Utah Code 34-28-9.5. Private cause of action
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(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 .
Terms Used In Utah Code 34-28-9.5
- Commission: means the Labor Commission. See Utah Code 34-28-2
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Employer: means the same as that term is defined in Utah Code 34-28-2
- Equal: means , with respect to biological sex, of the same value. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Wages: means the amounts due the employee for labor or services, whether the amount is fixed or ascertained on a time, task, piece, commission basis or other method of calculating such amount. See Utah Code 34-28-2
(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:
(2)(a) the employee’s wage claim is over $10,000;
(2)(b)
(2)(b)(i) the employee’s wage claim is less than or equal to $10,000;
(2)(b)(ii) the employee asserts one or more additional claims against the same employer; and
(2)(b)(iii) the aggregate amount of damages resulting from the claims described in this Subsection (2)(b) is greater than $10,000; or
(2)(c)
(2)(c)(i) in the same civil action, more than one employee files a wage claim against an employer; and
(2)(c)(ii) the aggregate amount of the employees’ combined wage claim is greater than $10,000.
(3) In an action under this section, the court may award an employee:
(3)(a) actual damages;
(3)(b) an amount equal to 2.5% of the unpaid wages owed to the employee, assessed daily for the lesser of:
(3)(b)(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
(3)(b)(ii) 20 days after the day on which the court issues a final order; and
(3)(c) a penalty described in Subsection 34-28-5 (1)(c), if applicable.