Pay Stub Requirements in Utah

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Coverage has statutory exclusions

Utah Code § 34-28-1 excludes the state and its political subdivisions, specified agricultural, dairy, horticultural, stock, and poultry work, household domestic service, and employment where the employer and employee have an agreement providing different payment terms. The statement rules below apply within the remaining Chapter 28 coverage.

General deduction statement

Under § 34-28-3(4), a wage deduction triggers the general statement. On each regular payday the employer must furnish a statement showing "the total amount of each deduction." The subsection does not add earnings, date, identity, or net-pay fields, and it does not specify paper or electronic format.

Licensed construction employers

A licensed construction-trades employer has a separate, fuller duty under § 34-28-3(5). On the day it pays the employee, it must give a written or electronic statement showing the employee's name, base rate, pay-period dates, hourly hours when applicable, the amount and reason for lawful withholdings, and the total amount paid for the period.

The withholding examples are state and federal income tax, Social Security tax, Medicare tax, and court-ordered withholdings. The construction employer must also comply with subsection (4)'s total-for-each-deduction requirement.

Electronic delivery

Only the construction-specific provision expressly addresses format, allowing a "written or electronic pay statement." It does not state an employee-consent, paper-opt-out, printing, storage, or continuing-access condition. The general deduction-statement subsection does not say whether electronic delivery is sufficient.

Records and retention

Utah Code § 34-28-10 requires hourly or daily time-and-wage records to remain on file at least one year. A licensed construction employer must retain each § 34-28-3(5) pay statement for at least three years after giving it to the employee. The division may inspect those records during business hours; the section does not create a general employee historical-copy procedure.

Enforcement

The Division of Antidiscrimination and Labor must ensure Chapter 28 compliance and investigate alleged violations under § 34-28-9(1). For a violation of the licensed-construction statement rule, subsection (3) sets a $50 first fine, $100 second and third fines, and $500 for the fourth and each later violation within a one-year period.

Utah Code § 34-28-12(1) separately classifies an employer's violation of any Chapter 28 provision as a class B misdemeanor. The cited statement provisions do not create statement-only employee damages, attorney fees, or a cure period.

What trips people up

Utah does not use one field list for every covered employer. A nonconstruction employer with deductions gives the compact subsection (4) statement. A licensed construction employer must satisfy both subsection (5)'s detailed list and subsection (4)'s deduction-total rule.

The three-year retention rule is also construction-specific. For other covered hourly or daily employees, § 34-28-10 states a one-year time-and-wage record period, not a three-year pay-statement-copy requirement.

Common questions

Does every Utah employer have to show hours and a pay rate?

No. Those fields are part of the licensed-construction rule, and hours are required there only for an hourly-paid employee. The general rule requires only the total amount of each deduction when deductions are made.

Is an electronic statement always expressly authorized?

The statute expressly authorizes written or electronic statements for licensed construction employers. It does not specify the format for the general deduction statement.

What does “total amount paid” mean for the construction statement?

That is the statute's phrase. The section separately requires deduction amounts and reasons but does not label the total as a gross-pay or net-pay field.

Statutes and sources

• Utah Code § 34-28-1. Chapter coverage exclusions. Official text (accessed July 14, 2026).
• Utah Code § 34-28-3(4)-(5). General deduction statement and detailed licensed-construction statement. Official text (accessed July 14, 2026).
• Utah Code § 34-28-10. One-year general time-and-wage records, three-year construction statement copies, and division inspection. Official text (accessed July 14, 2026).
• Utah Code § 34-28-9(1), (3). Division enforcement and escalating construction-statement fines. Official text (accessed July 14, 2026).
• Utah Code § 34-28-12(1). Class B misdemeanor classification. Official text (accessed July 14, 2026).