Written by a parent, not a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice.

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Arizona program

Paid sick hours you can use for your child

Arizona’s earned paid sick time can pay you while you care for an ill child.

What it is

Arizona’s earned paid sick time can pay you while you care for an ill child.

A short paid absence can cover an appointment or time at the hospital. The hours you have earned and the employer’s size decide what is available. HR can check the balance and how it fits with other leave.

Eligibility rules
  • Private employers and political subdivisions such as cities and counties are covered. The State of Arizona and federal government are expressly excluded.
  • You earn one hour for every 30 worked. Employers with fewer than 15 employees can cap it at 24 hours a year; larger ones at 40. HR knows which side your employer falls on.
What you get
  • Your normal hourly pay for available sick hours.
  • Paid use of earned hours, with more generous employer policies allowed.
What the help includes
  • The hours can cover a family member’s illness, injury or health condition. Stronger local rules remain possible.
  • Employers with fewer than 15 employees may cap required annual accrual/use at 24 hours; at 15 or more the figure is 40. These are statutory requirements, not a ceiling on a more generous policy. Retaliation for protected use is prohibited.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask HR for your earned sick-time balance and yearly cap in writing.
  2. Have recent pay slips and the handbook’s sick-time section ready. Discuss the time you would need for your child.

Your employer’s HR or payroll office · Official page ↗

After you ask
  • HR confirms the available hours and how the absence appears on payroll. An employer’s refusal should identify the exclusion or rule it relies on.
Good to know

A new employer may make you wait until the 90th calendar day to use earned hours.

Other details
  • Arizona has no general state paid family-leave insurance program. Employer-paid leave may be available, and FMLA can protect a qualifying absence. Earned sick time and FMLA can cover the same qualifying time away.
Official sources
Ask your social worker

“How many paid sick hours could I use for our child, and how would they fit with other leave? Could you help me understand the choices and ask HR for the right records?”

Why I’m asking: I want to use available paid time without misunderstanding what protects my job.

More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules

Who does what

The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.

You

Ask for the balance in writing and say you are using it to care for your child.

Your social worker

HR confirms the balance and the cap.

The care team

Records and letters when the application asks for them.

Who decides
The employer applies the law.
Ask HR
“How many earned paid sick hours do I have, what is my yearly cap, and can I use them to care for my child?”

How to apply

First step: Ask HR for your balance and your yearly cap in writing this week.

  1. Ask HR for your earned paid sick time balance in writing.
  2. Ask which yearly cap applies, since it turns on 15 employees.
  3. Use these paid hours before unpaid leave.

Where it starts: Tell HR you are using earned paid sick time to care for your child. Ask for your balance in writing.

What to gather

  • Recent pay slips showing accrued sick time
  • The employee handbook’s sick-time section

How long: Available as soon as it is earned, subject to a ninetieth-day wait for a new hire.

What a yes looks like

Paid hours on your pay slip while you are at the hospital.

What a no looks like, and the next move

If the employer refuses, ask which exclusion it is relying on and get it in writing.

Watch out

  • The law allows 24- or 40-hour required annual limits by employer size, but a more generous policy can apply. HR confirms the applicable policy and accrued balance.
  • A new employer can make you wait until the ninetieth day.
  • The State of Arizona and the federal government are outside this law.

The numbers and the rules

The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.

What it is worth

Covered employees accrue one paid sick hour per 30 hours worked. Statutory annual limits are 40 hours at employers with at least 15 employees and 24 below that; employers may offer more.

  • $40/year — Yearly cap at an employer with 15 or more people
  • $24/year — Yearly cap at an employer with fewer than 15 people
  • $30 — Hours you must work to earn one paid hour

Legal protection: Usable to care for a family member with an illness, injury or health condition · Paid at your normal hourly rate · A stronger local rule is not displaced by this law

What it costs the family: None; these are paid hours.

The eligibility facts, as published

Employer
private employers and political subdivisions such as cities and counties; the State of Arizona and the federal government are expressly excluded
Accrual
one hour per 30 worked from July 1, 2017
Waiting
an employer may require a new hire to wait until the ninetieth calendar day to use it

The trap: The statutory annual accrual/use limit turns on 15 employees, but an employer may offer more. The employer brackets in this questionnaire do not settle that boundary. HR must check covered employment, the accrued balance and any permitted new-hire wait through the ninetieth day.

Where I read this

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