New hiring laws in Utah for 2027: employer-paid medical exams, health care and veterinary non-compete bans, shift platforms and what staffing agencies should check

As of November 2026, the Utah laws that change hiring in 2026 and 2027 come mostly from the 2026 General Session, whose bills took effect May 6, 2026: HB 130 makes employers pay for every medical examination they require of an applicant or employee, drug tests included, with no pay-and-reimburse; HB 270 voids new non-competes with licensed health care workers; and SB 111 voids new non-competes, nonsolicitation agreements and some nondisclosure clauses with veterinarians who own less than 5% of the business. A 2025 law has also required health care shift apps to register with the state since January 1, 2026, and the construction trades licensing act is restructured from January 1, 2027.

Utah passed no pay transparency, salary history, AI hiring or new E-Verify rule in 2026. Each item below is linked to the enrolled bill on the Legislature's site. The standing checklist (Department of Workforce Services account, withholding license, new-hire reporting) is in our Utah hiring hub; this page is the dated list of what is new.

Which Utah hiring laws changed in 2026, and what changes in 2027?

Utah statutes and the federal rules that apply to Utah employers, sorted by date.

Who pays for pre-employment physicals and drug tests in Utah?

The employer, always. Utah has long barred charging applicants for physicals, but HB 130 (Laws of Utah 2026, chapter 300) rewrites the chapter and closes the workarounds. New Utah Code 34-33-101 defines "employer" by reference to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and adds that it "includes a prospective employer." A "medical examination" is "a physical examination an employer requires as a condition of pre-employment, employment, or continued employment," and it "includes drug testing." Under 34-33-102, an employer may not:

• charge an individual a fee for a medical examination;
• require one "unless the employer pays the costs the health care provider charges the individual";
• require an employee to take a required exam outside their shift without pay, or use leave for it; or
• require the individual to pay "even if the employer reimburses the individual."

The Division of Antidiscrimination and Labor investigates. An individual has one year from paying to file a claim; if it is valid, the employer reimburses the fee and the provider's charge, and the division may add a penalty of up to 5% a day for up to 20 days, half of which goes to the individual. A violation is also a class B misdemeanor. The practical fix is billing: set up a direct-bill account with your clinic and drug testing lab so candidates never pay at the counter, and schedule exams for current staff during paid time. Drug testing policy rules are in Utah drug testing laws, and the federal limits on when an exam may be required are in pre-employment medical exams under the ADA.

Which Utah non-competes are void from May 6, 2026?

Two groups of new agreements. HB 270 (chapter 341) amends Utah Code 34-51-201 so that "on or after May 6, 2026, a person and a healthcare worker may not enter into a healthcare non-compete agreement," and one that does is void. The covered list is long: physicians, physician assistants, advanced practice registered nurses, registered and practical nurses, dentists, optometrists, physical therapists, psychologists, social workers, mental health and substance use disorder counselors, behavior analysts, respiratory care and radiology practitioners, massage therapists and more, but only where the job uses the license. A new section, 34-51-203, voids a nonsolicitation agreement that stops a health care worker telling a patient their current or future place of employment.

SB 111 (chapter 66) bars new veterinarian non-competes unless the veterinarian "has at least a 5% ownership interest in the person's business," voids clauses in them that send disputes to a forum outside Utah, and from the same date bars any nonsolicitation agreement with a veterinarian and any nondisclosure clause that stops a veterinarian discussing "the individual's experience working for or with the person." Agreements signed before May 6, 2026 still fall under the one-year cap. When screening, ask the date the candidate signed and, for veterinarians, whether they own part of the practice; the full test is in Utah non-compete law.

What do health care staffing apps have to do in Utah?

Register. SB 228 of 2025 says "beginning January 1, 2026, no person shall operate a health care services platform in the state without a valid registration." A platform is an app or system through which a health care worker accepts a shift at a health care facility as an independent contractor. As amended by SB 89, now Utah Code 58-90-101, a platform must keep records showing that, for each shift, the worker meets licensing, training and continuing education standards and "has completed and passed applicable background checks," and that the platform carries liability insurance. It may not require a non-compete, take a fee when a worker accepts a job with a facility, or stop workers using other platforms. Since May 6, 2026, physicians and advanced practice providers are outside these rules. Traditional agencies that employ clinicians on W-2 are not platforms under the definition; see our Utah staffing agency guide.

What changed in Utah occupational licensing?

• CPAs. SB 15 of 2025, effective January 1, 2026, drops the requirement of "150 semester hours or 225 quarter hours" of college credit. An applicant now needs a bachelor's degree with an accounting and business concentration and two years of accounting experience, or a master's degree and one year, plus the examinations, and a CPA licensed in another state may practice in Utah under conditions. Accounting candidates with a four-year degree and two years' experience can now qualify.
• Military experience. SB 90 requires the Division of Professional Licensing, with the Department of Veterans and Military Affairs, to publish when military skills, credentials and training are substantially equivalent to licensing requirements and to accept them when granting a license.
• Construction trades. HB 40, effective January 1, 2027, restructures the licensing requirements in the Utah Construction Trades Licensing Act and moves alarm company and alarm agent licensing into a new chapter. Check license classifications on job ads for alarm installers and trades roles before January.

What else changed for Utah employers?

• Income tax. SB 60 lowers the individual rate to 4.45%, with "retrospective operation for a taxable year beginning on or after January 1," 2026. Make sure your payroll provider has applied the Tax Commission's current withholding figures.
• Public employer drug tests. HB 246 lets local governments and state institutions of higher education require oral fluid samples, collected under instructions prepared by an independent entity.

What did not change in Utah?

• No pay range or salary history law; see the Utah pay transparency guide and Utah salary history page.
• Criminal history. No ban-the-box rule for most private employers; see Utah ban-the-box and Utah background check laws. With the EEOC guidance rescinded, a job-related review using the Green factors from the 1975 Eighth Circuit case (the nature and gravity of the offense, the time since it and the nature of the job) is still a sound way to decide and document.
• E-Verify still applies to private employers with 150 or more employees; see E-Verify requirements in Utah.
• AI in hiring. The 2026 AI bills, HB 320 on the Office of Artificial Intelligence Policy and HB 276 on counterfeit intimate images and content provenance from January 1, 2027, do not regulate hiring decisions. The on-request disclosure duty is explained in Utah's AI disclosure duty in hiring.
• Recording interviews still needs one party's consent; see Utah recording consent for interviews.

What should Utah employers do before January 1, 2027?

1. Move every pre-employment exam and drug test to direct billing, and pay staff for required exams during working time.
2. Remove non-compete and nonsolicitation clauses from offer templates for licensed clinical roles and for veterinarians who will own less than 5%, and keep the signing date of each candidate's past agreements.
3. Check Form I-9 versions: paper forms should be the 01/20/25 edition or the 08/01/23 printing that expires 05/31/2027, and electronic systems should show the 05/31/2027 version.
4. Review reverification dates for employees on EADs in the affected categories.
5. Update criminal history procedures so they no longer cite the 2012 EEOC guidance and record a job-related reason for each decision.
6. Review construction job ads against the HB 40 license structure that starts January 1, 2027.

What does this mean for staffing agencies in Utah?

HB 130 reaches agencies directly, because it covers prospective employers: an agency that requires a drug screen or physical before an assignment must pay the clinic itself, and cannot pass the cost to the worker or deduct it later. Health care agencies that place nurses, therapists or physician assistants should strip non-competes from their own worker agreements signed from May 6, 2026, and any agency running an app-based shift marketplace for independent contractors needs the state registration. The federal I-9 and EAD changes apply to every temporary worker an agency employs. Other states' 2027 changes, for staff you place outside Utah, are in new hiring laws for 2027, and employer of record rules are in employer of record in Utah.