| (1) |
If it appears from a petition for a protective order or a petition to modify an existing protective order that workplace violence has occurred, the court may:
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Terms Used In Utah Code 78B-7-1103- Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
- Court: means the district court or juvenile court. See Utah Code 78B-7-201
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Employee: means an employee in the service of an employer for compensation. See Utah Code 78B-7-1101
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Ex parte workplace violence protective order: means an order issued without notice to the respondent under this part. See Utah Code 78B-7-1101
- law enforcement agency: means any public agency having general police power and charged with making arrests in connection with enforcement of the criminal statutes and ordinances of this state or any political subdivision. See Utah Code 78B-7-102
- Lawsuit: A legal action started by a plaintiff against a defendant based on a complaint that the defendant failed to perform a legal duty, resulting in harm to the plaintiff.
- Property: includes both real and personal property. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
- Protective order: means :
| (a) | a workplace violence protective order; or |
| (b) | an ex parte workplace violence protective order. See Utah Code 78B-7-1101- Respondent: means the individual against whom enforcement of a protective order is sought. See Utah Code 78B-7-102
- Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
- Workplace violence: means knowingly causing or threatening to cause bodily injury to, or significant damage to the property of, a person, if:
| (a) | the person is:| (ii) | an employee performing the employee's duties as an employee; and |
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| (b) | | (i) | the action would cause a reasonable person to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, or harassed; or |
| (ii) | the threat:| (A) | would cause a reasonable person to fear that the threat will be carried out; and |
| (B) | if carried out, would cause a reasonable person to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, or harassed. See Utah Code 78B-7-1101- Workplace violence protective order: means an order issued under this part after a hearing on the petition, of which the petitioner and respondent have been given notice. See Utah Code 78B-7-1101
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| (a) |
without notice, immediately issue an ex parte workplace violence protective order against the respondent or modify an existing workplace violence protective order ex parte, if necessary to protect the petitioner or any party named in the petition; or |
| (b) |
upon notice to the respondent, issue a workplace violence protective order or modify a workplace violence protective order after a hearing, regardless of whether the respondent appears. |
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| (2) |
| (a) |
The court may grant the following relief with or without notice or a hearing in a protective order or in a modification to a protective order:
| (i) |
enjoin the respondent from committing workplace violence; |
| (ii) |
enjoin the respondent from threatening the petitioner or an employee of the petitioner while performing the employee’s duties as an employee; or |
| (iii) |
subject to Subsection (2)(c), order that the respondent is excluded and shall stay away from the petitioner’s workplace. |
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| (b) |
Except as provided in Subsection (2)(a), a protective order may not restrict the respondent’s communications. |
| (c) |
The court shall narrowly tailor an order described in Subsection (2)(a)(iii) to the location where the respondent caused or threatened to cause bodily injury to, or significant damage to property of, the petitioner or an employee of the petitioner. |
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| (3) |
After the court issues a protective order, the court shall:
| (a) |
as soon as possible, deliver the order to the county sheriff for service of process; |
| (b) |
transmit electronically, by the end of the business day after the day on which the court issues the protective order, a copy of the protective order to the local law enforcement agency that the petitioner designates; and |
| (c) |
transmit a copy of the protective order in the same manner as described in Section 78B-7-113. |
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| (4) |
The court may modify or vacate a protective order after notice and hearing, if the petitioner:
| (a) |
| (i) |
is personally served with notice of the hearing, as provided in the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure; and |
| (ii) |
appears before the court to give specific consent to the modification or vacation of the provisions of the protective order; or |
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| (b) |
submits an affidavit agreeing to the modification or vacation of the provisions of the protective order. |
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| (5) |
The existence of a protective order may not be used as evidence of liability or damages in a lawsuit between the petitioner and the respondent regardless of whether the petitioner or respondent seeks to admit the facts underlying the protective order as evidence. |
Enacted by Chapter 170, 2023 General Session
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