The Stimulus Package that was enacted in February, otherwise called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, provides sweeping whistleblower protections to any employee of an employer who receives any stimulus money. The protections found in section 1553 of the Act prohibit any demotion, discharge, or other discrimination of an employee when he or […]
In Utah Education Association v. Shurtleff, the Tenth Circuit vacated its prior decision and upheld Utah’s Voluntary Contributions Act, which provides that a public employer cannot withhold from its employees’ paychecks any voluntary political contributions, including contributions to unions. The Tenth Circuit initially agreed with the district court that the Act was unconstitutional because it […]
The Tenth Circuit (the federal appeals court having jurisdiction over Utah) decided last week that three employees did not have a retaliation claim when they were unable to establish that the alleged actions taken against them by the Wichita Police Department would not dissuade a reasonable worker from making a charge of discrimination. In the […]
As has been discussed in previous posts, the Utah Legislature is considering legislation that will affect employers and employees in a number of ways. Here are additional bills that are being considered: House Legislation: House Bill 296, Schools for the Deaf and Blind Amendments. This bill clarifies that the School for the Deaf and Blind […]
Since the blog entries on January 12th, 19th, 26th, and 27th, the Utah Legislature is now considering additional bills that may affect employers and employees in Utah. House Legislation: House Bill 144, Medical Language Interpreter Act. This bill provides certification for certain types of medical language interpreters and criminalizes a person’s representation that he or […]
The Utah legislature is now considering a bill that proposes to include a person’s sexual orientation and gender identity as factors that cannot be considered by employers in making employment decisions. Besides prohibiting most employers in the state from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identify, House Bill 267, Antidiscrimination Amendments, proposes […]
As has been discussed here on January 12th and 19th, the Utah Legislature is considering several bills that may have an impact on Utah employers and employees. Here are additional bills: House Legislation: House Bill 117, Mechanical Contractor Licensing Provisions. This bill proposes to require the licensing of heating, venting, and air conditioning (HVAC) mechanical […]
As discussed in an earlier post, the Utah legislature begins its general session on January 26th. In addition to the proposed legislation that may affect employers discussed in that earlier blog entry, legislators have proposed additional bills since that time. The following is a listing of additional proposed legislation that may affect employers and employees […]
On January 26, 2009, the general session of the Utah legislature begins. Currently, there are several bills that have been introduced that may have an impact on employers and employees in this legislative session. The following is a list of current bills that may have an effect on employers and employees in the state. House […]
The federal appellate court having jurisdiction over federal questions arising in Utah, the Tenth Circuit, issued a decision on January 8, 2009, explaining that an employee’s concern over the scope of an investigation was a matter of public concern. The court in Dixon v. Kirkpatrick held that, although an employee had raised an issue of […]
