Many Utah employers have to answer this critical question: What is considered full-time in Utah? You must fully understand salary laws in Utah to stay within the confines of the law and ensure you’re giving your employees the benefits they deserve.
Remember, full-time employment will interact with various employment issues, including rest breaks, benefits, and more. It can also have a significant impact on how your HR runs.
This being said, how do Utah salary laws impact your business? How many hours is full-time in Utah, and how many hours is part-time in Utah? Let’s break it down.
How many hours is full-time in Utah, and what does this mean?
Full-time differs from state to state, but Utah does have some relatively easy-to-understand laws that dictate what full-time means.
30 hours a week: In most circumstances, full-time employees have to work 30 hours a week in Utah. This means that 30 hours are worked in the state over seven days. However, in some circumstances, 40 hours may be necessary for full-time employment. This impacts a variety of essential calculations, such as annualized salary.
Breaks, minimum wage, and more: Federal and state laws require employers to offer breaks and meal periods during specific periods. Employees must be provided a meal break if they work a certain amount of hours. The specifics depend on the employee's age and the job they are engaged in.
Benefits: Full-time employers must be given specific benefits, such as health insurance, per federal law.
What other state laws should I pay attention to?
There are many laws that you need to know when it comes to hiring and firing employees in the state of Utah. Some of these include:
Protection against discrimination: Utah is an at-will state, meaning you can fire people for performance issues. However, in line with federal and state laws, you cannot fire someone for being a member of certain protected classes, including national origin, race, gender, and others. Sexual orientation is not yet a protected class.
Minimum wage: The Utah & Federal minimum wage and tipped wage are the same: $7.25 and $2.13. You are required to pay employees this amount.
Family & Medical Leave: Utah law does require a limited amount of family & medical leave. However, this is only available for full-time employees who have worked 1,250 hours in the past 12 months. It is also only offered in limited circumstances.
How can I protect my business from other claims or questions regarding Utah salary laws?
If you want to be a proactive business, you have to make sure that you understand how to protect yourself from potential legal issues when it comes to employment laws. Ways you can do that include the following:
Have written records: Make sure you keep written records of attendance to track a full-time employee's status.
Seek appropriate legal advice: Employment law is too important to guess. Seek the advice of attorneys or HR experts to ensure you comply with all Utah labor laws, like overtime, gender identity protections, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and any other laws that may require employers to give employees certain benefits.
Pay attention to updates: HR and employment laws are constantly changing. As an employer, your job is to pay attention to the constantly evolving field and ensure that you are acting in compliance with federal and state law.
Looking for more HR tips, tricks, and templates?
At Teamworks Group, we help companies all across the country with white-glove HR support that simplifies HR processes. If you need more HR tips, tricks, and templates, check out our full resource center. Or, contact us today for more information on our HR software services.
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