(1) 

Terms Used In Utah Code 67-21-3

  • Administrator: includes "executor" when the subject matter justifies the use. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Employee: means a person who performs a service for wages or other remuneration under a contract of hire, written or oral, express or implied. See Utah Code 67-21-2
  • Employer: includes an agent of an employer. See Utah Code 67-21-2
  • Good faith: means that an employee acts with:
(a) subjective good faith; and
(b) the objective good faith of a reasonable employee. See Utah Code 67-21-2
  • Judicial employee: means an employee of the judicial branch of state government. See Utah Code 67-21-2
  • Legislative employee: means an employee of the legislative branch of state government. See Utah Code 67-21-2
  • Person: means :Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Political subdivision employee: means an employee of a political subdivision of the state. See Utah Code 67-21-2
  • Property: includes both real and personal property. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Public body: means any of the following:
    (a) a state officer, employee, agency, department, division, bureau, board, commission, council, authority, educational institution, or any other body in the executive branch of state government;
    (b) an agency, board, commission, council, institution member, or employee of the legislative branch of state government;
    (c) a county, city, town, regional governing body, council, school district, special district, special service district, or municipal corporation, board, department, commission, council, agency, or any member or employee of them;
    (d) any other body that is created by state or local authority, or that is primarily funded by or through state or local authority, or any member or employee of that body;
    (e) a law enforcement agency or any member or employee of a law enforcement agency; and
    (f) the judiciary and any member or employee of the judiciary. See Utah Code 67-21-2
  • Public entity: means a department, division, board, council, committee, institution, office, bureau, or other similar administrative unit of the executive branch of state government. See Utah Code 67-21-2
  • Public entity employee: means an employee of a public entity. See Utah Code 67-21-2
  • Retaliatory action: means the same as that term is defined in Section 67-19a-101. See Utah Code 67-21-2
  • 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
  • State institution of higher education: means the same as that term is defined in Section 53B-3-102. See Utah Code 67-21-2
  • United States: includes each state, district, and territory of the United States of America. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • (a)  An employer may not take retaliatory action against an employee because the employee, or a person authorized to act on behalf of the employee, communicates in good faith:

    (i)  the waste or misuse of public funds, property, or manpower;

    (ii)  a violation or suspected violation of a law, rule, or regulation adopted under the law of this state, a political subdivision of this state, or any recognized entity of the United States; or

    (iii)  as it relates to a state government employer:

    (A)  gross mismanagement;

    (B)  abuse of authority; or

    (C)  unethical conduct.

    (b)  For purposes of Subsection (1)(a), an employee is presumed to have communicated in good faith if the employee gives written notice or otherwise formally communicates the conduct described in Subsection (1)(a) to:

    (i)  a person in authority over the person alleged to have engaged in the conduct described in Subsection (1)(a);

    (ii)  the attorney general’s office;

    (iii)  law enforcement, if the conduct is criminal in nature;

    (iv)  if the employee is a public entity employee, public body employee, legislative employee, or a judicial employee:

    (A)  the state auditor’s office;

    (B)  the president of the Senate;

    (C)  the speaker of the House of Representatives;

    (D)  the Office of Legislative Auditor General;

    (E)  the governor’s office;

    (F)  the state court administrator; or

    (G)  the Division of Finance;

    (v)  if the employee is a public entity employee, but not an employee of a state institution of higher education, the director of the Division of Purchasing and General Services;

    (vi)  if the employee is a political subdivision employee:

    (A)  the legislative body, or a member of the legislative body, of the political subdivision;

    (B)  the governing body, or a member of the governing body, of the political subdivision;

    (C)  the top executive of the political subdivision; or

    (D)  any government official with authority to audit the political subdivision or the applicable part of the political subdivision; or

    (vii)  if the employee is an employee of a state institution of higher education:

    (A)  the Utah Board of Higher Education or a member of the Utah Board of Higher Education;

    (B)  the commissioner of higher education;

    (C)  the president of the state institution of higher education where the employee is employed; or

    (D)  the entity that conducts audits of the state institution of higher education where the employee is employed.

    (c)  The presumption described in Subsection (1)(b) may be rebutted by showing that the employee knew or reasonably ought to have known that the report is malicious, false, or frivolous.
  • (2)  An employer may not take retaliatory action against an employee because an employee participates or gives information in an investigation, hearing, court proceeding, legislative or other inquiry, or other form of administrative review held by the public body.

    (3)  An employer may not take retaliatory action against an employee because the employee has objected to or refused to carry out a directive that the employee reasonably believes violates a law of this state, a political subdivision of this state, or the United States, or a rule or regulation adopted under the authority of the laws of this state, a political subdivision of this state, or the United States.

    (4)  An employer may not implement rules or policies that unreasonably restrict an employee’s ability to document:

    (a)  the waste or misuse of public funds, property, or manpower;

    (b)  a violation or suspected violation of any law, rule, or regulation; or

    (c)  as it relates to a state government employer:

    (i)  gross mismanagement;

    (ii)  abuse of authority; or

    (iii)  unethical conduct.

    Amended by Chapter 174, 2022 General Session