Utah doesn’t have any statewide leave laws guaranteeing employees paid leave. The Beehive State puts employee leave decisions in the hands of individual employers—with two major exceptions. We’ll dig into those below, explain how federal leave functions, and share strategies for implementing your own paid leave policy.
First, though, let’s review what exactly constitutes paid family or medical leave.
What is paid family and medical leave?
Paid family and medical leave (PFML) gives employees weekly payments when they need time off from work for qualifying life events. The most common types of PFML are parental leave, personal medical leave, and caregiving leave, though some PFML programs also provide bereavement leave, safe leave, and military leave.
As of 2026, 16 states (plus the District of Columbia) have enacted their own PFML laws. Every state has a slightly different leave length, payment guarantee, and eligibility requirement, but the goal is the same: financially support employees going through a major life challenge and ease the burden on individual businesses to cover the full cost of paid leave.
Most state programs give employees 12 weeks of leave, with weekly benefit payments equal to roughly 70% of their usual wages.
So far, the states and regions that have passed PFML laws include:
Oregon
Rhode Island
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
Utah only gives paid leave to state employees
Utah isn’t on the list of states with state-mandated PFML programs, but the state is part of the 41 other states that provide paid parental leave to state government workers, including people who work for:
The State Tax Commission
The National Guard
The Board of Pardons and Parole
Utah’s legislative branch
Utah’s judicial branch
Here’s what the law guarantees those employees:
Parental leave: Up to three weeks off to bond with a child after birth
Postpartum recovery leave: Up to six weeks off to recover from childbirth
Adoption leave: Up to six weeks off to bond with a newly adopted child under the age of six
Foster care leave: Up to four weeks off to bond with a child placed in foster care
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) in Utah
Any employer in the United States that has at least 50 employees working within a 75-mile radius is subject to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
If you’re based in Utah and have 50 or more employees working at the same job location, you’re considered a covered employer. If your business isn’t headquartered in Utah, but you have Utah-based employees working at a job site with at least 50 workers, you’re also a covered employer.
FMLA covered employers have to give their employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for one of four reasons:
To bond with a newborn, adopted, or fostered child
To care for a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition
To manage a serious personal health condition
To manage affairs when a spouse, child, or parent is on or called to active duty
Who’s allowed to take leave?
To qualify for FMLA leave, a Utah employee has to:
Work for their employer for at least 12 months, consecutively or non-consecutively
Work at least 1,250 hours in the 12 months before leave begins
Work at a location where the employer has at least 50 employees within 75 miles
What are your responsibilities under FMLA?
In general, complying with FMLA means supporting your employees before, during, and after leave. You’re responsible for educating them on their leave rights, giving them the correct forms to fill out, and granting leaves when employees qualify.
If you don’t adhere to the Department of Labor’s posting and notification requirements, if you discriminate against someone for requesting leave, or if you deny them their rightful leave, you’ll be subject to hefty fines, not to mention potential lawsuits.
Here’s what to do:
1. Follow the notification requirements
There are three steps to this:
Hang an official DOL poster in your workplace that explains what FMLA is and how to qualify.
Give written notice to new hires explaining their rights under FMLA.
Give written notice anytime an employee becomes eligible for FMLA.
2. Issue the correct FMLA notices
Your employees are required to give you 30 days' notice before they take leave, unless there’s an emergency. Once they request leave, you have two key forms to download and fill out:
The Rights and Responsibilities Notice: You need to fill out the employer portion, then give your employee the rest of the form to fill out—within five days of their leave request. The form confirms your employee’s leave eligibility, clarifies when exactly the leave can take place, reiterates the right to job protection and continued health insurance, explains that your employee can use sick/vacation time during FMLA leave, and tells them whether they need to provide official certification (medical or otherwise) for the leave.
The Designation Notice: You have five days to give your employees this form after they return all their leave certification documents to you. The Designation Notice confirms whether or not an employee’s requested leave actually counts as FMLA leave.
3. Uphold employee leave protections
FMLA leave guarantees employees ongoing health insurance during leave and job restoration after leave. So keep paying the employer portion of your employees’ premiums, and make sure to reinstate them in their positions.
4. Keep all leave-related records
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recommends keeping all payroll and personnel records for at least three to four years, including:
Employment contracts
Employee contact information
Employee job classification
Job start date
Timesheets
Payroll receipts
Documentation of employees requesting leave
Copies of all FMLA notices
Copies of leave certification paperwork
Paid leave supports Utah individuals, communities, and businesses
Paid leave functions like a rock-solid building foundation, keeping families, small businesses, and local economies stable when external forces apply pressure. Paid leave has an immediate positive effect on the people who take it, giving them time to nurture themselves and their families without stressing about finances.
But paid leave also has a positive cumulative effect on employers and economies. When families feel like they’re on steady financial ground, they have more resources to support local businesses. And with healthier, more engaged workers and lower employee turnover, businesses are better positioned for profitability and growth. When small businesses thrive, state economies become stronger.
Until Utah gets on board with a statewide PFML program, it’s up to individual employers to provide some form of paid leave. When you create your own paid leave policy, you can either:
Match what Utah state government workers receive (three to six weeks of leave at 100% pay);
Aim for the average across other state PFML programs: 12 weeks of leave with weekly benefit payments equal to 70% of an employee’s usual wages; OR
Offer even more leave, like five or six months at 100% pay.
For advice on building a leave policy that meets your employee and workplace needs, read our Gusto guide.
Learn more about running a business in Utah
Check out these resources, packed full of compliance details and practical advice.
