Why Utah’s Minimum Wage Is Still $7.25 an Hour

The minimum wage in Utah is $7.25 per hour, the same as the federal rate. State law caps Utah’s wage at whatever Congress sets as the federal floor, and it also blocks every city and county from going higher. Because Congress has not raised the federal minimum since July 24, 2009, Utah’s rate has not moved in over sixteen years.¹

Who Gets the $7.25 Rate

Nearly every non-exempt worker in Utah is entitled to at least $7.25 per hour. Workers covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act get that rate under federal law directly.² Workers who fall outside the FLSA are covered by Utah’s own minimum wage, which the Utah Labor Commission has set at the same $7.25 by administrative rule.³ For most jobs, the practical answer is the same number either way.

A handful of categories sit outside the state minimum wage entirely under Utah Code § 34-40-104. The list includes outside salespeople, employees who are part of the employer’s immediate family, companionship workers caring for people who cannot care for themselves, certain agricultural workers, apprentices and students employed by the school where they are enrolled, prisoners, federal employees, and seasonal workers for nonprofit camps and religious or charitable programs.⁴ If your job falls in one of those buckets, the $7.25 floor may not apply to you.

Why the Rate Is Stuck

Utah Code § 34-40-103 is the statute that sets the framework. It gives the Utah Labor Commission authority to adjust the state’s minimum wage by rule, but builds in a hard ceiling: the commission-set rate “may not exceed the federal minimum wage.” The commission has to review the rate at least every three years and whenever the federal rate changes, but it has no power to go above whatever Congress has established.⁵

So unless Congress raises the federal minimum, Utah’s number stays where it is. The Utah Legislature would have to amend the statute itself to allow a higher state rate. Proposals have been introduced, including a bill to raise the state minimum to $20 per hour, but none have passed.

Local governments cannot step in to fill the gap. Utah Code § 34-40-106 forbids cities, towns, and counties from setting any minimum wage above the federal rate. The same section bars them from requiring contractors they hire to pay above the federal minimum (unless federal funding carries its own wage rules), and it bars them from giving preference in contracting to businesses that voluntarily pay more. The preemption also reaches special districts and other entities created by local governments.⁶ Salt Lake City cannot pass a $15 minimum. Park City cannot either. The route some other states’ cities have used to raise pay locally is closed in Utah.

Tipped Workers

If you earn tips, your employer can pay a direct cash wage as low as $2.13 per hour and take a tip credit of up to $5.12 per hour against the $7.25 minimum.⁷ Your tips plus your cash wage still have to add up to at least the full $7.25 for every hour you worked that week. If they don’t, your employer must make up the difference.⁴

You keep all of your tips, with one exception: a valid tip pool shared among other tipped employees. Before taking a tip credit at all, the employer has to tell you the cash wage being paid, the amount being claimed as a tip credit, and that you have the right to keep your tips. If the employer doesn’t give you that notice, it loses the right to use the tip credit and owes you the full $7.25 in cash wages.⁷

Workers Under 20

Workers under the age of 20 can be paid as little as $4.25 per hour for their first 90 consecutive calendar days with a new employer.⁸ The 90 days are calendar days, not days worked, and the clock starts on the first day of employment. Once the 90 days end, or once the worker turns 20, the full $7.25 kicks in. Utah’s administrative rule follows this federal provision.³

Overtime

Utah has no state overtime law. The federal FLSA controls. If you are non-exempt, every hour you work beyond 40 in a single workweek must be paid at one and a half times your regular rate.⁹ A workweek is a fixed, recurring stretch of 168 hours — seven consecutive 24-hour days. For workers 16 and older, there is no cap on how many hours you can be scheduled; the law just requires time-and-a-half above 40.

Salaried employees can be exempt from overtime if they meet certain duties tests and earn at least $684 per week, which works out to $35,568 per year. Highly compensated employees earning at least $107,432 per year may also be exempt if they perform at least one executive, administrative, or professional duty.¹⁰

Federal Contract Work Pays More

If you work on certain federal government contracts in Utah, your minimum wage is higher than $7.25. Executive Order 13658 sets a minimum of $13.65 per hour (effective May 11, 2026) for employees on covered federal contracts awarded between January 1, 2015, and January 29, 2022, that have not been renewed or extended since. Tipped employees on those contracts must receive a cash wage of at least $9.55 per hour.¹¹ A separate order, Executive Order 14026, covers federal contracts entered into or renewed on or after January 30, 2022, and generally requires a higher rate that adjusts annually for inflation. These contractor rates override Utah’s $7.25 floor for eligible workers.

If You’ve Been Paid Less Than $7.25

Underpayment is enforced through two channels: the Utah Labor Commission, and the courts.

The Labor Commission can assess a daily penalty of 5% of the unpaid wages, running until the employer pays, up to a maximum of 20 days. Half of that penalty goes to you.¹² If you’ve left a job and the employer hasn’t paid what you’re owed within 24 hours of a written demand, your wages keep accruing at your regular rate as a penalty, for up to 60 days. The written demand is a prerequisite, and you have to file a civil action to collect that penalty within 60 days of separation. If you sue privately for unpaid wages, you can recover the wages owed plus a daily penalty of 2.5% of that amount, running from the date of the court’s order until the employer pays, capped at 20 days after the order.¹³

Filing a Wage Claim With the Labor Commission

To file a claim with the Labor Commission’s Antidiscrimination and Labor Division, download the intake questionnaire from the division’s website. You’ll need a copy of a pay stub or W-2 (or an explanation of why you were never given one) and the dates you performed the unpaid work. Submit the form by email to wcu@utah.gov, in person, by fax, or by mail. Once the division confirms it has jurisdiction, it sends your claim to your employer, asks for a response, and starts investigating. If the form is missing key information, the division will reject it but give you 14 days to resubmit.¹⁴

Two deadlines and one ceiling matter. The claim has to be filed within one year of the date the wages were earned.¹³ The division’s administrative process cannot order payment of more than $10,000; if your claim is larger, you’ll need to pursue it in court.¹⁴

1
U.S. Department of Labor. History of Changes to the Minimum Wage Law
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 U.S. Code 206 – Minimum Wage
3
Cornell Law School. Utah Admin Code R610-1-3 – Coverage
4
Utah Legislature. Utah Code Section 34-40-104
5
Utah Legislature. Utah Code Section 34-40-103
6
Utah Legislature. Utah Code Title 34 Chapter 40 Utah Minimum Wage Act
7
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #15 Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act
8
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #32 Youth Minimum Wage – Fair Labor Standards Act
9
U.S. Department of Labor. Overtime Pay
10
U.S. Department of Labor. Earnings Thresholds for the Executive, Administrative, and Professional Exemption
11
Federal Register. Minimum Wage for Federal Contracts Covered by Executive Order 13658, Notice of Rate Change in Effect
12
Utah Legislature. 2025 Utah Code Title 34 Chapter 28 Section 9 – Enforcement of Chapter — Rulemaking Authority
13
Utah Legislature. Utah Code Chapter 28 Payment of Wages
14
Utah Labor Commission. Instructions to File a Wage Claim With the Antidiscrimination and Labor Division