2020 Utah Tipped Minimum Wage
The 2020 Utah Tipped Minimum Wage is $2.13.
Effective 2020-01-01Source: Wage Claim (Utah Labor Commission, Utah Antidiscrimination and Labor Division)Verified 2026-09-01
Compared with 2019
Every figure on this page is unchanged from 2019.
| Item | 2019 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum cash wage | $2.13 | $2.13 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
Who it applies to
Employers of tipped employees in Utah
What changed this year, and why
Utah's minimum cash wage for tipped employees in 2020
Common questions
- What was the tipped minimum wage in Utah for 2020?
- In 2020, the tipped minimum cash wage in Utah was $2.13 per hour. This is the minimum cash wage an employer may pay a tipped employee, as long as the employee's tips bring total earnings to at least the full minimum wage.
- Can an employer pay less than $2.13 per hour to a tipped employee?
- No. An employer must pay at least $2.13 per hour in cash wages, but if that amount plus tips received does not equal the full minimum wage for the hours worked, the employer must make up the difference.
Who counts as a tipped employee
In Utah, you qualify as a tipped employee when you work in a job where you regularly receive more than $30 per month in tips. This $30 threshold is the federal benchmark used to decide whether your position is tip-based. If your tips typically reach that level month after month, your employer in Utah may pay you the federal minimum cash wage of $2.13 per hour instead of the full minimum wage, counting your tips toward the rest of what you are owed. Workers in restaurants, bars, hotels, and similar service roles commonly meet this definition. If your tips average less than $30 per month, your employer must pay you the full minimum wage directly. Utah follows the federal standard here because the state has not set its own separate tipped-employee definition, so the $30-a-month rule from the Fair Labor Standards Act is what determines your classification in Utah.
Employees receiving tips of at least $30.00 per month may be paid a cash wage of $2.13 per hour, if the total of the cash wage and the tips total at least $7.25 per hour.
Wage Claim (Utah Labor Commission, Utah Antidiscrimination and Labor Division)
What a tip credit is, and the cash wage underneath it
In Utah, your employer can pay you a direct cash wage of $2.13 per hour if you receive tips, but this is only allowed as long as your tips plus that base wage together reach at least the standard minimum wage. This arrangement is called a tip credit. The tip credit represents the gap between the $2.13 cash wage your employer pays directly and the full minimum wage your employer owes you. Your employer is essentially counting on your tips to cover that gap. Both adults and minors qualify for this lower cash wage in Utah, as long as the combined total of cash wages and tips meets or exceeds what you would earn at the regular minimum wage rate for every hour you work.
Tipped employees (adults and minors) may be paid $2.13 per hour, but only so long as the tips they earn, in addition to the base wage paid, combined are equal to or exceed the minimum wage.
Wage Claim (Utah Labor Commission, Utah Antidiscrimination and Labor Division)
When the tips do not get you to the minimum wage
In Utah, when an employer pays you the reduced cash wage of $2.13 per hour, the law requires that your tips plus that cash wage add up to at least the standard minimum wage for every hour you work. If your tips in a given workweek are not enough to close the gap, your employer cannot simply pay you less. Instead, the employer must make up the difference so that your combined earnings still reach at least the full minimum wage. This guarantee applies in every workweek, not just on average over a month or a pay period. The purpose is to ensure that the tip credit never leaves you earning below the minimum wage. In Utah, this rule applies to both adult and minor tipped workers.
if the total of the cash wage and the tips total at least $7.25 per hour.
Wage Claim (Utah Labor Commission, Utah Antidiscrimination and Labor Division)
How each figure was verified
Each number below was read from a stored copy of the document named beside it, and checked to occur word for word in the quoted sentence. The digest is of that stored text.
Wage Claim (Utah Labor Commission, Utah Antidiscrimination and Labor Division)
- Minimum cash wage
Employees receiving tips of at least $30.00 per month may be paid a cash wage of $2.13 per hour
Other years
Every Utah Tipped Minimum Wage year · Tipped Minimum Wage in every state