Paid Sick Leave Requirements in Arizona

At a glance

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).