§ 6.7.6.2 PREEMPTION BY WORKERS' COMPENSATION STATUTES.

• Jurisdiction: Arizona

§ 6.7.6.2 Preemption by Workers' Compensation Statutes. Arizona courts have historically found that employee's claims against their employers for negligent hiring, retention and supervision are preempted by the workers' compensation laws, which are Arizona's exclusive remedy for workplace injuries absent gross employer misconduct.³⁶ Generally, an employee who suffers an injury at the workplace caused by a fellow employee, which is based upon negligence, is considered an industrial injury and within the coverage of the workers' compensation laws.³⁷ Arizona's workers' compensation statutes do not expressly define the term, "injury," but seem clearly to apply to physical personal work-related injuries. Also, emotional stress resulting in a disability is by itself a sufficient basis to require an...