Arizona Workplace Harassment Laws: 1-Employee Sexual Harassment Rule

Workplace harassment in Arizona is handled by the Arizona Civil Rights Act, which makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer to discriminate against an individual "with respect to the individual's compensation, terms, conditions or privileges of employment" because of a protected trait (A.R.S. § 41-1463(B)(1)). The Act has no separate harassment clause, but its definition of employer reaches a business with just one employee when sexual harassment, or retaliation for opposing it, is alleged; every other claim applies to employers with 15 or more employees (A.R.S. § 41-1461(7)).

Complaints go to the Civil Rights Division of the Arizona Attorney General's Office, and the 180-day charge deadline in § 41-1481(A) applies to harassment like any other charge. For other states, see workplace harassment laws by state.

Information last verified on 2026-10-20. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Arizona state law on workplace harassment by employers, supervisors and coworkers, chiefly the Arizona Civil Rights Act (A.R.S. §§ 41-1461, 41-1463, 41-1464, 41-1465 and 41-1481), with notes on A.R.S. §§ 23-1502, 12-1809, 12-1810, 12-720 and 41-1494. It does not cover wrongful firing or the full charge and lawsuit procedure (see Arizona wrongful termination), damages estimates, criminal harassment or stalking, harassment outside employment, or federal-employee procedure.

Arizona harassment rules at a glance

What the Arizona Civil Rights Act prohibits

The employment article of the Arizona Civil Rights Act bans discrimination in hiring, firing and the terms of the job, and harassment falls within that ban rather than in a clause of its own. Section 41-1463(B)(1) makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer:

"To fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to the individual's compensation, terms, conditions or privileges of employment because of the individual's race, color, religion, sex, age or national origin or on the basis of disability." (A.R.S. § 41-1463(B)(1))

The article does not use the words "hostile work environment" and does not define harassment or set a severity test. The only reference to sexual harassment in the employment article is the employer definition in § 41-1461(7). How conduct is measured against the "terms, conditions or privileges" language is a question of case law that this page does not summarize.

The agency that enforces the Act reads it to reach harassment. The Attorney General's Civil Rights FAQ states that "Unlawful discrimination also includes harassment based on a protected class and retaliation for participating in a protected activity," and the Division's employment page lists "Sexual harassment" and "Engaging in or tolerating harassment because of race, color, national origin, religion, age or disability" among its examples of employment allegations. That wording comes from agency guidance, not from the statute.

Which Arizona employers are covered

Arizona's coverage rule depends on what is alleged. Section 41-1461(7)(a) defines an employer as:

"a person who has fifteen or more employees for each working day in each of twenty or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year and any agent of that person or a person who has one or more employees in the current or preceding calendar year and any agent of that person, to the extent that the person is alleged to have: (i) Committed any act of sexual harassment. (ii) Discriminated against anyone for opposing sexual harassment or making a charge, testifying, assisting or participating in any manner in an investigation, proceeding or hearing arising from sexual harassment."

In practice that creates two tiers:

• Sexual harassment, and retaliation tied to it: one or more employees in the current or preceding calendar year.
• Harassment on any other trait (race, color, religion, age, national origin, disability), and sex discrimination that is not sexual harassment: 15 or more employees in each of 20 or more calendar weeks.

An employee of a six-person business is therefore within the Act for a sexual harassment claim but outside it for a harassment claim based on religion or disability. Section 41-1461(7)(b) excludes the United States and its departments and agencies, corporations wholly owned by the federal government, Indian tribes, and bona fide private membership clubs, other than labor organizations, that are exempt from taxation under section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code.

The federal floor is higher for most claims. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 defines an employer as a person with "fifteen or more employees for each working day in each of twenty or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year" (42 U.S.C. § 2000e(b)), so Arizona's one-employee rule is where the state law reaches further for sexual harassment; the workplace harassment laws hub explains the federal layer.

Protected traits under the Act

Section 41-1463(B)(1) lists these traits:

• Race
• Color
• Religion
• Sex, which "includes because of or on the basis of pregnancy or childbirth or related medical conditions" (§ 41-1461(2))
• Age, limited by § 41-1465 to "individuals who are at least forty years of age"
• National origin
• Disability

Section 41-1463 also contains a separate genetic-testing provision in subsection (B)(3).

Employer responsibility and individual liability

The Act's employment article does not set out a rule for when an employer answers for harassment by a supervisor, a coworker or a customer. It contains no knew-or-should-have-known test and no statutory defense for employers that take corrective action; those questions are governed by case law that this page does not summarize.

On personal liability, the Act contains no clause that makes an employee who harasses a coworker personally liable and no aiding-and-abetting clause. The employer definition in § 41-1461(7)(a) includes "any agent of that person" in both tiers. The statute's text does not say whether that phrase allows a claim against an individual supervisor.

Retaliation for complaining

Section 41-1464(A) makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer to discriminate against employees or applicants because the person "has opposed any practice that is an unlawful employment practice under this article or has made a charge, testified, assisted or participated in any manner in an investigation, proceeding or hearing under article 6 of this chapter." For sexual harassment, the one-employee threshold also covers retaliation against anyone for opposing it or taking part in a proceeding arising from it (§ 41-1461(7)(a)(ii)).

When a termination violates the Civil Rights Act, A.R.S. § 23-1501(A)(3)(b) makes the remedies the Act provides the exclusive remedies for that violation. Firings after a complaint, and how they fit with Arizona's default employment rule, are covered on the Arizona at-will employment and Arizona wrongful termination pages.

Harassment and quitting: constructive discharge

Arizona's constructive discharge statute, A.R.S. § 23-1502, applies to an action under state statutes or common law, and it names harassment. Under § 23-1502(A), a constructive discharge may be established by either of two routes. The first, in (A)(1), rests on objectively difficult or unpleasant working conditions that would make a reasonable employee feel compelled to resign, where the employer was given at least 15 days' notice that the employee intends to resign because of those conditions and failed to respond to the employee's concerns. Under § 23-1502(E), an employer that fails to give its employees written notice of the section's requirements is deemed to have waived that notice. The second route has no notice step:

"2. Evidence of outrageous conduct by the employer or a managing agent of the employer, including sexual assault, threats of violence directed at the employee, a continuous pattern of discriminatory harassment by the employer or by a managing agent of the employer or other similar kinds of conduct, if the conduct would cause a reasonable employee to feel compelled to resign." (A.R.S. § 23-1502(A)(2))

The section speaks of harassment "by the employer or by a managing agent of the employer"; it does not cover harassment by coworkers in that clause. The full rules for resignations and firings are on the Arizona wrongful termination page.

Deadlines and where to file

The Arizona Attorney General's Office, Civil Rights Division, takes charges under the Act.

• Charge deadline: "A charge under this section shall be filed within one hundred eighty days after the alleged unlawful employment practice occurred" (§ 41-1481(A)). There is no separate, longer period for sexual harassment.
• Form: a charge "shall be in writing on oath or affirmation," and a charge received from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is deemed filed by the aggrieved person (§ 41-1481(A)).
• Notice and suit: if the Division dismisses the charge, or has neither filed suit nor entered a conciliation agreement within 90 days of the charge, it notifies the charging party, who may then bring a civil action against the respondent named in the charge (§ 41-1481(D)).
• Outer limit: "In no event shall any action be brought pursuant to this article more than one year after the charge to which the action relates has been filed" (§ 41-1481(D)).

Dual filing. The Division's FAQ states that when employment discrimination claims are available under both federal and state law, the charge "is dual-filed with the EEOC and the Division," so a charge filed with one agency is automatically filed with the other. The same FAQ names two exceptions, because only Arizona civil rights laws prohibit "(1) sexual harassment when the employer has less than 15 employees, and (2) age discrimination by an employer with greater than 15 and less than 20 employees," so a charge in either situation proceeds under state law alone. The EEOC states that its "180 calendar day filing deadline is extended to 300 calendar days if a state or local agency enforces a law that prohibits employment discrimination on the same basis." The EEOC's Phoenix District Office, which lists the Arizona Civil Rights Division as a fair employment practices agency, states that an individual usually has 300 days from the date of alleged harm to file a charge with the EEOC against an employer with 15 or more employees (20 or more for age) in Arizona, and that charges against smaller employers must be filed with the state agency within the 180-day state limit.

The steps between filing and suit, and the remedies available, are on the Arizona wrongful termination page. The Arizona employment discrimination settlement calculator is an estimating tool, not a prediction of any outcome.

Training and written policies

The employment article of the Arizona Civil Rights Act (§§ 41-1461 to 41-1481) contains no requirement that private employers provide harassment training or adopt or post a harassment policy.

The one training statute that mentions sexual harassment is a limit on government bodies, not a mandate. A.R.S. § 41-1494(A) provides that "This state, a state agency or a city, town, county or political subdivision of this state may not require an employee to engage in training, orientation or therapy that presents any form of blame or judgment on the basis of race, ethnicity or sex. This subsection does not preclude any training on sexual harassment."

NDAs, confidentiality and arbitration

Arizona's nondisclosure statute, A.R.S. § 12-720, is narrow. It does not void harassment nondisclosure agreements generally. It does two things:

• Under § 12-720(A), the terms of a nondisclosure agreement "may not be used to prohibit a party to the agreement from" responding to a peace officer's or a prosecutor's inquiry, or making a statement not initiated by that party in a criminal proceeding, in relation to a violation or alleged violation of Title 13, chapter 14 or 35.
• Under § 12-720(D), "Public monies may not be used as consideration in exchange for a nondisclosure agreement that is related to an allegation of or attempted sexual assault or sexual harassment."

Federal law adds limits for sexual harassment disputes: the Speak Out Act makes nondisclosure and nondisparagement clauses agreed to before a sexual harassment dispute arises judicially unenforceable where the conduct is alleged to violate federal, tribal or state law, and the Ending Forced Arbitration Act lets the person alleging sexual harassment elect court over a predispute arbitration agreement, both explained on the workplace harassment laws hub.

Injunctions against harassment

A.R.S. § 12-1810 creates an "injunction against workplace harassment," but the petitioner is the business: "An employer or an authorized agent of an employer may file a written verified petition with a magistrate, justice of the peace or superior court judge for an injunction prohibiting workplace harassment" (§ 12-1810(A)). For that section, harassment means "a single threat or act of physical harm or damage or a series of acts over any period of time that would cause a reasonable person to be seriously alarmed or annoyed" (§ 12-1810(T)(2)). An injunction lasts one year from service. The section does not change an employer's duty to provide a safe workplace, and an employer is immune from civil liability for seeking or not seeking one.

A separate statute, A.R.S. § 12-1809, is not limited to employers: "A person may file a verified petition with a magistrate, justice of the peace or superior court judge for an injunction prohibiting harassment" (§ 12-1809(A)). For that section, harassment means "a series of acts over any period of time that is directed at a specific person and that would cause a reasonable person to be seriously alarmed, annoyed or harassed and the conduct in fact seriously alarms, annoys or harasses the person and serves no legitimate purpose," or one or more acts of sexual violence as defined in § 23-371 (§ 12-1809(T)).

Is workplace bullying illegal in Arizona?

The Arizona Civil Rights Act reaches harassment because of the traits it lists. Its employment article contains no provision on general workplace bullying that is not tied to one of those traits. Separately from the Act, the workplace harassment injunction in § 12-1810 is filed by an employer, and the general injunction against harassment in § 12-1809 may be sought by any person.

Documenting harassment and workplace monitoring

The rules on recording a conversation at work, including a conversation with a harasser, are on the Arizona workplace recording laws page. Employer monitoring of email, devices and workspaces is covered on the Arizona employee monitoring laws page.

Related pages

• Workplace harassment laws by state
• Arizona wrongful termination
• Arizona at-will employment laws
• Arizona employee monitoring laws
• Arizona workplace recording laws

This article provides general legal information about Arizona workplace harassment law under the Arizona Civil Rights Act and related Arizona statutes as of 2026-10-20. It is not legal advice. For advice about a specific situation, contact a lawyer licensed in Arizona or the Arizona Attorney General's Civil Rights Division.

Last updated: 2026-10-20.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is workplace harassment illegal in Arizona?

The Arizona Civil Rights Act makes it an unlawful employment practice to discriminate in the compensation, terms, conditions or privileges of employment because of a protected trait (A.R.S. § 41-1463(B)(1)). The Act has no separate harassment clause, and the Attorney General's Civil Rights Division states that unlawful discrimination includes harassment based on a protected class.

Does Arizona sexual harassment law apply to small employers?

Yes, for sexual harassment. Under § 41-1461(7)(a), a person with one or more employees in the current or preceding calendar year is an employer to the extent sexual harassment, or retaliation for opposing it, is alleged. Harassment on other traits applies only to employers with 15 or more employees in each of 20 or more calendar weeks.

How long do you have to file a harassment charge in Arizona?

A charge with the Attorney General's Civil Rights Division must be filed within 180 days after the alleged unlawful employment practice (§ 41-1481(A)); there is no longer period for sexual harassment. Any lawsuit under the Act must be brought within one year after the charge was filed (§ 41-1481(D)).

Is a harassment charge in Arizona also filed with the EEOC?

The Division's FAQ says that when claims are available under both federal and state law, a charge is dual-filed with the EEOC and the Division. It names two exceptions where only Arizona law applies: sexual harassment by an employer with fewer than 15 employees, and age discrimination by an employer with more than 15 and fewer than 20 employees. The EEOC's Phoenix District Office states that the federal charge period is usually 300 days in Arizona against an employer with 15 or more employees (20 or more for age).

Does Arizona require sexual harassment training for private employers?

The Arizona Civil Rights Act's employment article contains no training or written-policy requirement for private employers. A.R.S. § 41-1494 limits certain training content for state and local government bodies and states that it does not preclude any training on sexual harassment.

Can an Arizona employer use an NDA in a sexual harassment settlement?

A.R.S. § 12-720 does not void harassment NDAs generally. It bars using an NDA to stop a party from responding to police or prosecutors, or making an uninitiated statement in a criminal proceeding, about Title 13, chapter 14 or 35 offenses, and bars public money as consideration for an NDA related to a sexual assault or sexual harassment allegation.

Can an employee get an Arizona injunction against workplace harassment?

A.R.S. § 12-1810 lets an employer or its authorized agent petition for an injunction prohibiting workplace harassment. Separately, A.R.S. § 12-1809 lets 'a person' petition a magistrate, justice of the peace or superior court judge for an injunction prohibiting harassment, which that section defines as a series of acts directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to be seriously alarmed, annoyed or harassed, that in fact does so and that serves no legitimate purpose, or one or more acts of sexual violence.

Is workplace bullying illegal in Arizona?

The Arizona Civil Rights Act reaches harassment tied to the traits it lists, such as sex, race, religion and disability. Its employment article contains no provision on general workplace bullying unconnected to those traits.