Utah Adds Military Protections
Utah has re-enacted and expanded its military protections—the law was signed and took effect immediately on March 18, 2024. The law requires employers of all sizes to provide military leave and other employment rights.
Specifically, employers are required to:
- Provide up to five years of leave to employees who are members of a reserve component of the U.S. Armed Forces when they are ordered to active duty (including for training), inactive duty training, or state active duty
- Provide employees who are called to service in the Utah National Guard or the Utah State Defense Force with the same rights and protections provided by federal law for employees that are called to federal military service
- Restore these employees to their job at the completion of their service with the seniority, status, rate of pay, and rate of vacation accrual that they would be entitled to under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA)
Action Item
Update your military leave policy to reflect these new protections.
Sexual Misconduct Nondisclosures are Unenforceable
Effective February 28, 2024, and retroactively applicable to any agreement entered beginning January 1, 2023, or later, employers can’t enforce a nondisclosure agreement or clause about sexual misconduct as an employment condition. Employers are also prohibited from retaliating against an employee:
- After they allege sexual harassment or sexual assault; or
- Because they refuse to agree to a nondisclosure agreement or clause, or sign an employment contract with either, as an employment condition.
Additionally, within three days after entering it, employees can withdraw from a settlement agreement with a nondisclosure clause about sexual misconduct. They can also discuss sexual misconduct they’ve incurred in a legal case against their attacker.
The law doesn’t limit nondisclosure of either a monetary settlement amount, or facts that could identify the employee who was sexually assaulted or harassed, and protections for non-public trade secrets, proprietary information, and other confidential information that doesn’t involve illegal acts remain intact.
