Employee Communications: Utah
Federal law and guidance on this subject should be reviewed together with this section.
Authors: Elizabeth Dunning, Holland & Hart LLP
Summary
- Utah law requires employers to post certain information in the workplace. See Required Postings.
- Employers should carefully communicate the nature of the employment relationship via effective policies, contracts or other disclaimers related to terms of employment such as at-will employment. See Communication of At-Will or Other Terms of Employment.
- Inappropriate or unlawful employer statements can contribute to claims for discrimination, defamation, invasion of privacy or other common law claims. See Legal Claims Relating to Communications.
- Utah employers enjoy qualified immunity from claims when providing information regarding an employee's job performance, professional conduct or evaluation to a prospective employer of that employee, provided the information is provided in good faith. See Job Reference Immunity.
- In Utah, it is illegal to blacklist any employee. See Blacklisting.
- Utah law requires specific conditions in order to enforce restrictive covenants. See Restrictive Covenants.
- Utah provides protection for employers' trade secrets under its version of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act. See Trade Secrets, Business Information and Proprietary Information.
- The Utah Antidiscrimination Act (UADA) makes discrimination illegal in all aspects of employment. See Statutes Relating to Discriminatory Comments.
- Utah provides significant privacy protections for employees' communications. See Privacy in Communications.
- Utah provides several whistleblower protections for employee complaints. See Statutes Protecting Employee Communications.