Arizona’s sick leave law, the Fair Wages and Healthy Families Act, requires almost every private employer in the state to give workers paid sick time. You earn one hour for every 30 hours you work, up to 24 hours a year if your employer has fewer than 15 employees and up to 40 hours a year if it has 15 or more.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 23-372 – Accrual of Earned Paid Sick Time You can use the time for your own illness, to care for a family member, during certain public health closures, or in connection with domestic or sexual violence.
Who Is Covered
The employer definition sweeps in corporations, partnerships, LLCs, trusts, sole proprietorships, and political subdivisions such as cities, counties, and school districts. Two employers are specifically excluded: the State of Arizona and the United States government. Workers at state agencies and federal offices in Arizona are not covered.2Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 23-371 – Definitions
On the employee side, the law reaches full-time, part-time, temporary, and seasonal workers. People who perform work activity as a condition of receiving public benefits also count. Independent contractors do not, because they fall outside the statutory definition of “employee.” If your employer controls when and how you do your job, you are probably an employee no matter what your paperwork says.
Unionized workplaces can be different. A collective bargaining agreement is allowed to waive some or all of the sick time requirements, but only through “clear and unambiguous terms” in the agreement itself.3Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes Title 23 Labor 23-381 A passing reference won’t cut it.
How Much You Earn and When You Can Use It
Every covered worker earns one hour of paid sick time per 30 hours worked. The annual cap depends on employer size.
- Fewer than 15 employees: accrue and use up to 24 hours a year.
- 15 or more employees: accrue and use up to 40 hours a year.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 23-372 – Accrual of Earned Paid Sick Time
Those numbers are floors. An employer can always give you more. Accrual starts on day one of the job.
Rather than track hours as you go, your employer can frontload the full annual allotment at the start of the year. If they do, there is no obligation to carry hours over, as long as you get the required 24 or 40 hours available for immediate use at the start of each new year.4Industrial Commission of Arizona. Frequently Asked Questions About Minimum Wage and Earned Paid Sick Time
The 90-Day Waiting Period
Your hours start accruing on day one, but an employer is allowed to make you wait up to 90 calendar days before you can actually use any of them.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 23-372 – Accrual of Earned Paid Sick Time This is optional. Some employers let new hires use time as soon as it accrues. Check your onboarding paperwork to see which approach yours uses.
Carryover, Payout, and Rehire
Unused hours roll over into the next year, though you still can’t use more than the annual cap. An employer that wants to avoid carryover can instead pay you for unused time at year’s end and give you a fresh allotment at the start of the next year.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 23-372 – Accrual of Earned Paid Sick Time The law does not require any payout of unused sick time when you quit or are fired. Those hours simply expire unless your employer’s own policy says otherwise.
If you leave and come back to the same employer within nine months, any previously unused sick time has to be restored, and you can start using your hours right away.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 23-372 – Accrual of Earned Paid Sick Time Moves between divisions or locations within the same company work the same way; your hours follow you.
What You Can Use the Hours For
The law covers four categories of absence.
- Your own mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition, including diagnosis, treatment, and preventive care like checkups and screenings.5Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 23-373 – Use of Earned Paid Sick Time
- Caring for a family member for those same health reasons.
- Public health closures. If a public official closes your workplace, or your child’s school or daycare, you can use sick time. The same applies if a health authority or doctor finds that you or a family member could expose others to a communicable disease, even without a confirmed diagnosis.
- Domestic violence, sexual violence, abuse, or stalking. Covered uses include medical care, counseling, victim services, legal help, and relocating or securing your home.
“Family member” is broader than many workers expect. It includes biological, adopted, foster, and stepchildren; parents, in-laws, and step-parents; grandparents and grandchildren; siblings; domestic partners; and anyone else related by blood or by a close personal bond equivalent to a family tie.2Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 23-371 – Definitions That last catch-all is one of the more generous in any state’s sick leave law.
What Your Employer Must Tell You, and What They Can Ask
Your employer has three ongoing communication duties. The official Fair Wages and Healthy Families Act poster has to be displayed where employees can see it. At the start of your employment, you must receive written notice of how much sick time you’re entitled to, how it works, the ban on retaliation, your right to file a complaint, and how to reach the Industrial Commission of Arizona (ICA). The notice has to be provided in English, Spanish, and any other language the commission deems appropriate.6Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 23-375 – Notice
Every paycheck also has to show, on the stub or an attached document, how much sick time you have available, how much you’ve used that year, and how much sick-time pay you’ve received. If your pay stub doesn’t include that information, your employer is out of compliance.
When you need to use sick time, you can request it verbally, in writing, or electronically. For foreseeable absences, give advance notice when you can. For unexpected illness, notify your employer as soon as practical. You only have to give a general reason that fits a covered purpose, not a specific diagnosis or detailed medical information.5Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 23-373 – Use of Earned Paid Sick Time If you miss more than three consecutive workdays, your employer may ask for reasonable documentation, like a note from a healthcare provider confirming the need for leave.
Protection From Retaliation
Your employer cannot punish you for requesting or using earned paid sick time, filing a complaint, taking part in an investigation, or informing a coworker about their rights under the Act.7Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 23-374 – Exercise of Rights Protected Retaliation Prohibited
The law also forbids attendance-point systems from counting sick time as an absence that triggers discipline, termination, demotion, or suspension. If your workplace uses an automated attendance tracker that dings you for a sick day, that policy violates the Act. Protection extends to anyone who reports a violation in good faith, even if it turns out to be mistaken.
What To Do if Your Employer Violates the Law
If your employer denies you sick time, retaliates against you for using it, or fails to meet the notice requirements, you can file a complaint with the ICA’s Labor Department. The commission has an online Earned Paid Sick Time Claim Form, with a separate Retaliation Complaint Form for cases involving punishment.8Industrial Commission of Arizona. Earned Paid Sick Time Claim Form Fill them out thoroughly; incomplete forms can delay or kill a case.
The ICA keeps your identity confidential for as long as possible. Investigators can only disclose your name with your consent.9Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 23-364 – Enforcement
You can also go straight to court instead of filing with the ICA. The statute of limitations is two years from the last violation, or three years if the violation was willful. The clock pauses during any active ICA investigation, and filing with the commission does not prevent you from also bringing a civil action.
Where To Download the Official Poster PDF
The ICA maintains a poster page at azica.gov/posters-employers-must-display, where you can download the current Fair Wages and Healthy Families Act poster as a PDF in English or Spanish.10Industrial Commission of Arizona. Posters Employers Must Display A separate earned paid sick time poster is on the same page. Employers must display both. Workers can use the same PDFs to check that the posting at their workplace is current. The ICA also publishes an FAQ covering common questions about the minimum wage and sick time provisions.11Industrial Commission of Arizona. Frequently Asked Questions About Wage and Earned Paid Sick Time Laws