unlawful employment practices; damages

SB1324 - 572R - I Ver

REFERENCE TITLE:
unlawful employment practices; damages

State of Arizona

Senate

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

SB 1324

Introduced by

Senator
Ortiz

AN
ACT

Amending section 41-1481, Arizona Revised
Statutes; relating to Employment practices.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Section 41-1481, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
41-1481.

Filing charges; investigation; findings; conciliation; compliance
proceedings; appeals; punitive and compensatory damages; attorney fees;
violation; classification

A. A charge under this section shall be filed within
one hundred eighty days after the alleged unlawful employment practice
occurred. A charge is deemed filed on receipt by the division from
or on behalf of a person claiming to be aggrieved or, if filed by a member of
the division, when executed by the member on oath or affirmation. A
charge is deemed filed by or on behalf of a person claiming to be aggrieved if
received from the United States equal employment opportunity
commission. A charge shall be in writing on oath or affirmation and
shall contain the information, including the date, place and circumstances of
the alleged unlawful employment practice, and be in the form as the division
requires. The division shall not make charges public.

B. Whenever a charge is filed by or on behalf of a
person claiming to be aggrieved or by a member of the division, referred to as
the charging party, alleging that an employer, employment agency, labor
organization or joint labor-management committee controlling
apprenticeship or other training or retraining programs, including on-the-job
training programs, has engaged in an unlawful employment practice, the division
shall serve notice of and a copy of the charge on the employer, employment
agency, labor organization or joint labor-management committee, referred
to as the respondent, within ten days and shall investigate the
charge. If the division determines after the investigation that
there is not reasonable cause to believe that the charge is true, the division
shall enter an order determining the same and dismissing the charge and shall
notify the charging party and the respondent of its action. If the
division determines after the investigation that there is reasonable cause to
believe that the charge is true, the division shall enter an order containing
its findings of fact and shall endeavor to eliminate the alleged unlawful
employment practice by informal methods of conference, conciliation and
persuasion. Any party to the informal proceeding may be represented
by counsel. Counsel need not be a member of the state bar if counsel
is licensed to practice law in any other state or territory of the United
States. Nothing said or done during and as a part of the informal
endeavors may be made public by the division or its officers or employees or
used as evidence in a subsequent proceeding without the written consent of the
persons concerned. If a civil action resulting from a charge is
commenced in any federal or state court, evidence collected by or submitted to
the division during the investigation of the charge and the source of the
evidence shall be subject to discovery by the parties to the civil
action. Any person who makes public information in violation of this
subsection is guilty of a class 1 misdemeanor. The division shall
make its determination on reasonable cause as promptly as possible and as far
as practicable not later than sixty days
from
after
the filing of the charge. If more than two
years have elapsed after the alleged unlawful employment practice occurred, and
if the charging party has received a notice of right to sue, the division may
cease investigation of a charge without reaching a determination.

C. All conciliation agreements shall provide that
the charging party waives, releases and covenants not to sue the respondent or
claim against the respondent in any forum with respect to the matters
which
that
were alleged as charges filed
with the division, subject to performance by the respondent of the promises and
representations contained in the conciliation agreement.� The charging party or
the respondent may prepare a conciliation agreement that the division shall
submit to the other party and that, if accepted by the other party, shall be
accepted by the division.

D. If within thirty days after the division has made
a determination that reasonable cause exists to believe that the charge is true
the division has not accepted a conciliation agreement to which the charging
party and the respondent are parties, the division may bring a civil action
against the respondent, other than the state, named in the
charge. The charging party shall have the right to intervene in a
civil action brought by the division. If a charge filed with the
division pursuant to subsection A of this section is dismissed by the division
or if within ninety days
from
after

the filing of such charge the division has not filed a civil action under this
section or has not entered into a conciliation agreement with the charging
party, the division shall so notify the charging party. After
providing the notice
,
a civil action may be brought
against the respondent named in the charge by the charging party or, if that
charge was filed by a member of the division, by any person whom the charge
alleges was aggrieved by the alleged unlawful employment practice.
In no event shall any

an
action
may not
be brought pursuant to this article more than one year
after the charge to which the action relates has been filed. On
application by the complainant and in the circumstances as the court may deem
just, the court may appoint an attorney for such complainant and may authorize
the commencement of the action without the payment of fees, costs or
security. On timely application, the court may in its discretion allow
the division to intervene in civil actions in which the state is not a
defendant on certification that the case is of general public
importance.
Upon
on

request the court may stay further proceedings for not more than sixty days
pending the further efforts of the parties or the division to obtain voluntary
compliance.

E. Whenever a charge is filed with the division and
the division concludes on the basis of a preliminary investigation that prompt
judicial action is necessary to carry out the purposes of this article or
article 4 of this chapter, the division may bring an action for appropriate
temporary or preliminary relief pending final disposition of the
charge. Any temporary restraining order or other order granting
preliminary or temporary relief shall be issued in accordance with the Arizona
rules of civil procedure. The court having jurisdiction over the
proceedings shall assign such action for hearing at the earliest practicable
date and cause the action to be expedited in every way.

F. The court shall assign any action brought under
this article for hearing at the earliest practicable date and cause the action
to be in every way expedited. If the action has not been scheduled
for trial within one hundred twenty days after issue has been joined, the judge
may appoint a master pursuant to rule 53 of the Arizona rules of civil
procedure.

G. If the court finds that the defendant has
intentionally engaged in or is intentionally engaging in an unlawful employment
practice alleged in the complaint, the court may enjoin the defendant from
engaging in the unlawful employment practice and order the affirmative action
as may be appropriate. Affirmative action may include, but is not
limited to, reinstatement or hiring of employees with or without back pay
payable by the employer, employment agency or labor organization responsible
for the unlawful employment practice or any other equitable relief as the court
deems appropriate. Back pay liability shall not accrue from a date
more than two years before the filing of the charge with the division. Interim
earnings or amounts earnable with reasonable diligence by the person or persons
discriminated against shall reduce the back pay otherwise
allowable. An order of the court shall not require the admission or
reinstatement of an individual as a member of a union or the hiring, reinstatement
or promotion of an individual as an employee or the payment to the individual
of any back pay if the individual was refused admission, suspended or expelled
or was refused employment or advancement or was suspended or discharged for any
reason other than discrimination on account of race, color, religion, sex, age,
disability or national origin or a violation of section 41-1464.

H. if the court finds that the
defendant has INTENTIONALLY engaged in or is INTENTIONALLY engaging in an
unlawful employment practice alleged in the complaint, the court may award
compensatory and punitive damages. Compensatory or punitive damages
awarded pursuant to this subsection are in addition to and do not include front
pay, back pay, interest on back pay or any other type of relief awarded
pursuant to subsection G of this section.

I. The
amount of compensatory damages awarded pursuant to this section for any future
pecuniary loss, emotional pain, suffering, INCONVENIENCE, mental anguish, loss
of enjoyment of life and any other nonpecuniary loss and the amount of PUNITIVE
damages awarded pursuant to this section may not exceed any of the following
for each charging party:

1. $50,000, If the respondent has one
hundred or fewer employees
in each of twenty or more
calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year.

2. $100,000, if the respondent has
more than one hundred employees but fewer than two hundred one employees IN
EACH OF TWENTY OR MORE CALENDAR WEEKS IN THE CURRENT OR PRECEDING CALENDAR
YEAR.

3. $200,000, if the RESPONDENT HAS
MORE THAN two hundred employees but FEWER THAN five hundred one EMPLOYEES in
each of twenty or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar
year.

4. $300,000, if the RESPONDENT HAS
MORE THAN five hundred EMPLOYEES in each of twenty or more calendar weeks in
the current or preceding calendar year.

H.

J.
In
any case in which an employer, employment agency or labor organization fails to
comply with an order of a court issued in a civil action brought under this
section, a party to the action or the division on the written request of a
person aggrieved by such failure may commence proceedings to compel compliance
with the order.

I.

K.
Any
civil action brought under this section and any proceedings brought under
subsection
H
J
of this section
are subject to appeal as provided in sections 12-120.21, 12-120.22
and 12-120.24.

J.

L.
In
any action or proceeding under this section the court may allow the prevailing
party, other than the division, a reasonable attorney fee as part of the costs.

END_STATUTE