship to the family member.

Employee selects the form. The statute uses the phrase "selected by the employee." The employer may not dictate which of the five forms (plus the health care professional option) the employee must provide; the employee chooses, and the employer must accept whichever form the employee selects as reasonable documentation. Notably, the employee may satisfy the requirement with nothing more than a signed written statement affirming victimization and that the leave was for a covered purpose—no external corroboration required.

## Privacy protections — no details required

A.R.S. § 23-373(I) prohibits an employer from requiring that documentation submitted under subsection G explain the nature of the health condition or the details of the domestic violence, sexual violence, abuse, or stalking. An employer may confirm that the absence was for a covered purpose, but may not demand specifics. A healthcare provider's note stating "Patient required medical attention on [dates]" or "Patient under my care for a health condition requiring absence from work [dates]" satisfies the statute; the employer may not insist on disclosure of the diagnosis, symptoms, or treatment. Similarly, a written statement under the domestic-violence provision may affirm that the employee is a victim and took leave for a purpose listed in A.R.S. § 23-373(A)(4) without describing the incident, the perpetrator, or the nature of the abuse.

A.R.S. § 23-373(H) further provides that submission of documentation under subsection G does not waive or diminish any confidential or privileged communications between a victim of domestic violence, sexual violence, abuse, or stalking and the individuals named in subsection G (health care providers, victim advocates, attorneys, clergy). An employee's production of a letter from a counselor confirming services were provided does not constitute a general waiver of the counselor-client privilege.

## Interaction with notice requirements

The documentation rules in A.R.S. § 23-373(G)–(I) are independent of the statute's notice requirements. Under A.R.S. § 23-373(C), when the use of earned paid sick time is foreseeable, the employee must make a good-faith effort to provide advance notice and to schedule the leave to minimize operational disruption. Under A.R.S. § 23-373(D), an employer that requires notice for unforeseeable absences must provide the employee with a written policy describing the notice procedures, and may not deny paid sick time for non-compliance with that policy unless the employer gave the employee a copy of the written policy. Notice (advance or after-the-fact) is separate from documentation: the employee must comply with the employer's notice policy when applicable, and may be required to provide reasonable documentation if the absence reaches three consecutive work days. An employer may not use the documentation rules as a backdoor notice requirement; an employee who fails to provide documentation for a three-day absence may be subject to the documentation requirement, but the employer must still grant the paid sick time if the absence was for a covered purpose and the employee otherwise met the notice obligation (or the employer lacked a compliant written notice policy).

## Timing of documentation request

A.R.S. § 23-373(G) does not specify when the employer may request documentation or when the employee must provide it. The statute is silent on whether the employer must make the request before approving the leave, whether the employee must provide documentation before returning to work, or whether the employer may request it retroactively. Employers typically request documentation at the time the employee requests leave (if the absence is foreseeable) or upon the employee's return (if the absence was unforeseeable). Because the statute requires that earned paid sick time "shall be provided upon the request of an employee" (A.R.S. § 23-373(B)), an employer that demands documentation before approving a request for sick time—when the absence has not yet occurred and thus has not yet met the three-day threshold—risks violating the mandate to provide leave upon request. The safer practice is to approve the initial request and, if the absence ultimately spans three or more consecutive work days, request reasonable documentation either during the absence or upon return.

The statute does not establish a deadline by which the employee must submit documentation, nor does it specify consequences if the employee fails to provide requested documentation. The employer's remedy for non-submission is not addressed in A.R.S. §§ 23-371 to -378. An employer that denies paid sick time—or takes adverse action—solely because the employee did not provide documentation for a three-plus-day absence risks a retaliation or interference claim under A.R.S. § 23-375, unless the employer can show that the absence was not, in fact, for a covered purpose.

Source: A.R.S. § 23-373

Source: A.A.C. R20-5-1202 (definitions, including "health care professional")

Arizona employers must pay employees who use earned paid sick time at the "same hourly rate" the employee would have earned for the period in which sick time is used. The calculation method depends on the employee's pay structure, and in all cases the rate must equal or exceed the applicable minimum wage. The Industrial Commission of Arizona established detailed calculation rules in A.A.C. R20-5-1202.

Single hourly rate employees

For employees paid a single hourly rate, the "same hourly rate" is the hourly rate the employee would have earned for the period of time in which earned paid sick time is used, but in no case less than minimum wage. If the employee was scheduled to work a shift that would have paid $18.00 per hour, the employer must pay $18.00 per hour for each hour of earned paid sick time used during that absence, even if the employee's base rate is lower and the shift would have included a shift differential.

Multiple hourly rates

For employees who are paid multiple hourly rates (for example, an employee who works different job functions at different rates), the "same hourly rate" is determined in the following order of priority, but shall in no case be less than minimum wage:

1. First priority: The hourly rate the employee would have earned, if known, for each hour of earned paid sick time used. If the employer can identify which hours the employee would have worked at which rate, the employer pays that known rate.

1. Second priority (if the first-priority rate is not known): The weighted average of all hourly rates of pay during the previous pay period.

Salaried employees

For employees who are paid a salary, no additional pay is due when the employee's use of earned paid sick time results in no reduction in the employee's regular salary during the pay period in which the earned paid sick time is used. In other words, a salaried employee who receives the full salary for the pay period (because the employer does not dock salary for the sick-time absence) has already been paid for the sick time at the "same hourly rate."

When pay must be calculated (for example, when an employer pays a salaried employee on an hourly basis for partial periods, or when the employee exhausts accrued sick time and the employer needs to determine the value of the time used), the "same hourly rate" for salaried employees is determined in the following order of priority, but shall in no case be less than minimum wage:

1. First priority: The wages an employee earns during each pay period covered by the salary divided by the number of hours agreed to be worked during each pay period, if the number of hours to be worked during each pay period was previously established. (For example, an employee with a $4,000 bi-weekly salary who agreed to work 80 hours per pay period has a rate of $50.00/hour.)

1. Second priority (if no agreed-upon hours were established): The wages an employee earns during each workweek covered by the salary in the current year divided by 40 hours. (For example, an employee with a $52,000 annual salary earns $1,000 per workweek, yielding an hourly rate of $25.00.)

Commission, piece-rate, and fee-for-service employees

For employees paid on a commission, piece-rate, or fee-for-service basis, the "same hourly rate" is determined in the following order of priority, but shall in no case be less than minimum wage:

1. First priority: The hourly rate of pay previously agreed upon by the employer and the employee as (a) an hourly rate for payment of earned paid sick time, or (b) the actual hourly rate for the work.

1. Second priority (if no agreed-upon rate exists): The wages that the employee would have been paid, if known, for the period of time in which earned paid sick time is used, divided by the number of hours of earned paid sick time used.

1. Third priority: A reasonable estimation of the commission, piece-rate, or fee-for-service compensation that the employee would have been paid for the period of time in which the earned paid sick time is used, divided by the number of hours of earned paid sick time used.

1. Fourth priority: The hourly average of all commission, piece-rate, or fee-for-service compensation that the employee earned during the previous 90 days, if the employee worked regularly during the previous 90-day period. (The regulation specifies a formula based on total compensation divided by total hours worked in that 90-day window.)

1. Fifth priority (if the employee did not work regularly during the previous 90 days): The hourly average of all commission, piece-rate, or fee-for-service compensation that the employee earned during the previous 365 days.

Shift differentials and premiums

The "same hourly rate" includes shift differentials and premiums meant to compensate an employee for work performed under differing conditions (such as hazard pay or a shift differential for working at night) if the employee would have been entitled to the shift differential or premium for the period of time in which earned paid sick time is used. A night-shift employee who uses sick time during a scheduled night shift must be paid the night-shift differential as part of the sick-time pay.

Minimum-wage floor

Every calculation method in A.A.C. R20-5-1202 includes the express requirement that the rate "shall in no case be less than minimum wage." An employer may never pay less than the applicable Arizona minimum wage for hours of earned paid sick time, regardless of the employee's pay structure or the calculation method used.

Source: A.A.C. R20-5-1202 (definitions, including "same hourly rate")