Utah — Leave Laws

Utah law does not require private-sector employers to provide paid or unpaid family or medical leave. The state's sole statutory leave entitlement, Utah Code § 63A-17-511, provides paid parental leave and paid postpartum recovery leave exclusively to eligible state government employees; that statute expressly limits coverage to employees in positions that receive state retirement benefits and accrue paid leave under state employment rules. Private employers and their employees have no parallel entitlement under Utah law.

Source: Utah Code § 63A-17-511

Utah Code § 34A-5-106(1)(g) requires employers with 15 or more employees to provide reasonable accommodations for pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and related conditions unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the employer's operations. Reasonable accommodations may include leave when medically advisable, though the statute does not mandate leave if another reasonable accommodation can be provided. The employer may require certification from the employee's health care provider for accommodations other than more frequent restroom, food, or water breaks. Employers must provide written notice of these rights either in a conspicuous place at the worksite or in an employee handbook.

Source: Utah Code § 34A-5-106

Utah Code § 78B-1-116 prohibits employers from depriving an employee of employment, threatening or taking any adverse employment action, or otherwise coercing the employee regarding employment because the employee receives a summons, responds to it, serves as a juror or grand juror, or attends court for prospective jury or grand jury service. The statute applies to all employers in Utah with no minimum-employee threshold; it covers all phases of jury service from receiving a summons through actual service.

Prohibition on requiring paid time off. Under § 78B-1-116(2), an employee may not be required or requested to use annual, vacation, or sick leave for time spent responding to a summons for jury duty, time spent participating in the jury selection process, or for time spent actually serving on a jury. The prohibition bars employers from mandating or requesting the use of accrued leave; it does not address whether an employee may voluntarily elect to use accrued leave. The provision does not require employers to provide paid leave to employees who are not otherwise entitled to those benefits under company policies. Employers are not required to pay wages during jury duty unless their own policies provide for such payment.

Criminal penalties under § 78B-1-116(3). Any employer who violates the statute is guilty of criminal contempt and upon conviction may be fined not more than $500 or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.

Civil remedies under § 78B-1-116(4). If an employer discharges an employee in violation of the statute, the employee within 30 days of the discharge may bring a civil action for recovery of wages lost as a result of the violation and for an order requiring the reinstatement of the employee. Damages recoverable may not exceed lost wages for six weeks. If the employee prevails, the employee is allowed reasonable attorney fees fixed by the court.

The statute establishes clear protections at all stages of jury service, from the initial summons through selection and actual service, and provides both criminal and civil enforcement mechanisms to ensure compliance. Employers may not penalize employees for civic participation in the jury system, but they are also not required to provide paid leave beyond what their existing policies already grant.

Source: Utah Code § 78B-1-116

Local education agencies (LEAs)—including school districts and charter schools—must develop paid leave policies to provide parental leave, postpartum recovery leave, adoption leave, and foster leave for eligible employees, under Utah Code § 53G‑11‑209, as amended effective July 1, 2026.

Material 2026 statutory change Effective July 1, 2026, LEAs are required to offer not just parental leave and postpartum recovery leave, but also paid adoption leave and paid foster leave. These additions constitute a substantive expansion over prior law. The “qualified employee” definition in the statute now covers four categories:

• Parental leave eligible employee: one who accrues paid leave and is a birth parent, a legal guardian, a legal parent through a gestational agreement, or legally adopting a minor (unless the employee’s spouse is already a parent).
• Postpartum recovery leave eligible employee: one who accrues paid leave and gives birth to a child.
• Adoption leave eligible employee: one who accrues paid leave and legally adopts a minor.
• Foster leave eligible employee: one who accrues paid leave and becomes a foster parent under a state agency or court order.

A "qualified employee" for purposes of § 53G-11-209 is any employee who fits one or more of these eligibility categories.

Policy impact on LEAs

• Beginning July 1, 2026, each LEA must develop policies allowing eligible employees to use paid parental, postpartum recovery, adoption, and foster leave “in a manner that is not more restrictive than the leave available to state employees under Section 63A‑17‑511.”
• LEAs must provide written notice to employees about the availability of each leave type; adoption and foster leave eligibility must be highlighted along with parental and postpartum recovery leave.
• LEAs may not retaliate against employees for taking these leaves, and cannot deduct such leave from other paid leave balances.
• LEAs may, but are not required to, permit leave-sharing among employees for all four types of leave.
• Part-time employees are entitled to prorated benefits.
• LEAs retain discretion to be more generous than the statutory minimum.

Summary of statutory structure Utah Code § 53G‑11‑209 now establishes a uniform baseline for parental, postpartum, adoption, and foster leave across all LEAs, mirroring (at minimum) the benefits state employees receive, with statutory anti-retaliation, notice, proration, and permissive leave-sharing.

Source: Utah Code § 53G‑11‑209 (effective 7/1/2026)

Utah Code § 20A‑3a‑105 entitles eligible employees in Utah to up to two hours of paid leave on election day in order to vote. This guarantee applies to all employers, public and private, in the state.

Eligibility threshold: The right to paid voting leave does not apply if the employee has three or more consecutive hours when they are not on duty during the time polls are open. In other words, if an employee's shift schedule already provides at least a three-hour consecutive window outside of work while the polls are open, the employer has no obligation to provide paid leave for voting. If the employee does not have such a window, the statutory leave applies.

Duration of leave: The maximum leave is two hours of paid time off during the period when the polls are open. The employer may specify what hours the employee may be absent, unless the employee requests the leave at the beginning or end of their shift—in that case, the employer must allow that timing.

Advance notice required: The employee must apply for voting leave before election day. The statute does not require any particular form, but the request must precede the day of the election.

Wage and penalty: Employers are prohibited from deducting pay or otherwise penalizing employees for using voting leave. Willful refusal to grant this leave, or taking an adverse employment action against an employee for exercising this right, is a Class B misdemeanor under Utah law.

Statutory structure: This voting leave applies specifically to election day and does not reference early voting or absentee voting accommodations; its applicability is measured by in-person election day voting hours.

Source: Utah Code § 20A‑3a‑105 Source: Utah Code § 20A‑1‑607

Utah Code § 63A‑17‑511.5 (effective January 1, 2025) creates a paid safe-leave benefit exclusively for state employees (defined expansively across executive, legislative, and judicial branches, but excluding higher-education institutions, the State Board of Education, independent entities, and specified offices). “Qualified employees” are those who:

• hold a position that participates in the Utah State Retirement and Insurance Benefit Act (Title 49),
• accrue paid leave usable in current and future years,
• are not reemployed retirees,
• and either they or an immediate family member (parent, spouse, child, sibling, or declared tax dependent) is the victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or human trafficking.

State employers must allow a qualified employee to use up to one work-week of paid safe leave per calendar year, for purposes including:

• seeking services from domestic-violence shelters or rape-crisis centers,
• relocating,
• interacting with law enforcement or attorneys,
• attending court,
• obtaining medical or psychological care,
• enrolling a child in school,
• or taking any other action necessary to restore the qualified employee’s or their family member’s health or safety.

The statute provides that safe leave:

• cannot be used until all accrued annual, compensatory, and excess leave have been exhausted;
• runs concurrently with FMLA leave, if applicable;
• does not accrue year to year, and multiple qualifying events in one year do not increase the available week;
• may be used intermittently;
• must be used within two years after the qualifying event (barring use in connection with criminal proceedings).

The Utah Administrative Code R477-7-21 implements the program by further specifying: the one work-week maximum, hourly calculation based on expected weekly hours, mandatory exhaustion of other leave, prohibition on charging against accrued leave, notice of seven days or as soon as practicable, and anti-retaliation protections.

This benefit does not apply to private-sector employees in Utah. There is no equivalent paid safe-leave mandate for private employers.

Source: Utah Code § 63A‑17‑511.5 Source: Utah Admin. Code R477‑7‑21

Utah Code § 78B‑1‑132, effective July 1, 2024, prohibits employers from taking adverse employment actions—including discharging, threatening, or coercing an employee—because the employee attends a deposition or hearing in response to a subpoena. This applies even if the employee is not a party but simply subpoenaed as a witness.

Violations and remedies:

• Criminal contempt: An employer who violates this section is guilty of criminal contempt. Upon conviction, the employer may be fined up to $500, imprisoned for up to six months, or both (subsection (2)).
• Civil action by employee: The subpoenaed employee may bring a civil action to recover:
• Lost wages resulting from the violation (maximum six weeks’ wages),
• Reinstatement to former position,
• Reasonable attorney’s fees if successful (subsection (3)(a)–(c)).

These remedies are in addition to any rights the employee may have under other statutes or common law. The law gives clear protection to employees responding to lawful subpoenas, regardless of whether they are a party or a witness.

Source: Utah Code § 78B‑1‑132