Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Workplace Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Senate advances bill letting employers seek workplace violence protective orders
Summary
Senate first substitute SB67 creates a process for employers (including those with independent contractors) to seek workplace violence protective orders when threats target a workforce or workplace; the Senate substituted language clarifying the scope and passed the substitute 27–0 with two absent.
The Utah State Senate advanced first substitute Senate Bill 67, which creates a framework for workplace violence protective orders and clarifies who may seek them.
Senator Weiler, sponsor of the substitute, told the Senate the measure addresses a gap in current law when threats are made against a company or workforce rather than an individually named person. He illustrated the problem with a hypothetical: if a departing employee threatened that "Enron, the company, will rue the day" and did not identify a specific person, existing law makes it difficult for an employer or workplace to obtain a protective order. "Now because... the employee has not identified a specific target... it would be very difficult for anyone to get the protective order because one gap that we have under existing Utah law is we don't have a workplace violence protective order," Weiler said.
The first substitute clarified two main points: the statutory definition of "worker" may include independent contractors so that modern workplaces are not excluded, and an employer (rather than only an individual worker) may apply to the court for a workplace protective order. Senator Weiler said the substitute does not change the substantive standards for protective orders but points to legal standards in existing protective-order code and updates definitions and application authority for contemporary workplaces.
The Senate substituted and read the first substitute for third reading and recorded a roll-call tally of 27 yeas, 0 nays, 2 absent. The sponsor said the change is intended to make a protective-order remedy usable where threats are against a workplace or workforce and to allow law enforcement to respond where a protective order is in place.
The next procedural step is for the bill to proceed as read; implementation details (court forms, enforcement protocols and any training for law enforcement) were not specified during the floor presentation.
