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Utah Workplace Recording Laws

Independently fact-checkedEditor-reviewedLaw current as of November 1, 2026By Recording Law Editorial TeamReviewed November 2, 20264 min read

Independently fact-checked against primary sources (last audited November 1, 2026). · Reviewed by the RecordingLaw editorial team. · Law checked current as of November 1, 2026. · 8 primary sources cited on this page. How we verify our legal content

Utah Workplace Recording Laws

Under Utah Code Ann. 77-23a-4, Utah is a one-party consent state, so an employee may record a workplace conversation they participate in without notifying coworkers or supervisors, unless the recording is made to commit a criminal or tortious act (77-23a-4(7)(b)). Employers may still enforce no-recording policies and discipline employees who violate them, but the recording itself remains legal under state law.

Utah's one-party consent law gives employees the legal right to record workplace conversations they participate in. Under Utah Code Ann. 77-23a-4, you can record meetings with your boss, conversations with HR, interactions with coworkers, and any other workplace discussion you are part of without telling anyone, as long as you are not recording to commit a crime or tort.

This guide explains how Utah's recording laws apply in the workplace, what both employees and employers can and cannot do, and how the NLRA interacts with state law.

Employee Recording Rights

Your Right to Record at Work

As a one-party consent state, Utah allows you to record a conversation you participate in, unless you record it to commit a criminal or tortious act (77-23a-4(7)(b)). This means you can legally record:

Utah employees may record workplace conversations they take part in without telling anyone, unless the recording is made to commit a crime or tort; employer policies can still lead to discipline.
Recording your own work conversations is legal in Utah, but breaking a no-recording policy can still cost you your job.
  • Meetings with supervisors about performance or assignments
  • HR conversations including disciplinary meetings and grievance hearings
  • Conversations with coworkers about workplace conditions
  • Phone calls with clients or vendors that you participate in
  • Performance reviews and training sessions

What You Cannot Record

  • Conversations you are not part of, unless a participant has given prior consent (planting a hidden recorder to capture others)
  • In private areas like bathrooms or locker rooms (installing a device there without consent violates Utah Code 76-12-302, and secretly recording someone's body there is recorded voyeurism under Utah Code Ann. 76-12-307)
  • Electronic communications between others without any participant's consent
  • A conversation you are part of, if you record it to commit a crime or a tort (the one-party exception does not apply, Utah Code 77-23a-4(7)(b))

Documenting Workplace Issues

Recording is valuable for documenting harassment, discrimination, retaliation, unsafe conditions (OSHA violations), and wage disputes.

Employer Surveillance

Utah two office chairs angled toward each other beside a window with a small voice recorder on the side table

Video Surveillance

Permitted: Sales floors, warehouses, parking lots, lobbies, hallways, cash register areas.

Prohibited without the consent of the people entitled to privacy there: Private places such as bathrooms, locker rooms, changing areas, and nursing rooms.

Utah does not have a specific employer video surveillance statute, but Utah Code 76-12-302 makes it a crime to install a camera in a private place, such as a restroom or locker room, without the consent of the people entitled to privacy there. Utah's recorded-voyeurism law (Utah Code Ann. 76-12-307) applies to secretly recording people's bodies in such areas.

Audio Surveillance

If the employer is not a party to the recorded conversation, capturing audio could violate Utah Code Ann. 77-23a-4 (third degree felony). Many employers avoid audio recording.

Employer No-Recording Policies

Utah glass-walled conference room with figures behind translucent doors

Employers can adopt no-recording policies. Violating the policy can result in discipline or termination, but a recording you make as a participant remains legal under state law unless you made it to commit a crime or tort.

The NLRA protects recording that constitutes protected concerted activity, such as documenting unsafe conditions, wage violations, or union-related discussions. Blanket no-recording policies may violate Section 7. The current NLRB standard for evaluating employer work rules (including no-recording policies) is Stericycle, Inc., 372 NLRB No. 113 (2023). In GC 25-05 (Feb. 14, 2025), the NLRB's Acting General Counsel rescinded about 30 earlier General Counsel memos, including GC 23-02 on electronic monitoring of employees and memos on non-compete and stay-or-pay remedies, settlement-agreement standards, Section 10(j) injunctive relief, and full make-whole remedies. It did not reinstate the prior Boeing standard, and a General Counsel memo cannot overturn Board precedent, so Stericycle remains the Board's standard for judging workplace rules, though the current Board has signaled it may revisit it. In a June 25, 2025 memo (GC 25-07), the NLRB's Acting General Counsel told regional offices to treat secretly recording collective-bargaining sessions as a per se violation of the duty to bargain in good faith. The memo is enforcement guidance, not a Board ruling.

Using Workplace Recordings as Evidence

Utah a small audio recorder and over-ear headphones resting on a stack of legal documents

Recordings made under one-party consent are generally admissible in Utah courts for employment discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, wage disputes, and workers' compensation hearings. They can also be submitted to the EEOC and OSHA.

Best practices: Keep originals unedited, note date/time/participants, store on personal devices, back up immediately.

Remote Work Recording

One-party consent applies to virtual meetings (Zoom, Teams, Meet). If anyone on the call is in an all-party consent state, that state's law may apply. Courts do not agree on which state's law governs a call across state lines, and some apply the law of the place where the recording was made, so the safe practice is to get everyone's consent. Platform recording features typically notify all participants.

More Utah Recording Laws

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I record my boss in Utah?

Yes. Utah's one-party consent law (77-23a-4) allows you to record a conversation you participate in at work without their knowledge, unless you record it to commit a crime or tort. However, your employer may have a no-recording policy that could result in disciplinary action.

Can my employer record me at work in Utah?

Employers can use video cameras in common work areas. They cannot place cameras in private places such as bathrooms, locker rooms, or changing areas without the consent of the people entitled to privacy there. Audio recording requires one-party consent from a participant in the conversation.

Can I be fired for recording at work in Utah?

A recording you make as a participant is generally legal, but your employer can fire you for violating a company no-recording policy. If your recording is protected concerted activity under the NLRA, termination could be an unfair labor practice.

Can I use a workplace recording in a lawsuit?

Yes. Recordings made under one-party consent are generally admissible in Utah employment cases. For an illegal interception, a court may award the greater of actual damages plus profits or $100 a day or $10,000 under Utah Code Ann. 77-23a-11, and the suit must be filed within two years after the recording could reasonably have been discovered.

Does my employer have to tell me about security cameras?

Utah does not require employers to notify employees about video surveillance. However, providing notice through signage or policy is a best practice.

Updates

Added the criminal-or-tortious-purpose limit to the statement that a recording made against a no-recording policy remains legal, and noted that recording a conversation you are not part of is lawful with a participant's prior consent.

We corrected the civil damages under Utah Code 77-23a-11 (discretionary, with an actual-damages alternative and a two-year filing limit, not a minimum), fixed the description of NLRB GC 25-05 (about 30 memos rescinded, including the electronic-monitoring memo GC 23-02) and GC 25-07 (enforcement guidance dated June 25, 2025), noted that Stericycle may be revisited, and replaced the claim that the stricter state law always applies with the unsettled choice-of-law picture. We added the limit that Utah's one-party rule does not cover a recording made to commit a crime or tort (77-23a-4(7)(b)) everywhere the page described the right to record, restated the bathroom and locker-room camera ban by the elements of 76-12-302, and called Stericycle the current rather than controlling NLRB standard.

Independently fact-checked against the cited primary sources; governing law re-checked for recent changes

Updated the voyeurism citation from a statute repealed in 2017 to Utah's current recorded-voyeurism law (76-12-307), and corrected the description of a 2025 NLRB memo that had been understated as routine housekeeping when it substantively rescinded several employee-protective enforcement memos.

Independently fact-checked against the cited primary sources

Governing law re-checked for recent changes

Updated NLRB section: identified Stericycle (372 NLRB No. 113, 2023) as the controlling standard for employer work rules including no-recording policies. Clarified GC 25-05 is a housekeeping rescission not a Boeing reinstatement. Added GC 25-07 narrow per se bar on surreptitious bargaining-session recording. Replaced stale electronic-surveillance memo source with Stericycle guidance.

Reviewed and approved by an editor

Sources and References

  1. Utah Code Ann. 77-23a-4 -- Interception of Communications(le.utah.gov).gov
  2. Utah Code Ann. 77-23a-11 -- Civil Remedy for Unlawful Interception(le.utah.gov).gov
  3. National Labor Relations Act(nlrb.gov).gov
  4. NLRB GC 25-05 (Feb. 14, 2025), rescinding GC 23-02 (electronic monitoring) and other memos(apps.nlrb.gov).gov
  5. OSHA(osha.gov).gov
  6. EEOC(eeoc.gov).gov
  7. NLRB GC 25-07 (June 25, 2025) -- Surreptitious Recordings of Collective-Bargaining Sessions(apps.nlrb.gov).gov
  8. Utah Code Ann. 76-12-302 -- Unlawful Privacy Violation (eff. May 7, 2025)(le.utah.gov).gov
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