Arizona Earned Paid Sick Time Poster in Phoenix, Arizona (2026)
Without this poster displayed in a visible location, you expose your restaurant to state labor enforcement action and potential fines before you even hire your first employee. The Arizona Earned Paid Sick Time Poster (also called the Earned Paid Leave notice or EPSL notice) is mandated by the Arizona Department of Labor and must be posted before any employee begins work. Key facts:
- 17 fields to complete — ApronPrep auto-fills 14
- $0 government filing fee — no submission required to the state
- Must be posted immediately upon hiring employees
- 1–2 minutes to customize with your restaurant details
Analyzed from Arizona Earned Paid Sick Time Poster
82% from one compliance interview
Manual entry or document upload required
Why You Need a Arizona Earned Paid Sick Time Poster
The Arizona Earned Paid Sick Time Poster is mandated under the Arizona Fair Wages and Healthy Families Act (A.R.S. § 23-371 et seq.), which took effect in July 2017 and applies to every employer operating in Phoenix — regardless of business size. The law requires employers to display the official poster in a conspicuous location accessible to all employees, such as a break room or near a time clock. The Arizona Industrial Commission's Labor Department is the issuing authority responsible for enforcement and publishes the required poster language. Employers with 15 or more employees must provide up to 40 hours of earned paid sick time per year; those with fewer than 15 employees must provide up to 24 hours — and the posted notice must reflect current accrual rates and employee rights under the statute.
Failing to display the Arizona Earned Paid Sick Time Poster exposes your Phoenix restaurant to a range of serious consequences that go well beyond a simple fine. The Arizona Industrial Commission can initiate investigations triggered solely by an employee complaint about missing or outdated postings, and violations of the Act's notice requirements are treated as independent infractions from any underlying wage dispute. Consequences can include:
- Civil penalties assessed per violation, per employee, compounding if the violation is ongoing — contact the Arizona Industrial Commission to confirm current penalty schedules
- Back wages and treble damages — under A.R.S. § 23-364, employees who were denied earned sick time can recover three times the unpaid amount plus attorney's fees
- Cease-and-desist orders and mandatory audits of your full sick time and wage records
- Criminal liability for willful or repeat violations, which can be classified as a misdemeanor under Arizona wage theft statutes
- Insurance and lease complications — some commercial landlords and general liability insurers require documented labor law compliance as a condition of your lease or policy renewal; a Labor Commission violation on record can trigger a compliance review
Not legal advice — verify current penalty amounts and enforcement procedures with the Arizona Industrial Commission or a qualified employment attorney.
Legal code: State minimum wage law, earned sick time law, tip law, workplace poster statutes, prevailing wage law
Recent update: As of 2025, the Arizona Industrial Commission updated the official Earned Paid Sick Time poster to reflect revised minimum wage rates effective January 1, 2025 — employers must replace any prior version of the poster immediately, as displaying an outdated version constitutes a notice violation under A.R.S. § 23-371.
Who Needs a Arizona Earned Paid Sick Time Poster?
| Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurant (Full-Service) | Required | Arizona's Prop 206 (A.R.S. § 23-371 et seq.) requires all employers with one or more employees to display the Earned Paid Sick Time poster, making full-service restaurants universally subject to this posting mandate. |
| Bar / Nightclub | Required | Bars and nightclubs employing at least one worker — including part-time bartenders or security staff — must post the Arizona Earned Paid Sick Time notice under A.R.S. § 23-375, regardless of hours of operation. |
| Food Truck | Required | A.R.S. § 23-371 defines 'employer' broadly to include mobile food vendors with any employees; food trucks with at least one paid worker must display or provide the poster in a location accessible to that employee. |
| Coffee Shop / Café | Required | Coffee shops and cafés with one or more employees are covered employers under A.R.S. § 23-371 and must post the Earned Paid Sick Time notice in a conspicuous workplace location. |
See which restaurant types need this requirement — and which don't.
See Full Requirements →Field-by-Field Guide (17 Fields)
14 of 17 auto-filledLegal Business Name
textEnter the full legal name of your business exactly as it appears on your Arizona state business registration or EIN documentation — not a trade name or DBA.
COMMON MISTAKE: Entering a DBA or brand name (e.g., 'Joe's Tacos') instead of the registered legal entity name (e.g., 'JT Restaurant Group LLC') is a frequent error that creates a mismatch with state records.
Business Entity Type
textEnter your Arizona-registered entity type exactly as classified — common values include 'LLC,' 'Sole Proprietorship,' 'S-Corp,' 'C-Corp,' or 'Partnership.'
COMMON MISTAKE: Entering a colloquial description like 'small business' or 'restaurant' instead of the formal legal entity classification (e.g., 'LLC') will cause a data mismatch.
Business Physical Address
textEnter the full street address of the physical restaurant location in Phoenix, Arizona — including suite or unit number if applicable — not a P.O. Box or home address.
COMMON MISTAKE: Entering a mailing address, corporate headquarters address, or owner's home address instead of the specific Phoenix restaurant location where employees work triggers a compliance mismatch under Arizona Revised Statutes § 23-375.
Industry Classification
textEnter your NAICS code or industry category that corresponds to your restaurant operation — for most Phoenix restaurants, this will be NAICS 722 (Food Services and Drinking Places).
COMMON MISTAKE: Leaving this field blank or entering a vague descriptor like 'food' instead of a recognized NAICS code or standard industry label may require follow-up from the Arizona Industrial Commission.
Primary Contact Name
textEnter the full legal first and last name of the person authorized to receive compliance communications — typically the owner, HR manager, or designated compliance officer.
COMMON MISTAKE: Entering only a first name, a nickname, or a generic title like 'Manager' without a full legal name prevents the Arizona Industrial Commission from routing correspondence correctly.
Contact Phone Number
textEnter a 10-digit U.S. phone number in the format (XXX) XXX-XXXX where the contact person can be reached during business hours for any compliance follow-up.
COMMON MISTAKE: Entering an extension-only number, a disconnected line, or omitting the area code makes it impossible for the Arizona Industrial Commission to reach you if there is a posting deficiency question.
Contact Email Address
textEnter a valid, actively monitored business email address for the primary contact — this is the address where compliance notices and any updated poster versions will be sent.
COMMON MISTAKE: Using a personal email address that the contact rarely checks, or entering the address with a typo, delays receipt of critical compliance updates from the Arizona Industrial Commission.
Total Number of Employees in Arizona
textEnter the total headcount of all employees working for your business in Arizona — including part-time, seasonal, and tipped workers — as this number determines your accrual tier under Arizona Revised Statutes § 23-372.
COMMON MISTAKE: Counting only full-time employees and excluding part-time or tipped staff systematically understates your headcount, which can misclassify your business under the wrong accrual tier and expose you to wage-and-hour violations.
Meets 3+ Employee Threshold
textThis field is auto-populated based on your employee count entry — businesses with 15 or more Arizona employees accrue 1 hour of earned paid sick time per 30 hours worked (up to 40 hours/year), while businesses with fewer than 15 employees accrue up to 24 hours/year, per Arizona Revised Statutes § 23-372.
COMMON MISTAKE: Manually overriding the auto-populated threshold designation without correcting the underlying employee count first creates a contradictory record that signals a data entry error during any Arizona Industrial Commission audit.
Spanish Version Required
checkboxCheck this box if any employees at your Phoenix location have Spanish as their primary language — Arizona law requires the Earned Paid Sick Time poster to be posted in any language spoken by 10% or more of your workforce, per Arizona Revised Statutes § 23-375(B).
COMMON MISTAKE: Leaving this box unchecked when you employ Spanish-speaking staff is one of the most common posting violations cited in Phoenix restaurant inspections — failure to post in the required language carries the same penalty exposure as not posting at all.
ApronPrep auto-fills 14 of 17 fields from a single compliance interview — no re-typing, no guessing what the government expects.
Top 5 Arizona Earned Paid Sick Time Poster Mistakes
1. Posting an Outdated Version of the Required Notice
Based on ApronPrep's analysis of Arizona Earned Paid Sick Time Poster applications, the single most common mistake is displaying a prior-year version of the poster rather than the current 2026 edition issued by the Arizona Industrial Commission. Arizona's Proposition 206 implementing rules allow the Industrial Commission to update poster language when accrual rates or employee rights language changes — an outdated poster is treated the same as no poster during an inspection. Always download the current version directly from the Arizona Industrial Commission website (azica.gov) before posting, and mark your calendar to re-check each January.
2. Posting Only in English When the Workforce Requires a Second Language
Employers with a significant number of Spanish-speaking employees are required under Arizona's Earned Paid Sick Time rules (A.R.S. § 23-375) to post the notice in both English and Spanish — posting only the English version in a bilingual workplace triggers a compliance violation during a Wage and Hour audit. A concrete example: a Phoenix restaurant with 12 Spanish-speaking line cooks posts only the English poster near the time clock; an Industrial Commission field investigator flags the location during a routine inspection. The Arizona Industrial Commission provides an official Spanish-language version at no cost on its website — download and post both versions side by side.
3. Posting in a Location Employees Rarely or Never See
A.R.S. § 23-375 requires the notice to be posted in a 'conspicuous place' accessible to all employees — tucking it inside a manager's office binder, behind a storage shelf, or in a back-of-house hallway that delivery staff never enter does not satisfy this requirement. Inspectors specifically check whether the posting is visible from normal work areas, not just technically present on the premises. The safest placement for a Phoenix restaurant is near the primary employee entrance, the time clock, or the break room — locations where every shift worker passes at least once per day.
Skip the Paperwork on Your Arizona Earned Paid Sick Time Poster
ApronPrep auto-fills 14 of 17 fields from one compliance interview.
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Arizona Earned Paid Sick Time Poster by City in Arizona
| City | Fee Range | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Mesa | ||
| Phoenix | Immediate upon hiring employees (must be posted before employees begin work) | |
| Tucson |
Timeline: Same Day to 1 Week
Obtain the official Arizona Earned Paid Sick Time Poster from the Arizona Department of Labor
Download the current poster directly from the Arizona Department of Labor website (azdes.gov) or request a printed copy by phone at (602) 542-4515. The poster is available in English at no cost. Processing time: 15 minutes to download, or 2–3 business days if requesting by mail.
Print the poster in English and translate to Spanish if required by workforce composition
Print the English poster on 8.5" × 11" or 11" × 17" paper — larger format is more visible. If your workforce is 10% or more Spanish-speaking, you must also print an officially translated Spanish version (available from ADOL). Do not use machine translation. Processing time: 30 minutes for printing.
Post the poster in a conspicuous location where employees can easily view it
Mount the poster at eye level (approximately 48–60 inches from the floor) in the main work area where employees regularly congregate — typically near the time clock, break room entrance, or manager's office. Use weather-resistant lamination or protective plastic if posting near water or high-traffic zones. Processing time: 15 minutes.
Where to Apply
Applications go to the Arizona department of labor. Local procedures and fees may vary — select your city below.
Other Requirements You'll Need
This is one of 13 requirements for opening a restaurant in Arizona.
ADA Compliance Self-Certification
federal
Alarm System Permit/Registration
local
Alcohol Server Training Certification
state
Annual Report Filing
state
See all co-required forms and how they connect to your compliance dossier.
See All RequirementsThe Arizona Earned Paid Sick Time poster is not a permit or license that requires processing time — it is a workplace notice you must obtain and display immediately. Per the Arizona Department of Labor, you download the poster from their website or contact them to request a physical copy, which typically arrives within 1–2 business days if ordered by mail. Compliance is effective once the poster is posted in a conspicuous location accessible to all employees, so there is no approval or waiting period required by the state.
There is no government filing fee for the Arizona Earned Paid Sick Time poster — the state provides it at no cost. You can download the poster directly from the Arizona Department of Labor website or request a printed copy by mail at no charge. If you choose to purchase a laminated or professionally printed version from a third-party vendor for durability, that cost is optional and not mandated by the state.
Yes, the same poster can be transferred to a new restaurant location — the poster itself is not location-specific and remains valid as long as the content complies with current Arizona law. However, you should verify that the poster version you have is current, as Arizona updates the poster periodically; contact the Arizona Department of Labor or check their website to confirm you have the latest version. If you operate multiple locations, you must post the poster at each establishment in a location where all employees can easily see it.
The Arizona Earned Paid Sick Time poster does not require renewal in the traditional sense, but you must ensure the version displayed remains current with state law. The Arizona Department of Labor updates the poster when regulations change, and you are responsible for replacing outdated versions; contact the Arizona Employer Registration for Unemployment Insurance office or monitor the Department of Labor website for updates. Most restaurants check annually during their compliance review to ensure they have the latest poster version.
During a labor department inspection or audit, Arizona Department of Labor inspectors verify that your facility displays the current Arizona Earned Paid Sick Time poster in a conspicuous location accessible to all employees — typically in break rooms, employee areas, or near the entrance. Failure to display the poster, or displaying an outdated version, can result in citations and penalties ranging from $100 to $5,000 per violation under Arizona Revised Statutes § 34-226 (f). Inspectors also verify that employees have received required notices about paid sick time accrual and usage; if you lack documentation, you may be cited under both labor and employment tax compliance rules — ensure your Arizona Employer Withholding Tax Registration records align with your posted policies.
About This Data
This guide is generated from ApronPrep's compliance dossier system, which uses 53 parallel AI authority experts to discover requirements, then downloads actual forms and generates field-level intelligence for each one.
For Arizona specifically, we have analyzed compliance dossiers for 3 cities (Mesa, Phoenix, Tucson), generating Rich FILs (Form Intelligence Layers) with 17 form fields analyzed for this requirement. Fee data is sourced from actual county department fee schedules, not estimates.
Our data is verified against official government sources and updated when regulatory changes are detected. If you find an error, please report it — accuracy is our core commitment.
Sources
- State minimum wage law, earned sick time law, tip law, workplace poster statutes, prevailing wage law
- Phoenix — Department of Labor / Labor Standards
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