Guide to Utah employee benefits and HR rules
As a human resources professional or employer at a small to midsize business with employees in Utah, you need to know which employee benefits and policies the Beehive State requires.
Want to offer personalized health benefits that work for your employees no matter where they live? Learn how HRAs can benefit your team.
Is your organization compliant with Utah’s employment and HR laws?
If your organization is based in the Beehive State or if you employ Utah workers, you need to know the ins and outs of HR compliance in the state. This guide provides a general overview of Utah's regulations for small and medium-sized businesses.
Topics covered in this guide include:
What are an employee’s rights in Utah?
State and federal laws protect employees in Utah. If you have or plan to hire employees in the state, you'll need to know what protected rights your employees have.
Some Utah state rights include:
- At-will employment
- This is a form of employment where either the employer or the employee can end the employment relationship whenever they choose. This applies as long as the employer and employee haven’t entered into a written agreement stating otherwise.
- Fair employment practices
- In addition to federal laws, the Utah Antidiscrimination Act (UADA) prohibits employers from discriminating or harassing employees on the basis of race, color, sex, pregnancy, age (40 or older), religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity.
- This applies to all employers with 15 or more employees.
- Pregnancy accommodations
- The UADA requires employers with 15 or more employees to offer reasonable accommodations for pregnancy and related situations, such as breastfeeding. This means that the employer is responsible for providing the employee with reasonable break time and accommodations to express their breast milk.
- Weapons in the workplace
- Employers may not restrict or prohibit employees from storing their personal, legally owned firearms in their cars while on employee property as long as the weapon is out of view.
- Employers may restrict or prohibit firearms in employee vehicles if they provide an alternate parking lot or secure location to store firearms at no cost to the employee.
- Workplace safety
- The Utah Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973 mandates employers to provide a safe and healthy workplace.
- Employees have the right to notify employers and the Utah Occupational Safety and Health Division (UOSH) about hazards. Whistleblower laws protect employees from retaliation for reporting violations.
- Employees have the right to whistleblower protection.
- Employees have the right to see all UOSH citations, and employers must post these citations near the place of violation.
What are private employers required to provide in Utah?
There are a few employee benefits and accommodations Utah requires employers to provide. We've broken up the requirements in the sections below.
Required workplace accommodations
Employers must provide pregnancy and childbirth-related accommodations in the workplace upon an employee’s request. You can't require an employee to end their employment or deny opportunities based on the need to make reasonable accommodations available. You may, however, require a medical certification before making the accommodations, except for increased restroom, food, or water breaks.
Required employee benefits
Utah state laws require a few employee benefits in addition to those required by federal employment laws.
Required benefits include:
- Utah Health Care Continuation Coverage (Utah Mini-COBRA)
- All employers must offer continuation of healthcare coverage to employees for up to a year if they experience a job termination (except gross misconduct), reduction in hours, retirement, sabbatical, disability, or leave of absence.
- The right to continuation of coverage applies to an employee’s spouse or dependents impacted by the death of an employee or divorce.
- Paid time off (PTO) and unpaid time off
- Utah doesn’t require employers to offer general vacation time or sick leave benefits. However, employers must abide by their set policy or employment contract, including paying out any unused vacation time upon termination of an employee.
- Military leave: Employers must provide military leave of up to 120 hours per calendar year to National Guard or Military Reserves members on official orders. Additionally, military members are eligible for unpaid military leave under the federal Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) law. This law allows employees to take leave for deployment and guarantees reinstatement upon their return.
To be able to do this, employees must meet the following conditions:- The employee must provide a notice of their military service to the employer.
- The total time spent in active military service must remain under five years.
- The military discharge can't be dishonorable or disqualifying.
- The return to work must be timely.
- Jury duty: Employers don’t need to pay employees for their time attending summons for jury duty or serving on a jury. But they must allow employees to attend their jury summons without using PTO or sick time.
- Employers must provide up to two hours of PTO for employees to vote if the employee doesn’t have at least three consecutive hours off-duty to vote while the polls are open.
- Employees who must appear in court with their minor child must receive time off (paid or unpaid) to attend if the employee provided at least seven days’ notice or notified the employer within 24 hours of a hearing notice.
- Workers' compensation insurance
- Under the Utah Workers' Compensation Act, employees who suffer workplace injuries or get sick on the job can receive various benefits.
Wage laws in Utah
Utah doesn't have a state minimum wage greater than the federal minimum wage rate of $7.25/hour. However, employers may pay minors a subminimum wage rate of $4.25/hour for their first 90 days of employment. Employers may pay tipped employees $2.13/hour as long as their tips equal or exceed the current minimum wage requirements.
Overtime laws
Utah has no laws regarding overtime hours. However, federal overtime regulations require non-exempt employees to receive 1.5 times their regular rate of pay for any hours worked over 40 in a single workweek.
Paid breaks
Utah doesn’t require rest breaks. But, employers who choose to offer them must follow state laws. If you provide rest periods that last less than 20 minutes, you must pay employees for that time. However, employers don't need to pay for a meal period as long as the employee is free of their duties and workplace.
Pay statements and methods of payment
Employers can pay employees by cash or check as long as they can cash them at full face value at any financial institution. Direct deposit and electronic paycards may also work as payment methods if the employee agrees.
Each paycheck must come with a pay statement showing the amount of wage deductions.
Employers must pay hourly employees at least semi-monthly on their regular payday. However, they can pay salaried employees monthly.
Final pay
If an employee leaves voluntarily, employers must pay final wages by the next payday. If the employer terminates an employee, they must pay all wages within 24 hours of termination.
Employees who don't receive their final paycheck on time or any other unpaid wages can submit a wage claim with the state.
Other HR and employment requirements in Utah
In addition to employee rights, benefits, and compensation, there are other HR rules you must know if you have employees in the Beehive State.
Required workplace posters
The Utah Labor Commission, the U.S. Department of Labor, and the Utah Antidiscrimination & Labor Division require employers to display certain Utah workplace labor and employment law posters in all physical workplaces.
The required posters include the following:
- Employee rights: Employee Polygraph Protection Act
- Employee rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act
- Employee rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act
- Federal equal employment opportunity
- Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA)
- Workers' compensation notice
- Unemployment insurance notice to workers
- Workplace safety and health in the state of Utah
- Pregnancy and related conditions under the Utah Antidiscrimination Act
Child labor laws in Utah
Minors younger than 16 can't work during school hours, work more than four hours before or after the school day, or work more than eight hours in a 24-hour period. They also can't work before 5 a.m. or after 9:30 p.m. when school is the next day.
Federal law, however, prohibits minors younger than 16 from working before 7 a.m. on any day. It also prohibits minors younger than 16 from working after 7 p.m. from Labor Day to May 31 and from working more than three hours on a school day.
Under Utah law, employers must provide 30-minute meal breaks to minor employees within the first five hours of their workday. They must also allow a 10-minute break for every four hours worked.
Unemployment insurance
Employers in Utah must report each employee’s wages to the state along with their quarterly tax report. Employers must keep accurate records on wages and separation for all employees for at least four years.
This is to allow for better record keeping when a former employee files for unemployment benefits through the state.
Hiring practices
While federal law already makes it illegal to discriminate on the basis of protected classes, Utah further prohibits discrimination in the hiring process for AIDs or HIV history, criminal records, and breastfeeding and related conditions. These additional protections apply to all organizations with 15 or more employees.
Utah requires background checks on any employee who works as a non-licensed school personnel, school contract employees, volunteers, and charter school board members. Outside of education, anyone who is working with children or vulnerable adults, as a manager for a package agency, or works in a specific public transportation role is also required to complete a background check.
Social media protection
Utah's Internet Employment Privacy Act prohibits employers from asking employees or job applicants for social media passwords or usernames.
The law does allow this practice if an employee uses a company device or the employer suspects them of transferring or releasing confidential information. As a best practice, be sure to include this information in your employee handbooks.
Health insurance in Utah
While state law doesn’t require employers to provide health insurance, federal law does. The Affordable Care Act’s employer mandate requires employers with 50 or more full-time equivalent employees (FTEs) to provide affordable insurance with minimum essential coverage (MEC) and minimum value.
Offering health benefits to your employees is a great way to attract and retain top talent.
While traditional group health insurance is a popular option, rising premium costs have made it challenging for small businesses to offer the benefit. Thankfully, there’s a better way to offer health benefits to your employees in Utah.
Health reimbursement arrangement (HRA)
A health reimbursement arrangement (HRA) is an IRS-approved, employer-funded health benefit that allows you to reimburse your employees, tax-free, for their individual health insurance premiums and qualifying medical expenses.
With an HRA, you have complete control over your benefit while giving your employees more freedom to choose how they want to use their benefit.
Some HRAs, such as the individual coverage HRA (ICHRA), can satisfy the federal regulations for applicable large employers (ALEs). Even if you don’t have to offer health benefits, doing so can help you attract and retain employees. If you have fewer than 50 FTEs, the qualified small employer HRA (QSEHRA) is an excellent way to provide benefits without breaking the bank.
Learn more about each HRA
QSEHRA
For employers with 1-49 employees
A simple, controlled-cost alternative to group health insurance.
ICHRA
For employers of all sizes
A flexible health benefit that can be used alone or alongside group health insurance.
GCHRA
For employers offering group health insurance
A group health supplement to help employees with out-of-pocket expenses.
Health stipend
A health stipend is a fixed sum of money offered to your employees to help pay for their healthcare expenses. A health employee stipend isn't a formal group health plan, so you have complete control over which expenses are eligible for reimbursement.
This makes a health stipend an excellent option for small businesses looking to offer a health benefit that covers costs health insurance or HRAs may not cover, such as mental health expenses. But, there are drawbacks. Stipends are taxable, and employees may not see them as a real benefit.
Learn the differences between a health stipend and a health reimbursement arrangement
Frequently asked questions
What are my rights as an employee in Utah?
Utah employees have the right to fair employment practices, pregnancy accommodations, keeping lawfully owned weapons in their vehicles, and workplace health and safety. Employees also have the right to timely paychecks.
How long can an employer not pay you in Utah?
Employers in Utah must pay employees in a timely manner. For hourly employees, employers must pay wages due at least semi-monthly on regular pre-scheduled paydays. Employers must pay salaried employees at least monthly.
Does Utah require employers to give breaks?
Utah doesn't require employers to provide breaks to employees. However, if employees choose to offer breaks, employers must pay for them if they're under 20 minutes. Meal breaks in excess of 20 minutes can be unpaid if employees are free to leave the workplace.
Looking to enhance your benefits package?
Speak with a PeopleKeep HRA specialist who can help you answer questions, and help you select the right health benefits package for your team.