The rule in Utah
In Utah, hours over 40 in a workweek are paid at 1.5 times your regular rate. There is no general daily limit, so a 12-hour day inside a 36-hour week earns no overtime.
The US Department of Labor's state table adds: “State law excludes employment subject to FLSA.”
What counts toward your regular rate
Overtime is 1.5 times your regular rate of pay: everything you earned for the week at straight time, divided by every hour you worked.
Counts
- Your hourly pay for every hour worked, at each rate you worked
- Non-discretionary bonuses — attendance, production, safety, or any bonus promised in advance
- Commissions
- Shift differentials for nights, weekends or hazardous work
Does not count
- Discretionary bonuses and gifts, where both the fact and the amount were up to the employer
- Expense reimbursements
- Pay for time not worked: vacation, holidays, sick days
A worked example
Common mistakes employers make in Utah
- Telling a worker the state will handle an overtime claim. The Utah Labor Commission says Utah has no overtime law and refers overtime claims to the US Department of Labor.
- Putting kitchen staff in the tip pool. Utah bars dishwashers, chefs, cooks and janitors from a tip pooling arrangement and from being paid the tipped wage.
- Skipping a minor's break. Utah requires a 30-minute meal period within five hours for workers under 18, plus a 10-minute rest break for every three hours worked; adults have no break right.
Other Utah pay rules worth knowing
- Final paycheck if fired: Within 24 hours.
- If you quit: By your next regularly scheduled payday. The date depends on your pay schedule, not on when you left.
- Unused PTO: Utah counts vacation, holiday, sick leave, paid time off, severance and bonuses as wages when an agreement or employer policy provides them. Nothing requires an employer to offer them in the first place.
- Late final pay: The penalty starts only after a written demand: if the employer still has not paid 24 hours after receiving it, your wages continue at the same rate from the date of the demand until payment, for at most 60 days. You must sue within 60 days of separation, and without a written demand there is no penalty at all (Utah Code § 34-28-5(1)(c)).
Utah final paycheck law and deadline calculator →
Utah overtime: common questions
Does my employer have to pay overtime if they didn't approve it?
Yes. Time your employer knew you were working, or allowed you to work, counts as hours worked, whether or not anyone approved it in advance. An employer can discipline you for breaking an overtime policy, but it still has to pay overtime for those hours — in Utah as everywhere else under federal law.
Does my bonus change my overtime rate?
Yes, if the bonus is non-discretionary — promised for attendance, production, safety or hitting a target. It is added to your straight-time pay and divided by all the hours you worked, and your overtime is 1.5 times that higher rate. Discretionary gifts, expense reimbursements and paid time off are left out.
Does Utah have its own overtime law?
Only for jobs federal law does not reach. The Utah wage law excludes employment covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act, and the FLSA covers most employers — any business with $500,000 or more in annual sales, plus hospitals, schools and government agencies. For those jobs the federal rule applies: time and a half after 40 hours.
What is a workweek, and can my employer change it?
A workweek is a fixed, recurring block of seven consecutive 24-hour days, and it can start on any day and at any hour. Overtime is counted per workweek, never averaged across two, even when you are paid every two weeks. Your employer can change the start day, but only permanently and not to avoid paying overtime.
If you think you were underpaid
- Keep your own record of the hours you worked — the time card calculator totals them and exports a CSV — plus photos of the posted schedule and messages about shifts.
- Ask your employer in writing to correct the pay. Email beats a conversation because it creates a dated record.
- File a wage claim — File a wage claim with the Utah Labor Commission's Antidiscrimination and Labor Division for amounts between $50 and $10,000. Filing there means you cannot also sue in court over the same wages. It is free, and you do not need a lawyer.
- Federal overtime claims must generally be brought within 2 years of the underpayment, or 3 years if the violation was willful.
Spotted something wrong? Report an error.
Other states that also follow the 40-hour weekly rule with nothing added: Alabama, Arizona and Delaware.
Work across a state line? Colorado overtime rules and Idaho overtime rules.