4-41a-107.  Notice to prospective and current public employees.

(1) 

Terms Used In Utah Code 4-41a-107

  • Cannabis: means the same as that term is defined in Section 26B-4-201. See Utah Code 4-41a-102
  • Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes a state, district, or territory of the United States. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • United States: includes each state, district, and territory of the United States of America. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
(a)  A state employer or a political subdivision employer shall take the action described in Subsection (1)(b) before:

(i)  giving to a current employee an assignment or duty that arises from or directly relates to an obligation under this chapter; or

(ii)  hiring a prospective employee whose assignments or duties would include an assignment or duty that arises from or directly relates to an obligation under this chapter.

(b)  The employer described in Subsection (1)(a) shall give the employee or prospective employee described in Subsection (1)(a) a written notice that notifies the employee or prospective employee:

(i)  that the employee’s or prospective employee’s job duties may require the employee or prospective employee to engage in conduct which is in violation of the criminal laws of the United States; and

(ii)  that in accepting a job or undertaking a duty described in Subsection (1)(a), although the employee or prospective employee is entitled to the protections of Title 67, Chapter 21, Utah Protection of Public Employees Act, the employee may not object or refuse to carry out an assignment or duty that may be a violation of the criminal laws of the United States with respect to the manufacture, sale, or distribution of cannabis.

(2)  The Division of Human Resource Management shall create, revise, and publish the form of the notice described in Subsection (1).

(3)  Notwithstanding Subsection 67-21-3(3), an employee who has signed the notice described in Subsection (1) may not:

(a)  claim in good faith that the employee’s actions violate or potentially violate the laws of the United States with respect to the manufacture, sale, or distribution of cannabis; or

(b)  refuse to carry out a directive that the employee reasonably believes violates the criminal laws of the United States with respect to the manufacture, sale, or distribution of cannabis.

(4)  An employer of an employee who has signed the notice described in Subsection (1) may not take retaliatory action as defined in Section 67-19a-101 against a current employee who refuses to sign the notice described in Subsection (1).

Amended by Chapter 344, 2021 General Session