Your Right to Time Off Work in Arizona

In addition to the leave provided by your employer's discretionary policies on vacation time, sick leave, personal days, or paidl time off (PTO), you may have a legal right to take time off work for specific reasons under federal and Arizona laws. For example, if you are caring for an ailing family member or recovering from childbirth, you may have a right to leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

Although Arizona does not have its own family and medical leave law, it does require employers to give employees time off for military service, jury duty, and voting.

This article provides an overview of your right to time off from work in Arizona. For more information, see our page on employee leave rights.

Arizona Laws on Family and Medical Leave

The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) gives eligible employees the right to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave per year to care for a seriously ill family member (spouse, parent, or child), recuperate from their own serious health conditions, bond with a new child, or handle certain practical matters arising from a family member's military service.

The FMLA also requires employers to give employees up to 26 weeks off to care for a family member who suffered or exacerbated a serious illness or injury while serving in the military. (For purposes of this military family leave provision only, employees may take leave to care for a wider set of family members, including siblings, grandparents, and cousins, if they are next of kin to an injured service member.)

The FMLA applies to employers in all states with at least 50 employees. Employees are eligible only if they have worked for the employer for at least 12 months and have worked 1,250 hours in the 12 months before taking leave. (Learn much more about your rights under the FMLA at our Taking Family and Medical Leave page.)

Some state laws provide additional family and medical leave rights. For example, some state laws apply to smaller employers, provide for more leave, or allow employees to take leave for a wider set of family members than the FMLA.

Some states also give leave for other purposes, such as time off to handle the effects of domestic violence, to recover from pregnancy and childbirth, to attend teacher-parent conferences and other school events, and so on. However, Arizona is one of the states that does not offer any additional family or medical leave rights beyond what the federal FMLA allows.

Arizona Laws on Military Leave

Another federal law, the Unformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) gives eligible employees the right to be reinstated to their jobs after taking up to five years off for service in the U.S. military. (Find out all about USERRA in Nolo's article, Taking Military Leave.) Employers may not discriminate against employees based on their military service. And, employees may be fired only for good cause for a period of up to one year after they return from service, even if they would otherwise work at will. (See Employment At Will: What Does It Mean? to learn more.)

The laws of many states extend similar rights to employees who serve in the state's military, including the right to take time off from work and to be reinstated afterwards. In Arizona, the rights guaranteed by USERRA are extended to all members of the military who are called to active duty. In addition, members of the National Guard are entitled to unlimited time off, with reinstatement, to attend camps, formations, drills, or maneuvers. Employers may not threaten employees with pay cuts or other negative actions to try to dissuade them from enlisting in the state or federal armed forces.

Arizona Laws on Time Off for Voting

Arizona law gives employees the right to take time off work, without fear of retaliation, for the civic responsibility of voting. Employees must be allowed to take enough time off work so that they'll have a total of three hours off while the polls are open (when combined with their usual off-duty time). The employer may decide when in the employee's shift this time is taken. This time off must be paid, and employees must give notice prior to Election Day that they will need time off for this purpose. However, employers need not give employees time off if the employee's workday begins at least three hours after the polls open or ends at least three hours before the polls close.

Arizona Laws on Time Off for Jury Duty

Employers must also allow employees to take time off to serve on a jury. But, small employers typically won't have two employees serving on a jury at the same time. If an employer has five or fewer full-time employees, the court must postpone an employee's jury service if another employee is already serving as a juror.

Employers don't have to pay employees for the time they take off for jury service, but they also may not require employees to use their annual, sick, or vacation hours for this purpose (and employees may not lose their vacation rights or their seniority for serving on a jury). However, special rules apply to exempt employees. Under federal law, employers typically cannot deduct an exempt, salaried employee's pay for time spent serving on a jury, unless the employee did no work for the entire week. For more information, see our article on pay docking.