Arizona Final Paycheck & Wage Payment

On discharge, final wages are due within seven working days or by the end of the next regular pay period, whichever is sooner (A.R.S. § 23-353). If the employee quits, final wages are due no later than the regular payday for the pay period during which the termination occurred.

Wages must be paid at least semi-monthly, on regular paydays designated in advance, not more than 16 days apart (A.R.S. § 23-351).

This is Arizona's enforcement teeth: if an employer fails to pay wages due, the employee may recover three times (3×) the unpaid amount under A.R.S. § 23-355. Courts reduce or deny the trebling only where the employer shows a good-faith dispute over whether the wages were actually owed — so a careless or unexplained shortfall is expensive.

Under A.R.S. § 23-352, withholding from wages is limited to three grounds: deductions required or empowered by state or federal law, the employee's prior written authorization, or a reasonable good-faith dispute as to the amount of wages due — including any claim of debt, reimbursement, recoupment or set-off asserted against the employee. No deduction may drop pay below the applicable minimum wage. Keep the signed authorization on file.

Calendar the 7-working-day discharge deadline, never withhold a final check to pressure a return of property or a signed document, resolve genuine wage disputes in writing (that's your treble-damages defense), and remember earned paid sick time is not "wages" that must be paid out at separation.