The Utah Legislature ended its annual legislative session in early March 2023 by passing several new laws impacting employers and by rejecting several other initiatives that would have regulated the workplace. A more specific discussion of each provision is below. Two highlights from the session include a passed bill that allows employers to seek protective orders against violent workers and an enacted bill that makes immunity status a protected class under the Utah Antidiscrimination Act. Employers should review the immunity status bill carefully and consult with legal counsel about necessary changes to handbooks or policies to include the new protected class.
As noted in our last update, the 2023 Utah Legislature passed a Utah Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)-sponsored bill. The bill creates a workplace violence protective order against current or former employees who threaten violence (HB 324).
The legislature also prohibited the use of an individual's immunity status by places of public accommodation, governmental entities and employers, meaning that such status cannot be used in employment, except when required by the government or when an employer that (i) establishes a nexus between a vaccination requirement and the employee's assigned duties and responsibilities; or (ii) identifies an external requirement for vaccination that is not imposed by the employer...
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