Telling Somebody At Work
A.R.S. 23-1501 — a reasonable disclosure that the employer has violated, is violating or will violate the law
Arizona treats employment as severable at the pleasure of either side unless a written contract says otherwise, and lists the circumstances in which an employee has a claim for termination. Two of them are about speaking up.
- Termination in retaliation for refusing to commit an act or omission that would violate the Arizona Constitution or statutes.
- Termination in retaliation for disclosing, in a reasonable manner, information or a reasonable belief that the employer or another employee has violated, is violating or will violate the Arizona Constitution or statutes.
To whom. The disclosure goes either to the employer or a representative the employee reasonably believes is in a managerial or supervisory position with authority to investigate and act to prevent further violations, or to an employee of a public body or political subdivision of the state or one of its agencies.
When another statute has its own remedy. If the statute violated provides a remedy to the employee, that remedy is the exclusive one for the violation and for the public policy arising out of it.
Federal statutes protect reports in particular fields, such as workplace safety, securities and federal contracts, with their own agencies and deadlines, and are not on this page. Whether a particular report was protected, and whether what followed was retaliation for it, are questions for a licensed Arizona attorney.
Sources for this section (1)
- A.R.S. 23-1501 — Severability of employment relationships; protection from retaliatory discharges; exclusivity of statutory remedies
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Arizona attorney.