Arizona Employee Pay Rules

I participate in a professional listserv and also a webboard where practitioners ask each other questions to questions they don't know.  Many times, the answer is common knowledge, but sometimes people will respond with actual IRS code or Arizona Revised Statutes. 

Last night, a practitioner posted about Arizona's employee pay rules.  I am familiar with the pay rules for employees that are fired (must be paid within 3 days after the firing), but this post had to do with the actual payment rules. 

According to ARS 23-351 (this summary does not apply to school district employees or union employees):

• Employers must designate two pay periods per month not more than sixteen days apart as fixed paydays (Out of state employers may have a single payday per month)
• Wages other than overtime for up to five days of labor may be withheld (allows for a one workweek delay in payment - pay period ending on Friday #1 paid on Friday #2)
• Employers can satisfy their requirements by personally delivering the wages or mailing no later than 5 days from the end of the pay period, or, for employers that have payroll systems outside of Arizona,  Personally delivering the check no later than 10 days from the end of the pay period.
• If the wages are direct deposited, the employer is required to deliver a statement of earnings and withholding. 
• Violators of this provision are guilty of a petty offense. 

If you have any questions on this, please let us know.  You can e-mail monica@blauassoc.com for more information if you believe you or your employer is in voilation of this statute.