Arizona Child Labor Laws
Through the Fair Labor Standards Act federal law prohibits any child
under the age of twelve from working to any degree. Arizona states that
this law includes working in agriculture, since many children have
currently been working with their parents in fieldwork. Parents may
allow their children to work on family farms but may not hire out young
children. The state of Arizona has one of the highest child labor
issues in all of the United States. Federal law states that working in
fields is the same as working in factories.
Children are often used to harvest crops and for picking small kinds of
produce. Children working in fields not only violates the Fair Labor
Standards Act but also exposes children to herbicides and pesticides
that can result in health issues. Child labor laws also state that
allowing children to work will limit their education, their opportunity
to attend school, and inhibit their freedom to develop social skills
with others their age.
Paid and Unpaid Leave
The state of Arizona does not have its own paternity leave law but
federal law allows fathers to have unpaid leave through the Family and
Medical Leave Act. The Family and Medical Leave Act gives employees
that opportunity to take twelve weeks or few every twelve months. This
kind of unpaid leave is designed to allow for the care of an elderly
parent, a newborn child, an ill child, or other personal medical
reasons.
Maternity leave and paternity leave can also be used to allow parents
to bond with a newly adopted child. This kind of leave protects the
individual from losing his or her job and states that it is illegal to
be terminated due to the leave. A female employee also cannot be
terminated because she is expecting.
The Family and Medical Leave Act also allows expectant mothers to take
time for pregnancy complications and allows expectant fathers to attend
prenatal care appointments. All leave, however, must be taken in a
continuous fashion and cannot be broken up between several months. The
Family and Medical Leave Act can only applies when a company or
institution has more than fifty workers in a seventy-five-mile radius.
Only employees who have been with the company for twelve months or more
will qualify. Employees must also have worked twelve hundred fifty
hours prior to a leave request. Maternity or paternity leave in Arizona
also states that an individual is entitled to his or her same job or
one of equal payment when he or she returns to work.
Accommodation Laws
By law Arizona employers are required to accommodate religious
practices if they are reasonable and do not inhibit work. These are
called reasonable accommodations and include scheduling, dress code,
hours to be worked, uniforms, and others. Employers who do not
accommodate religious necessities will be tried in court. However these
religious acts must be permanent. For instance an employee cannot
change his or her religious sect for special privileges. The 1964 Civil
Rights Act also disallows discrimination for any reason towards
religion, race, age, gender, or country of origin.