During the 2023 legislative session, Utah passed HB 324, which provides employers the ability to seek a workplace protective order on behalf of employees under certain circumstances. Utah's Workplace Violence Protective Order (found at Utah Code section 78B-7-1101 et. seq.) was signed into law by Governor Spencer J. Fox on March 14, 2023, and went into effect on July 1, 2023.
The law contains similar provisions to laws that were already in place in a handful of states, including California's Workplace Violence Restraining Orders (CCP § 527.8) and Nevada's Orders for Protection Against Harassment in Workplace (NRS § 33.230), as well as recently-passed laws in other states, such as Arizona's Workplace Violence Prevention Policy for Healthcare Employers (Arizona SB 1311), which also went into effect on July 1, 2023.
Like these other states' laws, the new Utah statute grants an employer an additional mechanism to protect its employees from potential risks or dangers that may exist in the workplace, including risks perpetrated via domestic violence situations.
Under both Utah and federal law, employers are under a general duty to provide employees a safe workplace. Although Utah's new law does not mandate affirmative action on behalf of the employer, it provides an additional avenue for Utah employers to seek protection of their employees and to ensure that employees have a safe working environment.
Specifically, the law gives an employer authorization to seek a protective order "if the employer reasonably believes workplace violence has occurred against the employer or an employee of the employer." The law defines "workplace violence" as "knowingly causing or threatening to cause bodily injury to, or significant damage to the property of, a person, if:
- The person is:
- An employer; or
- An employee performing the employee's duties as an employee; and
- The action would cause a reasonable person to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, or harassed; or
(i) the threat:
- Would cause a reasonable person to fear that the threat will be carried out; and
- If carried out, would cause a reasonable person to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, or harassed.1
For context, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) defines "workplace violence" slightly differently, describing it as "any act or threat of physical violence, harassment, intimidation, or other threatening disruptive behavior that occurs at the work site. It ranges from threats and verbal abuse to physical assaults and even homicide."
The Utah law is particularly notable in that it does not limit its remedies to employers of a certain size or a certain sector, but on its face covers all employers. The law defines "employer" to mean "a person who employs an individual in this state"2 and thus can cover employers with as few as one employee.
Pursuant to a workplace violence protective order, a Utah court can now: enjoin the respondent form committing workplace violence; enjoin the respondent from threatening the employer or an employee of the employer while performing the employee's duties as an employee; or order that the respondent be excluded and shall stay away from the employer's workplace.
The law permits a workplace violence protective order to remain in effect for 18 months, unless extended pursuant to other provisions in the act. Further, violation of a workplace protective order issued under the act amounts to a Class A misdemeanor.
Finally, in addition to providing employers additional tools to ensure workplace safety, it also protects employers from liability from seeking or failing to seek a workplace protective order.
In the event an employer does not utilize the right to seek a protective order, these laws serve as a reminder that employers should ensure they have up-to-date workplace violence policies and procedures in place. Among other measures, consider having employees submit all incidents of workplace violence or fear of workplace violence in writing to an employer's Human Resource department to permit the employer the ability to address the situation.
Footnotes
1. Utah Code § 78B-7-1101(5).
2. Utah Code § 78B-7-1101.
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