The Utah Business and Employment Lawyer

  Many employees are confronted with situations in which they are not paid all wages they’ve earned, whether in the form of unpaid salary or hourly pay, overtime pay, commissions, bonuses or other compensation. Utah law provides numerous protections to employees who are owed wages during employment or following employment. These protection include claims for breach of contract, unjust enrichment and other common law claims, as well as claims under the Utah Payment of Wages Act, Title 34, Chapter 28 of the Utah Code. Federal law also provides protections for certain types of wage claims. The Utah Payment of Wages Act establishes clear guidelines for timely and complete wage payments to employees and, critically, empowers workers to seek redress if these requirements are violated. If your employer hasn't paid you all the wages you are owed, you have the right to file a wage claim under the UPWA against your employer. Depending on the size of your claim, you can file an administrati...

A recent decision issued on May 7, 2015 by the Utah Court of Appeals, Francis v. National DME , 2015 UT App 119, underscores the importance of making a proper demand for wages prior to filing a lawsuit and seeking attorneys fees and costs under Utah Code Ann. § 34-27-1 (allowing recovery of attorneys fees to recover wages). In Francis , National DME terminated Francis's employment after he failed to report to work for three consecutive days. He subsequently filed a wage claim with the Utah Labor Commission. Thereafter, Francis sent written demand for payment of wages he believed were owing, stating in his demand that he was owed more than $15,000 in commissions, among other damages. At trial, the jury awarded Francis $24,000 in commissions. However, on appeal, the Court of Appeals struck the award, finding that the evidence submitted at trial only supported an award of $9,700 in commissions. Because the award was actually less than what was demanded, Francis was not entitled to...