Workers’ Compensation~Occupational Safety & Disease Boynton v. Kennecott Utah Copper, LLC (Utah, November 18, 2021) (reversing summary judgment in favor of Kennecott on Boynton’s take-home asbestos exposure claim in connection with his wife’s mesothelioma death: premises owners are liable to their employees‘ co-habitants for take-home asbestos exposure) Sysco v. Labor Commission (Utah Ct. App., November […]
Discrimination ~ Retaliation *Thomas v. Farmers Insurance Exchange (10th Cir., April 14, 2021) (affirming summary judgment in favor of Farmers on Thomas’s sexual-orientation discrimination and retaliation claims: there was no direct evidence of discrimination or retaliation, and no showing of pretext) Workers’ Compensation ~ Occupational Safety and Disease *Keenan, Hopkins, Suder, and Stowell Contractors, Inc. […]
Workers’ Compensaton ~ Occupational Safety and Disease Arreguin-Leon v. Hadco Construction, LLC (Utah, August 17, 2020) (affirming remand for new trial on Arreguin’s claims against Hadco for failure to protect its workers from highway traffic: Arreguin prevailed at trial but the trial court allowed him to elicit undisclosed expert testimony, which the Court of Appeals […]
On September 3, 2014, the Utah Supreme Court heard argument in the case of Ray et al. v. Wal-Mart. The plaintiffs—Ray, Dallin, Holt, Hunter, Poulsen, and Stewart—were Wal-Mart Employees terminated for, of all things, self-defense. As at-will employees, of course, plaintiffs could have been terminated at any time for any reason, or for no reason […]
On May 14, 2010, the Utah Supreme Court ruled that Utah health care facilities are not immune from claims brought by patients against them asserting that the facilities were negligent when they credential doctors or health care professionals at their hospitals. In Archuleta v. St. Mark’s Hospital, the Court stated that “negligent credentialing is ‘simply the […]
On July 30, 2009, the Department of Transportation issued a new final rule that will become effective August 31, 2009, requiring that all return-to-duty and follow-up drug tests be done pursuant to Direct Observation. Although the rule found at 49 CFR 40.67(b) was originally issued on June 25, 2008, because of intervening court action the […]
The Utah Legislative Session ended earlier this month and the Governor has signed many of the bills that passed. Following is a list of legislation that may have an impact on employers and employees. (For a link to the language of the relevant bill language as passed, click here.) House Bills: House Bill 12, County […]
In Ramsey Winch Inc. v. Henry, the Tenth Circuit (the federal court having jurisdiction over Utah) ruled last week that a district court had erred when it held that a newly enacted Oklahoma statute making it a criminal offense for employers to prohibit employees from storing firearms in their vehicles on company parking lots was […]
The Utah Labor Commission has proposed rules to govern the process for the adjudication of discrimination claims filed by parties in the Utah Antidiscrimination and Labor Division and the Utah Occupational Safety and Health Division. The comment period for he proposed new rules for Discrimination claims and Utah Occupational Safety and Health claims ends on […]
