All Roll Calls
Yes: 89 • No: 22
UtahH.B. 3292026 General SessionHouseWALLET
State Employee Maternity and Leave Amendments
Sponsored By: Ariel Defay (Republican)
Signed by Governor
Division of Human Resource ManagementDepartment of Government OperationsGovernment Operations (State Issues)State Officers and EmployeesLocal Education Agencies (LEAs)
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
8 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 2 costs, 3 mixed.
More paid leave for state employee parents
Eligible Utah state employees who give birth get up to six work weeks of paid recovery leave, up from three. Recovery leave starts at childbirth unless earlier use is medically necessary; it stays continuous unless the director allows an exception. Multiple births from one pregnancy do not increase it. Paid parental leave covers birth, adoption, and appointment as guardian of a child or incapacitated adult, with a three-work-week cap per 12 months. Employees must have a position with state retirement benefits, accrue paid leave usable in current and future calendar years, and not qualify as reemployed under state law.
State employees keep benefits and job protections
Beginning July 1, 2026, Utah state employers cannot deduct qualified family leave from other leave balances, subject to statutory exceptions. Work benefits and payments stay at their pre-leave level; employees still pay required benefit contributions. Employees return to their old job or one with equivalent seniority, status, benefits, and pay. Normal layoff rules still apply when an employee faces dismissal regardless of taking leave. Employers must provide written leave-rights information and cannot block lawful leave use or punish employees for using it.
State foster parents face leave limits
Beginning July 1, 2026, eligible Utah state employees can use no more than four work weeks of foster leave per 12 months. More child placements do not increase that cap. Employees cannot use both foster leave and parental leave for the same child. They also cannot combine foster leave and adoption leave for the same child younger than six.
School employees gain paid family leave
Beginning July 1, 2026, local education agencies must provide minimum paid family-leave policies for employees who accrue paid leave. Minimums include up to three work weeks each for parental leave, postpartum recovery, and legally adopting a child younger than six. Parental leave includes becoming guardian of a child or incapacitated adult; adoption leave excludes spouses of the child's pre-existing parent. Foster leave rises from three to four work weeks, and agencies can offer more generous policies. Agencies must administer leave no more restrictively than corresponding state policies, provide written leave and sharing information, protect other paid leave balances, and prohibit retaliation.
State adoptive parents get shared paid leave
Eligible Utah state employees legally adopting a child younger than six get up to six work weeks of paid adoption leave. This leave follows any parental leave taken for the adoption. Two eligible employees adopting the same child share one six-week period and can divide it between them. Employees married to the child's pre-existing parent do not qualify. Eligibility requires a position with state retirement benefits, paid leave usable in current and future calendar years, and no reemployment status under the cited state definition.
State foster parents get shared paid leave
Eligible Utah state foster parents get up to four work weeks of paid leave and can take it in separate periods. Leave cannot start before placement, continue more than six months after placement, or continue after the child leaves their care. Employees need a position with state retirement benefits, paid leave usable in current and future calendar years, and no statutory reemployment status. Beginning July 1, 2026, two eligible employees sharing a placement divide one four-work-week period. They must tell their employer how they will divide it by the leave-notice deadline.
Breastfeeding parents gain public pumping protections
The law allows a woman to breastfeed or use a breast pump in any Utah place of public accommodation. The protection explicitly covers mechanical devices used to express and collect milk, not just direct breastfeeding.
State employees face leave notice requirements
Beginning July 1, 2026, qualified Utah state employees must give at least 30 days' notice before starting or stopping qualified leave. When events beyond their control prevent timely notice, including emergency foster placements, employees must give notice as soon as reasonably possible. Employers cannot pay employees for unused qualified leave when their state employment ends. By July 1, 2026, the state human resources division must adopt adoption and foster leave rules. Those rules must set proportional leave amounts for part-time employees and employees working more than 40 hours weekly.
Sponsors & Cosponsors
Sponsor
Ariel Defay
Republican • House
Cosponsors
Cheryl K. Acton
Republican • House
John Arthur
Democratic • House
Burton, J.
Affiliation unavailable
Clancy, T.
Affiliation unavailable
Paul A. Cutler
Republican • House
Rosalba Dominguez
Democratic • House
Steve Eliason
Republican • House
Joseph Elison
Republican • House
Sahara Hayes
Democratic • House
Ashlee Matthews
Democratic • House
Michael K. McKell
Republican • Senate
Grant Amjad Miller
Democratic • House
Tracy Miller
Republican • House
Logan Monson
Republican • House
Hoang Nguyen
Democratic • House
Karen M. Peterson
Republican • House
Angela Romero
Democratic • House
David Shallenberger
Republican • House
Jordan D. Teuscher
Republican • House
Raymond P. Ward
Republican • House
Roll Call Votes
Senate vote • 3/5/2026
Senate/ passed 2nd & 3rd readings/ suspension
Yes: 25 • No: 2
Senate vote • 3/4/2026
Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation
Yes: 5 • No: 0
House vote • 2/17/2026
House/ substituted
Yes: 0 • No: 0
House vote • 2/17/2026
House/ substitute adoption failed
Yes: 0 • No: 0
House vote • 2/17/2026
House/ passed 3rd reading
Yes: 53 • No: 18
House vote • 2/4/2026
House Comm - Favorable Recommendation
Yes: 6 • No: 2
Actions Timeline
Governor Signed
3/24/2026House/ to Governor
3/16/2026HouseHouse/ received enrolled bill from Printing
3/16/2026HouseHouse/ enrolled bill to Printing
3/11/2026HouseEnrolled Bill Returned to House or Senate
3/11/2026Draft of Enrolled Bill Prepared
3/6/2026Bill Received from House for Enrolling
3/6/2026House/ signed by Speaker/ sent for enrolling
3/5/2026HouseHouse/ received from Senate
3/5/2026HouseSenate/ to House
3/5/2026SenateSenate/ signed by President/ returned to House
3/5/2026SenateSenate/ passed 2nd & 3rd readings/ suspension
3/5/2026SenateSenate/ 2nd & 3rd readings/ suspension
3/5/2026SenateSenate/ Rules to 2nd Reading Calendar
3/5/2026SenateSenate/ 2nd Reading Calendar to Rules
3/4/2026SenateSenate/ placed on 2nd Reading Calendar
3/4/2026SenateSenate/ committee report favorable
3/4/2026SenateSenate Comm - Favorable Recommendation
3/4/2026Senate/ to standing committee
2/24/2026SenateSenate/ 1st reading (Introduced)
2/17/2026SenateSenate/ received from House
2/17/2026SenateHouse/ to Senate
2/17/2026HouseHouse/ passed 3rd reading
2/17/2026HouseHouse/ substitute adoption failed
2/17/2026HouseHouse/ substituted
2/17/2026House
Bill Text
Enrolled
3/11/2026
Substitute #3
2/16/2026
Substitute #2
2/12/2026
Substitute #1
2/10/2026
Introduced
1/22/2026