Arizona Overtime Labor Laws

August 7th, 2006 Posted by Mark

It must be something with states that start with the letter “A.” As we saw with Alabama, Arizona also does not have its own overtime law. Basically, Arizona then defers, or follows, the federal law, called the Fair Labor Standards Act, which is overseen by the Federal Wage and Hour Division.

The Fair Labor Standards Act, or FLSA for short, basically is the national law that tells employers what is the minimum amount they can pay a worker, what they have to pay a worker for overtime, how they can hire and work with minors, and how they should keep their books.

The FLSA is the law of the land, unless a state comes up with its own set of rules on the above topics, and then the state’s rules come first for local small businesses that do not conduct interstate business. In the case of Arizona, obviously, the federal rules matter first and foremost to us because the state has no rules at all.

That being said, let’s have a quick refresher on what the FLSA says about overtime. The main gist of it is that employers must pay employees at least one and a half times they normal rate of pay for any time spent working over 40 hours a week.

Generally, a whole other set of rules come into play with FLSA on exactly who is and who is not part of the law. Some employees, in other words, are exempt from this overtime rule. Many salaried workers, for instance, such as many white-collar professionals, do not merit overtime pay for work done over 40 hours.

The federal law also sets up overtime exemptions for minors too. This is a different type of exemption though. Instead of not being able to get paid overtime if they work more than 40 hours a week, minors can’t get overtime because they are not allowed to work that much. Children under the age of 16, for instance, have their work hours restricted by the FLSA.

As with all the federal labor laws the full details of teh Arizona labor laws can be found on the Arizona Complete Labor Law poster currently reflecting the most up to date information.

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Posted in Arizona, Employment Laws, Overtime, Wage and Hour

  1. Posted by: Michael

    Can your employer make you burn your over time by making you go home early or take a long lunch?

  2. Posted by: Amelia

    Hi Michael! Yes, it is entirely legal for an employer to change a worker’s schedule for the rest of the week, to reduce or eliminate overtime. It’s even considered good management to minimize overtime. Suppose Joe works an extra 4 hours on Tuesday, due to an unexpected project. Joe’s employer can require that he take an extra hour for lunch, and go home an hour early, on Wednesday and Thursday, to make up for it. As long as that results in Joe putting in 40 hours or less in the pay period, he is not entitled to any overtime.

    A few states have laws requiring overtime if an employee works more than 8 hours in one day. But under federal law, which applies in Arizona, overtime is only required if the employee works more than 40 hours in the week. You can also post questions on our sister site at http://www.laborlawtalk.com. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia

  3. Posted by: Paula

    According to Arizona law, does an employer have to pay you overtime if you work longer than an 8 hour day?

  4. Posted by: Amelia

    Hi Paula! No, there is no such law either in Arizona or under federal law. Federal law requires employers to pay overtime after 40 hours per payroll week. There is actually no overtime law at the state level at all in Arizona. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia

  5. Posted by: Mary

    In Arizona what qualifies a salary employee to receive overtime pay or comp time?
    If we work over 40 hours a week and are not in a management position do we qualify?

  6. Posted by: Amelia

    Hi Mary! This is generally a matter of federal law, not Arizona law because Arizona has no overtime law at the state level.
    Under the federal FLSA or Fair Labor Standards Act, there are 5 categories of exempt employees based on their primary duties, not their titles: Executives, Outside Salespeople, Computer Pros, Administrative, and Professional. The fact sheet below includes info on each category. An exempt employee is exempt from overtime. A non-exempt employee is entitled to overtime when working more than 40 hours per week. (Note that for private businesses, it is illegal frant pay comp time rather than pay overtime. If you are employed by a city or state government, federal law may not apply.) HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia

    read more about this at: http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/regs/compliance/fairpay/fs17g_salary.htm

  7. Posted by: Valarie

    What if you chose to work overtime to complete task. You do not ask to be compensated. Is this legal?

  8. Posted by: Amelia

    Hi Valarie! No. Under federal overtime law, an employee cannot waive the right to overtime. If the employee works more than 40 hours in the payroll week, the employee must be paid overtime — even if neither the employee nor the employer wants to. That’s the law. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Ameliia

  9. Posted by: Hope

    Can an employer make it mandatory for you to come in to work on a Saturday?

  10. Posted by: Amelia

    Hi Hope! Yes. An employer can schedule a worker any day of the week, and can require that an employee work more than 5 days per week, or on days when the employee was formerly off. If the employee does not comply, the employee can be disciplined or fired.
    Employers can require that an employee work 50, or 80 or 100 hours per week, as long as the employer pays overtime.
    In some cases, if this is a signficant change in working conditions, and the employee quits rather than accept the new assignment, the employee will qualify for unemployment benefits. For example, if the employee did not have childcare on Saturdays, they might qualify for unemployment if they quit. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia

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