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 by the next regular payday.

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 amountunder 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.

Withholding from wages is limited to deductions required or authorized by law, court order, or the employee's prior written authorization, and cannot 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.