Arizona layers a voter-approved minimum wage and earned paid sick time law on top of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. The table below summarizes the rules most small employers run into first. Each row is explained in more detail further down the page.
EZTime labor rule alerts flag overtime and missed rest periods before payroll.
| Topic | Rule |
|---|---|
| Minimum wage | $15.15 per hour in 2026 (Industrial Commission of Arizona) |
| Tipped employees | Employer may pay up to $3.00 less than minimum wage if tips cover the gap (A.R.S. 23-363) |
| Overtime | No separate state rule; federal time-and-a-half after 40 hours a week (FLSA basics) |
| Meal and rest breaks | No state requirement for adult workers (U.S. DOL table) |
| Earned paid sick time | 1 hour per 30 worked; annual cap of 24 or 40 hours by employer size (ICA FAQ) |
| Paydays | Two or more fixed paydays a month, no more than 16 days apart (A.R.S. 23-351) |
| Final pay | Discharged: within 7 working days or end of next pay period, whichever is sooner. Quit: next regular payday (A.R.S. 23-353) |
| Minors under 16 | 3 hours on a school day, 18 hours in a school week (A.R.S. 23-233) |
The Industrial Commission of Arizona (ICA), which enforces the state wage law, lists the 2026 minimum wage as $15.15 per hour. The rate climbed from $14.70 in 2025 and $14.35 in 2024. Under A.R.S. 23-363, the rate is adjusted every January 1 based on the change in the cost of living measured through August of the prior year, rounded to the nearest five cents. As of this review, the ICA's labor department page did not yet show a 2027 rate, so check the ICA before setting January pay rates.
Arizona allows a tip credit. An employer may pay a tipped worker a cash wage up to $3.00 per hour below the minimum wage, which works out to $12.15 per hour in 2026, as long as the employer can show that wages plus tips reach the full minimum for every hour worked. The ICA's FAQ explains that employers must give written notice before taking the credit and must make up any shortfall. Tips are averaged over the payroll period to test compliance.
Two Arizona cities set their own higher floors, and employers with staff working there must pay the higher local rate:
If you run several locations, set up a separate pay rule for each city so the right rate applies automatically. The U.S. Department of Labor state table also notes that local governments may set rates above the state level.
Arizona has no general state overtime statute for private employers; the U.S. Department of Labor's state table lists no separate Arizona premium-pay rule. In practice, private employers follow the federal FLSA: non-exempt employees earn one and one-half times their regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek. There is no daily overtime trigger, and working a long single shift does not by itself create overtime. Arizona's pay statute does address timing: overtime or "exception" pay may be paid up to sixteen days after the end of the pay period in which it was earned (A.R.S. 23-351). Use the overtime calculator to check weekly totals, and review our FLSA overtime guide for exemption tests.
Arizona does not require meal periods or rest breaks for adult employees. Arizona does not appear in the U.S. DOL's meal period table or its rest period table. Federal rules still matter: under the FLSA hours-worked rules, short rest breaks of usually 20 minutes or less must be counted as paid work time, while a bona fide meal period, typically 30 minutes or more with the employee completely relieved from duty, generally need not be paid. Write your break policy down and apply it consistently so time records match what employees are told.
Arizona's Fair Wages and Healthy Families Act requires earned paid sick time for employees. The ICA's minimum wage and earned paid sick time FAQ lays out the core rules:
Under A.R.S. 23-373, employees can use the time for their own or a family member's illness, injury, health condition, diagnosis, treatment or preventive care; for certain public health emergency closures; and for absences related to domestic violence, sexual violence, abuse or stalking. Employers must give written notice of these rights, and displaying the ICA's model poster can satisfy that notice. The PTO accrual calculator helps you model the one-in-thirty accrual rate.
Under A.R.S. 23-351, Arizona employers must designate two or more paydays each month, no more than sixteen days apart. Regular wages must be paid no later than five business days after the end of the most recent pay period; certain employers with centralized out-of-state payroll get up to ten days. When wages are paid by direct deposit or payroll card, employees must receive a written or electronic statement of earnings and withholdings, and payroll card users must also get a list of card fees.
Final pay rules in A.R.S. 23-353 depend on how employment ends:
Arizona's A.R.S. 23-233 limits work for minors under 16:
Because federal law is stricter in some respects, such as its 7 p.m. evening limit during the school year, follow whichever rule is more protective; the U.S. DOL child labor table compares the two. The ICA handles youth labor complaints about prohibited jobs and equipment for workers under 18 and hours violations for workers under 16.
The ICA's FAQ states that payroll records required by the minimum wage law must be kept for four years, and that recordkeeping and posting violations carry civil penalties of at least $250 for a first violation and at least $1,000 for later or willful violations. Keep accurate hours, pay rates, tip credit amounts and sick time balances for each employee. EZTime's time card calculator can help with quick checks.
The ICA's required posters page lists the Minimum Wage poster (English and Spanish), the Earned Paid Sick Time poster (English and Spanish), the bilingual ADOSH Employee Safety and Health Protection poster, and the workers' compensation bodily fluids and MRSA exposure notices. Make sure the minimum wage poster on your wall shows the current year's rate.
EZTime gives Arizona businesses one place to capture time and keep the records these rules depend on. Employees clock in with the GPS mobile time clock and geofencing, NFC tags, a shared tablet kiosk or biometric clocks. Managers build rosters with shift templates and approve shift swaps in the scheduling software, while overtime and break alerts flag problems before a shift ends. Sick-time accruals follow the one-hour-per-30 rule and your 24- or 40-hour cap, and balances can appear on every pay statement. PTO and sick-leave balances update automatically, and payroll-ready Excel and PDF exports work with any payroll software. Plans start from $2 per employee per month, with a 14-day trial.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Laws change; check the Industrial Commission of Arizona or an employment attorney. Last reviewed November 2026.
The Industrial Commission of Arizona lists the 2026 state minimum wage as $15.15 per hour. Flagstaff ($18.35) and Tucson ($15.45) set higher local rates for 2026.
Yes. Employers may pay up to $3.00 per hour less than minimum wage, or $12.15 in 2026, if wages plus tips reach the full minimum for every hour worked. Flagstaff does not allow a tip credit.
No. Arizona law does not require meal or rest breaks for adult employees. If you offer short breaks, federal law treats them as paid time.
Employees earn one hour for every 30 hours worked. Employers with fewer than 15 employees may cap it at 24 hours a year, and employers with 15 or more may cap it at 40 hours.
A fired employee must be paid within seven working days or by the end of the next regular pay period, whichever is sooner. An employee who quits must be paid by the regular payday.