Arizona Paycheck Laws

As an employee, you have rights under federal and Arizona law that your employer has to meet regarding your paycheck. Receiving compensation for your work is one of the essential arrangements between an employee and an employer. If your rights regarding your paycheck have been violated, you may be entitled to compensation for your losses.

When Must Paychecks Be Sent Out in Arizona?

Unlike some states, which only require monthly paychecks, your employer must pay you semi-monthly in Arizona. This is true regardless of whether you are an hourly or salaried employee. You and your employer can agree that you be paid more frequently than twice per month (e.g., weekly), but you cannot agree to pay periods longer.

Thus, if your employer violates these paycheck scheduling rules, they may become subject to legal liability for their actions. In some cases, a class action lawsuit may be needed, especially in cases where several employees have been affected by the paycheck issue.

What Happens to My Paycheck If I am Fired or If I Quit in Arizona?

If you were fired, you must be paid your final paycheck within 7 days or by the next payday, whichever comes first. Employees who have quit have to wait until the next payday to receive their final paycheck.

Arizona does have a paid sick leave law that applies to businesses that earn more than $500,000 per year and engage in business in multiple states. However, employers are not required to pay employees who quit or are fired for unused days.

Can My Paycheck Be Garnished Under Arizona Law?

Wage garnishment is where the employer sets aside a portion of the employee’s wages in order to address the employee’s outstanding debt. This can happen in many different situations – it is commonly applied in situations where the employee has outstanding child support that they haven’t paid, but it can also be used in situations as prosaic as credit card debt.

These amounts will then be used to pay off the debt. In most cases, the employer will transfer the monetary amounts directly to the court for processing. In other cases, the employer might transfer the funds to a third-party agency, whose role is to manage the money and transfer it to the court.

Your paycheck can have money taken out of it to pay for your debts, but a court order may be needed before it can be taken. Under Arizona law, an automatic garnishment can be placed on your wages for specific debts, including back child support, defaulted student loans, and taxes. For all other garnishments, such as personal debt, the company to which you owe money has to go to court first and ask that your paycheck be garnished.

Unlike other states, Arizona prevents your employer from automatically deducting money from your paycheck to cover the cost of any company product or tools you might have lost or damaged. A common dispute in this regard is when an employee causes damage to a company car or vehicle. Your employer needs your written consent to deduct that money from your paycheck. The only option an employer has to recover that money is to sue you in court, just like any other creditor would have to do.

How Does Arizona Handle Wage and Hour Lawsuits?

Many paycheck disputes concern the number of hours the employee has worked or the wage rate they are being paid. For instance, an employee’s paycheck might be low or incomplete because of a discrepancy regarding the number of hours they worked during that pay period.

Or, in some cases, the paycheck might be inappropriately low because the wrong wage rate was used in calculating the amount to be paid. Paycheck disputes can also involve issues with overtime pay and overtime wage rates.

The employee may be entitled to file a wage and hour lawsuit to recover the shortages. In this kind of lawsuit, the court will examine various forms of evidence (such as previous pay stubs) to determine the correct amount that the paycheck should have been.

In addition, an employer is not allowed to withhold a paycheck in Arizona unless there is a good faith dispute between the employer and employee about the amount. If you have trouble getting your final paycheck, you can file a complaint with the Labor Department of the Industrial Commission of Arizona.

If many workers have had the same problem with their paychecks, a lawsuit may be filed as a class action suit. In a class action suit, a group of people with similar complaints band together and sue the defendant as if they were one plaintiff. If the defendant loses, the defendant will have to make a single large payment to cover all owed to the whole group of people. They will then divide it up amongst the class’s members.

A class action suit can be beneficial if the amount of money you would individually sue for is relatively low – particularly if it is not high enough to be economically practical to file your own personal lawsuit. By uniting your claims with those of your co-workers, you will share all of the costs of bringing a lawsuit with the group members.

How Does Arizona Handle Paychecks and Employment Discrimination?

Arizona employers are not allowed to discriminate against their employees (or candidates for jobs) based on their race, sex, age, religion, national background, pregnancy status, or a legally recognized medical condition or disability. For instance, they cannot deny a person their paycheck or reduce their paycheck based on their race. They also cannot provide other groups of workers with preferential treatment based on those categories.

In cases where discrimination may have been an issue, it is usually necessary to file first with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The EEOC will investigate the matter and prescribe a remedy for the employee. If the EEOC’s actions still do not provide a suitable remedy, it may become necessary to file a private lawsuit to recover damages caused by the discrimination. They should gather documents or statements that might help their case to do this.

This can include pay stubs, emails, text messages, statements from other workers, and other forms of evidence. This can be a complex matter and may require the assistance of a legal professional.

Furthermore, employers cannot retaliate against a worker solely because they have filed a discrimination claim. If the EEOC cannot provide a suitable remedy, then a lawsuit may be the next option.

Where Can I Find the Right Lawyer for Issues with My Paycheck in Arizona?

If you have difficulty getting your paycheck or the full amount you are owed, you need to contact an Arizona employment lawyer.

A lawyer can distinguish between getting your money back or losing it altogether. They can explain your options for recovering an incorrect check or a final paycheck that has gone unpaid.