Minimum wage in Arizona is $14.70 an hour as of 2025.
Does your paycheck seem less than it should be? While it might be a math error, it could also be wage theft. In Arizona, there’s a statewide floor on pay, and it rises every year with inflation.
This state has some of the strongest wage protections in the country. However, those laws don’t enforce themselves.If your job isn’t paying what it’s supposed to, call Stone Rose Law at (480) 535-9003.
Arizona Minimum Wage in 2025
Starting January 1, 2025, the minimum wage in Arizona is $14.70 per hour. That rate applies to nearly every employee in the private sector.
Minimum Wage Increases
Every year, the Industrial Commission of Arizona (ICA) recalculates the state minimum wage based on inflation and announces the new figure in the fall.
Employers have to follow ICA guidelines. They must also post the new rate in a conspicuous location.
How Arizona Ended Up With This Law
Back in 2016, voters passed Proposition 206, also known as the Fair Wages and Healthy Families Act.
Here’s what the law did:
- Created a multi-year hike from 2017 to 2020
- Locked in annual inflation-based increases in the future
- Gave workers the right to sue directly if wages went unpaid
- Banned employer retaliation against employees who speak up
This isn’t federal law. It’s statewide for Arizona, and it overrides the federal minimum of $7.25.
Who Gets Minimum Wage in Arizona?
Short answer: almost everyone. The law doesn’t care whether you work full-time or part-time, year-round or just for the summer.
It doesn’t matter if you’re on the books, off the books, salaried, tipped, or getting paid in cash. If you’re working, there’s a good chance the wage law covers you.
This even includes:
- Hourly workers
- Servers, bartenders, and others who earn tips (with some conditions)
- Restaurant, hospitality, and retail staff
- People getting paid under the table
- Independent contractors who were misclassified
- Home health aides, cleaners, and live-in caregivers
- Undocumented workers
Immigration status doesn’t change the pay rules. Arizona law still applies.
Are There Any Exceptions?
There are only a few narrow exceptions to the law:
- Tipped employees can be paid $11.70/hour, but only if tips push their total up to at least $14.70/hour
- Federal and state government workers may fall under different systems
- Volunteers and unpaid interns may not be protected, depending on the arrangement
- Some small businesses might not have to follow federal rules, but they still have to follow Arizona’s
What doesn’t count as an exemption? Working part-time. Getting paid in cash. Being labeled “seasonal” or “temporary.” None of that overrides the minimum wage floor.
Enforcement: Who Handles Minimum Wage Requirements
The Industrial Commission of Arizona (ICA) is the agency in charge of enforcing wage laws.
ICA Requirements
Employers are legally required to:
- Pay at least $14.70/hour to anyone covered
- Pay tipped workers at least $11.70/hour in direct wages
- Post a current minimum wage notice where employees can see it
- Keep payroll and time records for at least four years
- Apply the annual cost-of-living increase on January 1
- Avoid retaliating against employees who ask questions or file complaints
However, you don’t have to wait for ICA to get involved. Arizona law lets you file a lawsuit without going through an agency process first.
What Happens If Employers Violate State Minimum Wage Laws
Employers who violate minimum wage requirements have to resolve the issue financially.
They could owe:
- Unpaid wages
- Double damages (you get what they owe you, plus that amount again)
- Your legal fees
- Up to $1,000 per violation in fines
- Daily fines for every day they keep violating the law
If they tampered with records or intentionally concealed their actions, criminal charges may be possible.
Tucson’s Higher Minimum Wage Rates
Arizona lets cities set a higher minimum wage than the state rate due to cost of living differences.
As such, the 2025 minimum wage in Tucson is $15.00 per hour. That’s higher than the state level and higher than most surrounding areas.
What Tucson’s Local Law Requires
The Tucson Minimum Wage Act was passed in 2021. It outlined a wage increase schedule and granted the city full enforcement authority.
Key parts of the law:
- It applies to any private employer with one or more employees
- It covers workers who spend at least five hours per week working inside Tucson city limits
- It allows a $3.00 tip credit, meaning base pay for tipped workers must be at least $12.00/hour
- Employers have to post notices in multiple languages
- There are fines for breaking the rules
- Workers have the right to sue directly
If the work happens in Tucson, the city’s rate applies.
What If You Only Work in Tucson Occasionally?
You’re still covered if you work in Tucson five hours or more per week.
Some employers attempt to circumvent this by adjusting schedules or reassigning shifts elsewhere. However, it is still illegal. Courts refer to it as wage avoidance, and businesses are liable.
Tipped Employees: What’s Legal and What’s Not
Tips don’t give employers a free pass to underpay. There’s a structure for this, and it’s not optional.
Here’s how it works:
- Employers can subtract up to $3.00/hour from the standard wage as a tip credit
- Total pay (including tips) must still meet or exceed minimum wage
- If your tips fall short, the employer has to make up the difference
- Managers, owners, and back-of-house staff can’t take a cut of your tips
- Daily tip records must be kept
Tucson’s rules are the same, just at a higher rate. In 2025, tipped workers must earn a total of $15.00/hour, with a minimum of $12.00/hour in direct wages.
If you’re making less than that? They’re breaking the law.
Can You Get Fired for Asking About Your Pay?
Absolutely not. This is called retaliation, and it’s illegal under both state and city law.
You’re protected if you:
- Ask why your wage is lower than expected
- Complain to HR or management
- File a claim with ICA or the Tucson Office of Labor Standards
- Join a lawsuit or talk to other employees about wages
Retaliation takes different forms:
- Getting fired
- Hours suddenly cut
- Harassment or threats
- Being told not to come back
- Trouble finding future jobs because your old boss badmouthed you
If that happens after you speak up, you might have a second legal claim on top of the wage issue.
Paid in Cash or Off the Books? You’re Still Protected
Being paid under the table doesn’t erase your rights. Minimum wage still applies. So do recordkeeping laws.
Common off-the-books violations:
- Daily or weekly pay that doesn’t track hours
- No overtime
- Unpaid prep time, cleanup, or travel between job sites
- Unrecorded tips
- Worker misclassified as a contractor
Even without pay stubs, you can show what happened. Courts accept:
- Texts or emails about your schedule
- Bank records or cash app payments
- Coworker testimony
- Notes or screenshots
- Photos of timecards or posted schedules
Perfect documentation isn’t required. Credible evidence is enough.
Where Wage Theft Happens Most Often
Some industries are repeat offenders. If you work in one of these, watch your paycheck closely:
Food and hospitality
- Tips pooled with people who shouldn’t get them
- Off-the-clock setup and closing
- “Training” hours that don’t get paid
Retail
- Overtime without pay
- Unpaid travel time between stores
- Opening or closing time missing from the paycheck
Construction
- Day rates that don’t match hours worked
- No written records
- Paid in cash, misclassified as independent
Care work
- Live-in shifts with no sleep time tracked
- Flat-rate pay for multiday jobs
- No pay for driving between clients
Many workers in these sectors are underpaid because employers assume nobody will fight back.
How to Respond If You’re Receiving Less Than the Current Minimum Wage
Arizona law gives you options. You don’t have to wait for the state to act.
Step 1: Gather whatever records you can
It helps to have:
- Texts or messages about hours or pay
- Photos of schedules or timesheets
- Bank statements or payment apps
- Pay stubs, envelopes, or handwritten logs
- Notes you made for yourself
- Coworkers who can back you up
You don’t need every piece. The employer is the one who’s supposed to keep detailed records. If they didn’t? That often works in your favor.
Step 2: Talk to an employment attorney
A lawyer can:
- Confirm whether the law was broken
- Estimate how much you’re owed
- Help preserve evidence
- File a claim or negotiate directly
- Protect you if there’s retaliation
Stone Rose Law handles wage and hour cases across Arizona. We also take retaliation seriously.
Step 3: Enforce your rights
You can go to court, file with ICA, or submit a complaint to the Tucson Office of Labor Standards. Court is often the most direct route and the one with the most leverage.
If you win, you may be awarded:
- Back pay
- Treble damages
- Attorney’s fees and costs
- Job reinstatement (if applicable)
- Compensation for retaliation
These rights can’t be signed away or ignored. They’re built into state law.
How Long Do You Have to File?
Arizona gives you one year to file a wage claim.
Here’s what that means:
- You can recover up to one year of unpaid wages
- If the underpayment is still happening, all of it is in play
- Retaliation claims fall under the same time frame
- No need to wait for a government response; you can go straight to court
Filing early makes the case stronger and helps preserve evidence.
Common Excuses of Arizona Employers
Employers have many explanations when they’re caught. However, most of them are not legally sound.
Here are a few common excuses and whether they suffice:
- “You agreed to this pay.”
- That doesn’t matter. You can’t waive your right to minimum wage.
- “You’re not an employee; you’re a contractor.”
- If your employer controls your hours, tools, and workflow, they may have misclassified you.
- “We’re just a small business.”
- The size of the business likely does not matter. Arizona’s law applies to nearly every employer.
- “You’re undocumented, so you can’t sue.”
- This is false. The law protects all workers.
- “You didn’t clock in, so we don’t owe you.”
- This is also untrue. It’s the employer’s job to track time and make sure employees are properly compensated.
If your boss uses any of these lines, it’s time to talk to a lawyer.
We Handle Arizona Minimum Wage Cases
Stone Rose Law represents workers across Arizona who’ve been shorted on pay, misclassified, threatened, or fired for speaking up.
We know local laws and courts. We’re ready to help you get what you’ve earned.Call (480) 535-9003. Let’s fix it.
