Paid Sick Leave: Arizona

This Arizona Earned Paid Sick Time policy applies to employees in Arizona under the Arizona Earned Paid Sick Time law (A.R.S. §§ 23-371 through 23-375) and sets clear rules for who can use paid sick time, how it accrues (or is front-loaded), what it can be used for (including an employee's health needs, caring for family, and certain safety-related absences), and the notice, documentation, carryover, and anti-retaliation protections your organization needs to follow.

The History Behind Paid Sick Leave Policies in Arizona

Paid Sick Leave became a real compliance requirement for many Arizona employers after voters approved the Fair Wages and Healthy Families Act (Proposition 206) in 2016. The measure paired a minimum wage increase with statewide earned paid sick time and wrote the rules into Arizona law at A.R.S. §§ 23-371 through 23-375. The law set the basic framework most policies still follow: accrual tied to hours worked, a waiting period before use, protected reasons for leave, and anti-retaliation rules.

Implementation got messy because the statute left room for interpretation, so the Industrial Commission of Arizona (ICA) stepped in with guidance, model notices, and enforcement. Employers also watched early challenges to Proposition 206, including litigation that argued the initiative violated Arizona's "single subject" rule and other state constitutional limits. The Arizona Supreme Court ultimately allowed the law to stand, which ended the suspense and pushed employers who were waiting on the sidelines to formalize their sick time practices.

After that, the trend line was predictable. Multi-state employers started standardizing leave programs because local sick leave laws were spreading across the country, and Arizona's rules had enough specifics (like carryover, documentation limits, and reinstatement after rehire) to warrant a state-specific policy. COVID-19 then made the public-health uses of sick time feel less theoretical, even though Arizona's earned paid sick time law already covered certain closures and isolation scenarios, and employers tightened policies to match what regulators and employees now expected in writing.

Which Law is the Paid Sick Leave Policy Meant to Comply With?

If you create and distribute a Paid Sick Leave Policy for your Arizona-based employees, it is in an effort to comply with Arizona's Fair Wages and Healthy Families Act (A.R.S. 23-371), A.R.S. 23-372, A.R.S. 23-373, A.R.S. 23-374, and A.R.S. 23-375.

How to Write an Arizona-Specific Paid Sick Leave Policy

• Start with "why" and introduce the concept, explain that Arizona paid sick time supports health needs, family care, and certain safety and public health related absences.
• Define who is covered, state that all employees in Arizona are eligible.
• Explain how leave is provided, describe the accrual method and the option to frontload an annual bank.
• List permitted uses, cover personal health needs, family care, domestic violence or sexual assault or stalking related needs, and public health emergency related needs.
• Define "family member" for purposes of using paid sick time.
• Set expectations for requesting leave, describe how employees give notice and who they contact.
• Address documentation, explain when you may ask for reasonable documentation and how you will protect confidentiality.
• Describe how leave is used and paid, including when employees can begin using leave, the increment of use, and the pay rate rules.
• Set annual limits and year definition, explain the yearly cap and how your organization defines the benefit year.
• Explain carryover and end-of-year handling, cover carryover rules and whether unused time is paid out at year-end.
• Address separation and rehire, explain what happens to unused sick time at separation and how reinstatement works after rehire.
• Include protections, prohibit retaliation and requiring employees to find shift coverage, and provide a contact for questions.

When to Include this Policy in Your Employee Handbook

If you have employees in Arizona and you do not have a similar policy that's available for all US employees, you should include this policy in your employee handbook for Arizona-based employees. 

ARS § 23-275 (A) states: 

Employers shall give employees written notice of the following at the commencement of employment or by July 1, 2017, whichever is later: employees are entitled to earned paid sick time and the amount of earned paid sick time, the terms of its use guaranteed under this article, that retaliation against employees who request or use earned paid sick time is prohibited, that each employee has the right to file a complaint if earned paid sick time as required by this article is denied by the employer or the employee is subjected to retaliation for requesting or taking earned paid sick time, and the contact information for the commission where questions about rights and responsibilities under this article can be answered.

Your employee handbook qualifies. 

Other Considerations

The law applies to Arizona employers who have at least 1 employee in the US.

Exceptions

None