Utah lawmaker wants to nearly triple the state’s minimum wage; require pay transparency in job listings
Jan 28, 2026, 1:03 PM | Updated: Jan 30, 2026, 1:57 pm
A “now hiring” sign at an Arby’s in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021, advertises wages of up to $13 per hour. (Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)
(Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY — A new bill on Utah’s Capitol Hill is seeking to make big changes to the state’s minimum wage and what companies have to put in their job listings.
Inside Sources talks about a new bill that could raise Utah’s minimum wage if passed👇
Sen. Nate Blouin, D-Salt Lake City, is sponsoring a bill that, if passed, would raise Utah’s minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $20 an hour.
“I think it’s absolutely ridiculous that we see so many people continuing to struggle and this is one piece of… reforms that are needed to boost our quality of life,” Blouin told KSL. “(Twenty an hour) is a number that is actually livable.”
Utah is one of 20 states that do not require employers to pay their workers more than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Blouin’s bill would also require the state’s minimum wage to increase at least once a year to keep up with inflation. In addition, the legislation would ban companies from posting job listings without information about the compensation for that given position.
“That is something that we should be requiring, so that we don’t have people basically in a race to the bottom doing services for less than they should be,” Blouin said.
When asked about the impact a $20 an hour minimum wage could have on Utah’s small businesses, Blouin said, “I think this is where negotiation would come in and being willing to work on something that works for more of these employers, and I’d be happy to have those conversations.”
Blouin said he’s open to potentially making exceptions for small businesses that meet certain criteria or standards, but there’s nothing concrete on the table at this point.
Blouin also said he’s willing to work with republican lawmakers on the legislation as well. But in terms of getting enough republicans to support the bill for it to pass, Blouin said, “I have little expectation that the members of the (GOP) supermajority here will bite on any of those policies (the changes proposed in the bill).”
A member of the Utah House GOP Majority staff told KSL they had no comment on Blouin’s bill.
Blouin’s bill has yet to be debated or voted on by state lawmakers. If lawmakers and the governor did approve it, the law would go into effect in May.
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