Arizona Whistleblower Protections

Employees and former employees, per Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 38-531:

•  1. “Employee” means an officer or employee of this state or any of its departments, commissions, agencies or boards. Employee includes employees and officers of community college districts, school districts and counties of this state and law enforcement officers of a city or town but does not include officers or employees of a municipal corporation established for the purpose of reclamation and distribution of water and the generation of electricity.

• 2. “Former employee” means an employee who was dismissed.

Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 38-532(A) protects disclosures of

•  1. A violation of any law.

• 2. Mismanagement, a gross waste of monies or an abuse of authority.

Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 38-532(D) provides:

An employee or former employee against whom a prohibited personnel practice is committed may recover attorney fees, costs, back pay, general and special damages and full reinstatement for any reprisal resulting from the prohibited personnel practice as determined by the court.

Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 36-2918

Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 36-2918.01(A): All contractors, subcontracted providers of care and noncontracting providers; (C) Any contractor, subcontracted provider of care or noncontracting provider who fails to report pursuant to this section commits an act of unprofessional conduct and is subject to disciplinary action by the appropriate professional regulatory board or department.

Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 36-2918.01(A): All contractors, subcontracted providers of care and noncontracting providers shall notify the director or the director’s designee immediately in a written report of any cases of suspected fraud or abuse. The director shall review the report and conduct a preliminary investigation to determine if there is sufficient basis to warrant a full investigation. If the findings of a preliminary investigation give the director reason to believe that an incident of fraud or abuse has occurred, the matter shall be referred to the attorney general.

(B) Any person making a complaint or furnishing a report, information or records in good faith pursuant to this section is immune from any civil liability by reason of that action unless that person has been charged with or is suspected of the fraud or abuse reported.

A.R.S. §23-1501

Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 23-1501 protects employees in AZ generally

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.

Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 23-1501(A)(3)(c)(i) protects employees that refuse to violate AZ law, and § 23-1501(A)(3)(c)(ii) protects employees who, with reasonable belief, report violations of past, ongoing, or future violations of AZ law.  The full provision follows.

Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 23-1501(A):

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 § 21-236.

(v) The exercise of voting rights as protected by § 16-1012.

(vi) The exercise of free choice with respect to nonmembership in a labor organization as protected by § 23-1302.

(vii) Service in the National Guard or armed forces as protected by §§ 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 § 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 § 23-203.

(x) The exercise of a victim’s right to leave work as provided in §§ 8-420 and 13-4439.

This statute does not specifically list remedies, but it references others.  As such, Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 23-1501(B) states:

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.

Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 36-2282

Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 36-2282:

Any health care institution with a perinatal, obstetrical or pediatric unit shall inform its administrators and other employees associated with the perinatal, obstetrical or pediatric unit of:

1. Their duty pursuant to § 13-3620 to report any denial or deprivation of necessary medical treatment or surgical care or nourishment with the intent to cause or allow the death of the infant.
2. Their right to make a report free from any disciplinary action by the health care institution.
3.  A full description of the manner in which a report is to be made

Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 36-2282:

A health care institution shall not take or threaten to take any disciplinary action against any employee in retaliation for the employee making a report pursuant to § 13-3620.

Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 41-1492.10

Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 41-1492.10

It is unlawful to coerce, intimidate, threaten or interfere with any individual in the exercise or enjoyment of, for having exercised or enjoyed or on account of his having aided or encouraged any other individual in the exercise or enjoyment of any right granted or protected by this article.*

*The article prohibits discrimination by public accommodations, services, commercial facilities, etc., described by Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 41-1492.01-05.

Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 41-1492.10

No person may discriminate against any individual because the individual has opposed any act or practice made unlawful by this article or because the individual made a charge, testified, assisted or participated in any manner in an investigation, proceeding or hearing under this article.

Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 23-1385

Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 23-1385(A)(4), (6) protect agricultural employees.

Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 23-1385(A): It is an unfair labor practice for an agricultural employer:

4. To discharge or otherwise discriminate against an agricultural employee because he has filed charges or given testimony under this article.

6. To discharge or otherwise discriminate against any person because he has filed charges or given testimony before the board or a court.