Legal Question in Employment Law in Arizona

Ordinarily not, and s/he could file a claim with the Labor Commissioner. A well-drafted letter, however, should be able to recover the file.

Thank you for the inquiry. There is a risk the employee would, if you withheld his check, file a claim under the Arizona Wage Payment Act. The Wage Act allows for an employee who prevails to, subject to the judge's discretion, obtain triple the amount of wages the employer withheld. Also, depending on the amount of wages you withhold, he could file with the Industrial Commission a wage claim. Filing with the Commission, however, means he would not be able to obtain the triple damages penalty.

As a practical matter, there are probably ways to do this. You could always threaten to and then, for a period of time, actually withhold the wages. You could then just pay him the wages. At that point, his only claim would be a for the penalty for the late payment. Such claims are, however, quite rare.

Please feel free to contact us with any additional questions. Thank you.