ARIZONA, USA — New year, new laws going into effect in Arizona including a minimum wage increase from $12.15 to $12.80 per hour.
Phoenix Employment Litigation Attorney Jeffrey Silence, a partner with Jaburg Wilk, answered questions about what this means for employers and employees.
Question: Why are we seeing a minimum wage increase in 2022?
Answer: "The reason the Arizona minimum wage is so much higher than the federal, which has been $7.25 for a long time now, is because that’s a federal law and getting anything passed in U.S. Congress is difficult," Silence said. "Whereas in the case of Arizona, the voters enacted a referendum back in 2016 that automatically increased the minimum wage every year based on the U.S. Consumer Price Index."
Q: How can employers prepare for the change?
A: "Employers are required to post the Arizona minimum wage poster in a conspicuous place. So there are posters available on the Arizona Industrial Commission website. They are free. It used to be simple, you would put it in the employee breakroom but in the age of COVID, the best practice would be to send the link via email to all of your employees and if you have a company website to put the poster on the website. You should also have the signage in your breakroom."
Q: What if a city's minimum wage is higher than the state or federal minimum wage? Which do you pay?
A: "Employers need to abide by the higher of the state, city, or federal. So in Flagstaff, they have to pay $15 dollars an hour because that’s been the minimum wage there for a couple of years."
Q: What penalties could employers face if they don't pay the new wage?
A: "There are severe penalties. So two things can happen. Either the employer will get sued in which case the employee can recover 3 times whatever they should've been plus a mandatory award of attorneys fees if they win. Or, the employee can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor or the Arizona Industrial Commission. Either of which can audit all of the employers' practices."
Q: How does Arizona rank in pay compared to other states?
A: "The increase in the Arizona minimum wage makes Arizona the fifth-highest minimum wage state in the country."
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