Utah pay transparency law: no range rule after SB 179 failed, with Colorado and Nevada next door (2026)

Utah has no law that requires employers to put a pay range in job postings, as of October 2026, and no law that bars private employers from asking about salary history. The Legislature had a chance at both: Senate Bill 179 in 2026 would have required pay ranges and benefits in job listings, and House Bill 180 in 2025 would have stopped state executive branch agencies from asking about past pay. Neither passed. What applies instead is the Utah Antidiscrimination Act's ban on pay discrimination, the federal Equal Pay Act and Title VII, the federal right to discuss pay, and the laws of Colorado and Nevada when a job reaches into those states.

Does Utah require a salary range in job postings?

No. Nothing in the Utah Code tells an employer what a job listing must say about pay, and there is no on-request or after-interview disclosure duty either. A Salt Lake City or Provo employer can post without a range and ask what a candidate earns now, as far as state law goes. The rest of Utah's hiring rules are in our guide to hiring employees in Utah.

What would Senate Bill 179 have required?

SB 179, "Wage Amendments," sponsored by Senator Nate Blouin, combined a posting rule with a minimum wage increase. Its introduced text defined an employer as "a person that employs at least 15 individuals in the state" and required that, for each position advertised in a job listing, the employer disclose:

• the projected minimum wages;
• the projected maximum wages; and
• each benefit that an employee may receive in the position.

The same bill would have raised Utah's minimum wage to $20 an hour with annual inflation adjustments, which made it a much larger fight than a posting rule alone. The Legislature's record shows it referred to the Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee on January 28, 2026, returned to the Rules Committee on March 3, and moved to the Senate file for bills not passed on March 6, 2026, at the end of the General Session. A future posting bill without the wage increase would be a different proposal; we found no stand-alone pay range bill in the 2025 or 2026 bill lists.

What about salary history questions?

Private employers may ask under Utah law. The one recent bill on the subject was aimed at the state itself. HB 180, "Employee Compensation Amendments," sponsored by Representative Gay Lynn Bennion with Senator Todd Weiler as Senate sponsor, would have required executive branch pay to be based on "the relative ability, knowledge, and skills" of an employee and said an executive branch employer "may not inquire regarding an employee's or prospective employee's current or previous compensation." It was held in the House Government Operations Committee on February 14, 2025, returned to Rules, and filed with the bills not passed on March 7, 2025.

Recruiters who also fill roles in Colorado, Nevada or other states that restrict the question usually drop it everywhere and ask about expectations; see salary expectation questions and salary history ban states.

What Utah law covers pay discrimination?

The Utah Antidiscrimination Act. Utah Code 34A-5-106(1)(a) makes it a discriminatory or prohibited employment practice for an employer to "discriminate in matters of compensation" against an otherwise qualified person because of race, color, sex, pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions, age (40 or older), religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity. Under 34A-5-102, an employer is the state, a political subdivision and its agencies, or "a person employing 15 or more employees within the state for each working day in each of 20 calendar weeks or more in the current or preceding calendar year," with religious organizations excluded.

Small Utah employers below that threshold still answer to the federal Equal Pay Act, which, according to the EEOC's equal pay page, covers virtually all employers and requires equal pay for jobs that are "substantially equal." Title VII and the ADA add pay discrimination claims at 15 or more employees.

Which other federal rules apply?

• Pay discussions. The NLRB lists "talking with one or more co-workers about your wages and benefits" as protected concerted activity, which covers most private-sector employees in Utah.
• Federal contractors. The OFCCP pay transparency provision, 41 CFR 60-1.35, is not in force. Executive Order 14173 revoked Executive Order 11246, which it depended on, on January 21, 2025, and the Department of Labor's final rule rescinded the order's regulations, including 60-1.35, effective October 26, 2026 (91 FR 54444). See job posting requirements for federal contractors.

When do Colorado or Nevada rules reach a Utah job?

Colorado's rules on remote roles open to Colorado residents, and its limited relief for out-of-state employers with only a few remote Colorado workers, are explained in the Colorado guide; Nevada's timing rule is in the Nevada guide. For roles open to candidates in many states, see pay transparency for remote jobs.

What should recruiters and staffing agencies hiring in Utah do?

1. Ask where the hire can live. If a Utah role is posted as remote and Colorado residents can apply, check it against Colorado's rules before it goes live.
2. Keep a range and benefits summary ready for every req. Nevada requires the range by the end of the first interview, and candidates elsewhere ask early; see how to set salary ranges for job postings.
3. Add an application close date to any posting that could reach Colorado.
4. Agencies: get the client's range in writing before posting multistate roles. Utah agency rules are in staffing agency license in Utah; pay posting duties for agencies are in pay transparency for staffing agencies.
5. Write down the reason for each offer and keep pay-secrecy rules out of handbooks.

Example only: a Lehi software company posts "Senior data engineer, remote (US), $135,000 to $160,000, medical, dental, 401(k) match, applications close November 30." Utah does not require any of it, but the same ad then satisfies Colorado's three items if a Denver candidate applies.

Utah pay rules at a glance

A Utah posting checklist

UTAH POSTING CHECKLIST (as of October 2026)

[ ] Can Colorado residents apply, or do you employ anyone in Colorado?
    Pay or range + benefits + application close date
[ ] Job in Nevada? Range or rate ready for every interviewed applicant
[ ] Remote role: check each state the ad is open to
[ ] Utah-only role: range optional; have one ready
[ ] Multistate screen asks about expectations, not current pay
[ ] Offer reason written down; no pay-secrecy rule
[ ] Agency: client's range and benefits received in writing