A.R.S. tit. 23 ch. 9 — Arizona Revised Statutes Title 23 Chapter 9 — Employment Protection Act

23-1501. Severability of employment relationships; protection from retaliatory discharges; exclusivity of statutory remedies in employment A. The public policy of this state is that: 1. The employment relationship is contractual in nature. 2. The employment relationship is severable at the pleasure of either the employee or the employer unless both the employee and the employer have signed a written contract to the contrary setting forth that the employment relationship shall remain in effect for a specified duration of time or otherwise expressly restricting the right of either party to terminate the employment relationship. Both the employee and the employer must sign this written contract, or this written contract must be set forth in the employment handbook or manual or any similar document distributed to the employee, if that document expresses the intent that it is a contract of employment, or this written contract must be set forth in a writing signed by the party to be charged. Partial performance of employment shall not be deemed sufficient to eliminate the requirements set forth in this paragraph. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to affect the rights of public employees under the Constitution of Arizona and state and local laws of this state or the rights of employees and employers as defined by a collective bargaining agreement. 3. An employee has a claim against an employer for termination of employment only if one or more of the following circumstances have occurred: (a) The employer has terminated the employment relationship of an employee in breach of an employment contract, as set forth in paragraph 2 of this subsection, in which case the remedies for the breach are limited to the remedies for a breach of contract. (b) The employer has terminated the employment relationship of an employee in violation of a statute of this state. If the statute provides a remedy to an employee for a violation of the statute, the remedies provided to an employee for a violation of the statute are the exclusive remedies for the violation of the statute or the public policy set forth in or arising out of the statute, including the following: (i) The civil rights act prescribed in title 41, chapter 9. (ii) The occupational safety and health act prescribed in chapter 2, article 10 of this title. (iii) The statutes governing the hours of employment prescribed in chapter 2 of this title. (iv) The agricultural employment relations act prescribed in chapter 8, article 5 of this title. (v) The statutes governing disclosure of information by public employees prescribed in title 38, chapter 3, article 9. All definitions and restrictions contained in the statute also apply to any civil action based on a violation of the public policy arising out of the statute. If the statute does not provide a remedy to an employee for the violation of the statute, the employee shall have the right to bring a tort claim for wrongful termination in violation of the public policy set forth in the statute. (c) The employer has terminated the employment relationship of an employee in retaliation for any of the following: (i) The refusal by the employee to commit an act or omission that would violate the Constitution of Arizona or the statutes of this state. (ii) The disclosure by the employee in a reasonable manner that the employee has information or a reasonable belief that the employer, or an employee of the employer, has violated, is violating or will violate the Constitution of Arizona or the statutes of this state to either the employer or a representative of the employer who the employee reasonably believes is in a managerial or supervisory position and has the authority to investigate the information provided by the employee and to take action to prevent further violations of the Constitution of Arizona or statutes of this state or an employee of a public body or political subdivision of this state or any agency of a public body or political subdivision. (iii) The exercise of rights under the workers' compensation statutes prescribed in chapter 6 of this title. (iv) Service on a jury as protected by section 21-236. (v) The exercise of voting rights as protected by section 16-1012. (vi) The exercise of free choice with respect to nonmembership in a labor organization as protected by section 23-1302. (vii) Service in the national guard or armed forces as protected by sections 26-167 and 26-168. (viii) The exercise of the right to be free from the extortion of fees or gratuities as a condition of employment as protected by section 23-202. (ix) The exercise of the right to be free from coercion to purchase goods or supplies from any particular person as a condition of employment as protected by section 23-203. (x) The exercise of a victim's right to leave work as provided in sections 8-420 and 13-4439. B. If the statute provides a remedy to an employee for a violation of the statute, the remedies provided to an employee for a violation of the statute are the exclusive remedies for the violation of the statute or the public policy prescribed in or arising out of the statute. 23-1502. Constructive discharge A. In any action under the statutes of this state or under common law, constructive discharge may only be established by either of the following: 1. Evidence of objectively difficult or unpleasant working conditions to the extent that a reasonable employee would feel compelled to resign, if the employer has been given at least fifteen days' notice by the employee that the employee intends to resign because of these conditions and the employer fails to respond to the employee's concerns. 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. B. As a precondition to the right of an employee to bring a constructive discharge claim against an employer pursuant to subsection A, paragraph 1 of this section, the employee shall take each of the following actions before deciding whether to resign: 1. Notify an appropriate representative of the employer, in writing, that a working condition exists that the employee believes is objectively so difficult or unpleasant that the employee feels compelled to resign or intends to resign. 2. Allow the employer fifteen calendar days to respond in writing to the matters presented in the employee's written communication under paragraph 1 of this subsection. 3. Read and consider the employer's response to the employee's written communication under paragraph 1 of this subsection. C. If an employee reasonably believes that the employee cannot continue to work during the period for the employer to respond to the employee's written communication regarding the conditions allegedly constituting constructive discharge, the employee is entitled to a paid or unpaid leave of up to fifteen calendar days or until the time when the employer has responded in writing to the employee's written communication, whichever occurs first. D. Any communications or actions by an employer in response to an employee's communications about the employee's working conditions shall not be deemed an admission by the employer that it has committed any action that gives rise to any claim or cause of action by the employee against the employer. E. An employer shall be deemed to have waived the right to notice under subsection A, paragraph 1 if the employer fails to provide written notice to its employees of the requirements of this section as follows: 1. Notice by the employer under this section shall be provided by the posting of a notice, substantially in the form set forth in paragraph 2 of this subsection, in conspicuous places on the employer's premises where notices to employees are customarily posted, by including substantially similar language in an employment handbook or policy manual that is distributed to employees or by including the notice in a written communication that is provided to employees. 2. A notice that is substantially in the following form satisfies the notice requirements of this section: Notice An Employee is encouraged to communicate to the employer whenever the employee believes working conditions may become intolerable to the employee and may cause the employee to resign. Under section 23-1502, Arizona Revised Statutes, an employee may be required to notify an appropriate representative of the employer in writing that a working condition exists that the employee believes is intolerable, that will compel the employee to resign or that constitutes a constructive discharge, if the employee wants to preserve the right to bring a claim against the employer alleging that the working condition forced the employee to resign. Under the law, an employee may be required to wait for fifteen calendar days after providing written notice before the employee may resign if the employee desires to preserve the right to bring a constructive discharge claim against the employer. An employee may be entitled to paid or unpaid leave of absence of up to fifteen calendar days while waiting for the employer to respond to the employee's written communication about the employee's working condition. F. Notwithstanding any other requirements of this section, an employee may bring a constructive discharge claim without prior written notice in the event of outrageous conduct by the employer or by 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 conduct if the conduct would cause a reasonable employee to feel compelled to resign.