{"data":{"id":"us-ut/utah-code-34-28-9.5","jurisdiction":"us-ut","citation":"Utah Code § 34-28-9.5","heading":"Private cause of action.","body":"(1) Except as provided in Subsection (2), for a wage claim that is less than or equal to $10,000, the employee shall exhaust the employee's administrative remedies described in Section 34-28-9 and rules made by the commission under Section 34-28-9 before the employee may file an action in a court with jurisdiction under Title 78A, Judiciary and Judicial Administration.\n(2) An employee may file an action for a wage claim in a court without exhausting the administrative remedies described in Section 34-28-9 and rules made by the commission under Section 34-28-9 if:\n(a) the employee's wage claim is over $10,000;\n(b)\n(i) the employee's wage claim is less than or equal to $10,000;\n(ii) the employee asserts one or more additional claims against the same employer; and\n(iii) the aggregate amount of damages resulting from the claims described in this Subsection (2)(b) is greater than $10,000; or\n(c)\n(i) in the same civil action, more than one employee files a wage claim against an employer; and\n(ii) the aggregate amount of the employees' combined wage claim is greater than $10,000.\n(3) In an action under this section, the court may award an employee:\n(a) actual damages;\n(b) an amount equal to 2.5% of the unpaid wages owed to the employee, assessed daily for the lesser of:\n(i) the period beginning the day on which the court issues a final order and ending the day on which the employer pays the unpaid wages owed to the employee; or\n(ii) 20 days after the day on which the court issues a final order; and\n(c) a penalty described in Subsection 34-28-5(1)(c), if applicable.","path":["Title 34 Labor in General","Chapter 34-28 Payment of Wages"],"source_url":"https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title34/Chapter28/34-28-S9.5.html","current_through":"2026 General Session","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-03T11:34:33Z","sha256":"45c4bad4940c1a11ca60c81796baaf84b4742c549d5ee828ea043b1478afdeae","source_id":"us-ut","stale":false,"prev":"us-ut/utah-code-34-28-9","next":"us-ut/utah-code-34-28-10"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}