Summary of legislation passed by the 2018 Utah Legislature.
1. Background Checks
HB0069 – National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact – Allows
Utah to join the National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact and permits Utah
to share information with other states and the federal government relating to
background checks and criminal histories for use in noncriminal-justice
background checks.
2. Discrimination
Legislation
HB0031 – Utah Antidiscrimination Act Amendments – Removes
a provision relating to the Utah Antidiscrimination and Labor Division (UALD)
holding hearings upon receiving complaints, grants UALD subpoena powers during
an investigation, instructs the UALD to assign a mediator, makes amendments
regarding mediators duty to conciliate and persuade, requires notice of right
to request an evidentiary hearing, makes the issuance of a determination and
order an action not subject to the Utah Administrative Procedures Act.
3. Employment
Incentives/Grant Programs
HB0327 – Rural Online Initiative – Requires
Utah State University (USU) to help individuals living in rural areas take
advantage of freelance, job, and business opportunities available online.
HB0390 – Rural Economic Development Incentives – Authorizes
a rural employment expansion grant for the creation of new jobs in counties of
the fourth, fifth, or sixth class.
HCR0014 – Concurrent Resolution Recognizing Utah’s Robust Economic
Growth and Urbanization – Recognizes the need for forward thinking
in, among other things, development of a talented workforce in Utah’s
metropolitan areas.
SB0103 – Strategic Workforce Investments – Amended
the definition of an eligible partnership to include a statewide partnership,
amends provisions related to a proposal for strategic workforce investment
funding, and places restrictions on the use of an appropriation for strategic
workforce investment.
SB0104 – Talent Development and Retention Strategy – Creates
a program to provide an incentive loan to a student who intends to work in a
qualifying job.
SB0147 – Nursing Initiative – Provides
a process for the Legislature to provide funding to certain programs that
prepare an individual to enter a nursing profession.
4. Licensing
HB0037 – Occupational and Professional Licensing Amendments
– Modifies the Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing’s
(DOPL) authority to share certain information, modifies provisions related to
unlawful and professional conduct, modifies provisions related to unpaid
penalties, modifies exemptions related to cosmetology and associated
professions, and modifies background check requirement and other requirements
for certain medical professionals.
HB0046 – Educator Licensing Modifications – Authorizes
the State Board of Education (SBE) to implement an educator licensing system,
modifies provisions related to endorsements and letters of authorization,
repeals requirement that a district superintendent hold a license, modifies
provisions related to youth suicide prevention training for employees, and
repeals the Compact for Interstate Qualification of Educational Personnel.
HB0063 – Cosmetology and Associated Professions – Allows
DOPL to offer required examinations for cosmetology and related professions in
languages in addition to English.
HB0170- Licensing Fee Waivers Amendments – Provides
that an applicant applying for a license from DOPL does not have to pay fees in
certain circumstances.
HB0173 – Occupational Licensing Requirement Amendments – Modifies
the authority of DOPL to issue licenses to individuals who have been previously
licensed in other states, districts, or territories of the United States.
HB0200 – Dentist Licensing Amendments – Changes
provisions related to an examination required for licensure as a dentist under
the Dentist and Dental Hygienist Practice Act.
HB0243 – Division of Real Estate Amendments – Amends
the Utah Residential Mortgage Practices and Licensing Act regarding
requirements for licensure, record requirements, and investigations, amends the
Appraisal Management Company Registration and Regulation Act regarding
registration requirements, qualifications, professional standards, amends the
Real Estate Licensing and Practices Act regarding exemptions to licensure and
investigations, and amends the Real Estate Appraiser and Licensing Act
regarding the Division of Real Estate’s denial of licensure, certification, and
registration, and investigations.
HB0369 – Auto Dealership License Amendments – Creates
a direct-sale manufacturer license, creates a direct-sale manufacturer
salesperson license, permits a direct-sale manufacturer licensee to act as a
salesperson for one direct-sale manufacturer under certain conditions, and
exempts a direct-sale manufacturer from the provisions of the New Automobile
Franchise Act.
SB0015 – Environmental Health Scientist Act Amendments – Clarifies
the qualifications for licensure for an environmental health scientist and an
environmental health scientist-in-training.
SB0063 – Charity Registration Amendments – Amends
the definition of a professional fund raiser, professional fund raising counsel
or consultant, and the criteria for registration.
SB0068 – Physician Assistant Vital Statistics Act Amendments – Adds
certain physician assistants to the list of individuals who can practice as a
health care professional under the Utah Vital Statistics Act and creates
requirements a physician assistant must meet in order to practice.
SB0078 – Office of Licensing Amendments – Authorizes
the Office of Licensing within the Department of Human Services to suspend a
license for up to three years.
SB0129 – Private Investigator License Revisions – Modifies
the number of hours of investigative experience and other requirements that are
required to apply for a private investigator agency license.
SB0197 – Private Security Amendments – Modifies
training requirements for licensed armed private security officers.
SB0217 – Physician Testing Amendments – Prohibits
a health care facility from requiring a physician to take a cognitive exam at a
certain age to obtain employment, privileges, or reimbursement.
SB0227 – Licensing Standards for Military Spouses – Provides
certain exemptions from occupational and professional licensure in a variety of
occupations and professions for an individual serving in the military and his
or her spouse if the individual is licensed in another jurisdiction.
5. Payment of Wages
HB0364 – Employment Law Amendments – Modifies
the definition of employer for purposes of the Payment of Wages Act, enacts the
Service Marketplace Platforms Act, and establishes a presumption that a
building service contractor who affiliates with a service marketplace platform
is an independent contractor.
SB0212 – Separation from Payroll Amendments – Addresses
the payment of unpaid wages to a commission-based sales agent after the
employer separates the sales agent from the employer’s payroll.
6. Non-Competition
Agreements
HB0241 – Post-Employment Restrictions Amendments – Addresses
the circumstances and conditions under which a post-employment covenant between
a broadcasting company and a broadcasting employee is valid.
7. Public Employees
a. Background Checking
HB0089 – Permitting the Department of Health to collect fingerprints
from minors who are seeking clearance for direct patient access.
SB0143 – Employment Background Checks – Provides
certain state entities the authority to conduct background checks for employees,
contractors, appointees, and volunteers.
b. Benefits
HB0019 – Health Insurance Right to Shop Amendments – Amends
provision that allows insurers to reward enrollees for selecting “high-quality
and low-cost health care providers.”
HB0029 –Public Employees Long-Term Disability Act Amendments
– Amends certain key definitions, identifies when an employee will
be evaluated for ongoing disability benefits, modifies reductions or
reimbursements for a disability benefits, and requires repayments of
overpayments.
HB0034 – State Employee Leave Policy Amendments – Allows
certain state employees to paid leave to provide certain volunteer disaster
relief services.
HB0146 – Postretirement Reemployment Restrictions Act – Repeals
the requirement that, for a retiree who is reemployed as an affiliated
emergency services worker, the termination date of the reemployment is
considered the retiree’s retirement date for the purpose of calculating the
one-year separation requirement.
HB0147 – Retirement Forfeiture for Employment Related Offences – Authorizes
a district attorney, a county attorney, the attorney general’s office, or the
state auditor to notify the Utah State Retirement Office and the employee’s
participating employer if an employee is charged with an offense that is or may
be an employment-related offense and requires the participating employer who
received the notification to make certain report to the entity that provided
the notification.
HB0229 – Surviving Spouse Insurance Death Benefit – Repeals
the provision that a surviving spouse of a covered individual who is employed
by the state and has a line-of-duty death is eligible for group health coverage
paid for by the state only until the surviving spouse remarries and provides
that a surviving spouse of a covered individual is eligible for group health
covered paid for by the state as long as the surviving spouse continues
coverage with the program.
SB0005 – Retirement and Independent Entities Base Budget – Provides,
among other things, budget for Department of Human Resources and approves
employment levels for internal service funds.
SB0021 – Public Safety and Firefighter Retirement Death Benefit
Amendments – Amends the death benefits payable to a member of Divisions A
or B in the Public Safety Contributory Retirement Act and the death benefits of
a member of Division B of the Public Safety Noncontributory Retirement Act.
SB0073 – Public Employees’ Benefit and Insurance Program
Amendments – Amends the requirements for the contributions made by an employer
to the health savings account for a federally qualified high deductible health
plan.
SB0181 – Infertility Insurance Coverage Pilot Program – Requires
PEHP to create a 3-year pilot program to cover a portion of the cost of using
an assisted reproductive technology.
SB0206 – Local Public Safety and Firefighter Surviving Spouse
Trust Fund Amendments – Authorizes certain law
enforcement agencies that employ public safety officers or firefighters to
elect to participate in the Local Public Safety and Surviving Spouse Trust
Fund.
SJR004 – Joint Resolution Authorizing Pay of In-Session
Employees
c. Employee Grievance/Review
HB0183 – Career Service Review Office Amendments – Repeals
a requirement that the administrator of the Career Service Review Office (CSRO)
employ a court reporter to make a transcript of a grievance procedure hearing
and requires the CSRO to record a grievance hearing.
HB383 – Work Environment and Grievance Procedure Amendments – Incorporates
in statute the state’s policy and commitment to provide a work environment free
of abusive conduct, includes abusive conduct and other actions as conditions
for which an employee may file a grievance and complaint, prohibits retaliatory
action against an employee who advocates in a grievance procedure for another
employee, amends deadlines for submitting grievances to higher steps, and
provides for an administrative appeal to the administrator of the CSRO.
d. Mandatory Human Resource/Personnel Policies
HB0133 – Employment Amendments – Expands
nepotism provision of Title 52, Chapter 3, Prohibiting Employment of Relatives,
which applies to public entities, to apply to household members.
HB0134 – Conflict of Interest Disclosure Requirements – Exempts
certain public officers and employees from filing certain disclosures regarding
the person’s business interests if the person filed a conflict of interest
disclosure under the Election Code.
SB0070 – Human Resource Requirements – Requires
charter schools and local districts to establish human resource management
policies, ensures that at least one of the school’s or district’s employees or
another person is assigned human resource management duties and receives
appropriate training, and modifies a requirement that the executive director of
the Department of Human Resource Management provide certain entities with human
resource management advice and training recommendations.
SB0199 – Utah Protection of Public Employees Act – Exempts
an action filed under the Utah Protection of Public Employees Act from certain
requirements of the Governmental Immunity Act of Utah, expands the list of
entities to whom an employee may communicate wrongful governmental conduct,
defines independent personnel board, sets a deadline for an independent
personnel board to hear a complaint, requires a state institution of higher
education to adopt a policy to establish an independent personnel board to hear
and take action on a complaint, provides an exception to the 180-day time
limit, and expands the circumstances under which an employer is required to
provide a copy of the Utah Protection of Public Employees Act.
e. Record Keeping/Disclosure
HB0056 – Emergency Personnel Recording Amendments – Provides
that an audio recording made (a) during an emergency event when an emergency
responder is treating or resuscitating an individual and (b) which is intended
to be used for purposes of training emergency responders is a protected record
under the Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA).
HB0072 – Communications of Governmental Entity Employees and
Officers – Provides that an email sent by a governmental entity email system
in violation of the prohibition against political and campaign solicitations is
a record subject to disclosure under GRAMA.
SB0230 – Law Enforcement Protection Amendments – Creates
a process by which a law enforcement officer may have their personal
information removed from publicly available state or local government sites.
SB0238 – Legislative Hiring Practices Amendments – Provides
exemption from the Open and Public Meetings Act when a meeting is held in
relation to making an employment recommendation to the Legislature.
f. Teachers/Education
HB0233 – Teacher Salary Supplement Revisions – Provides
a salary supplement for a teacher who has a degree in special education and is
assigned to teach special education.
HB0236 – Public Education Reference Check Amendments – Requires
a local education agency to make reference checks under certain circumstances
and requires a local education agency to respond to certain reference check
requests within 20 business days.
HB0237 – Concurrent Enrollment Enhancements – Requires
the State Board of Regents establish a policy describing required qualifications
for an individual to be an eligible instructor for a concurrent enrollment
course and repeals requirements related to eligible instructors, including
requirement that certain eligible instructors be approved as adjunct faculty.
HB0270 – Teacher Employment Amendments – Requires
the State Board of Education to ensure that a public education database for
teacher credentials performs in a certain manner.
SB0008 –State Agency and Higher Education Compensation
Appropriations – Provides funding for salary increases, health
insurance benefits, dental insurance benefits, long-term disability benefits,
retirement rate changes, and defined contribution plans.
g. Training
HB0179 – State Training and Certification Requirements – Requires
that certain training and certification required by public officials,
employees, and volunteers be presented or available in an on-line web-based
format.
8. Workers’Compensation
HB0219 – State Money Management Act Amendments – Requires
the state treasurer to invest the assets of the Employer’s Reinsurance Fund and
the Uninsured Employer’s Funds in particular ways.
HB0288 – Workers’ Compensation Claims Amendments – Makes
it unlawful for an employer to interfere with an employee’s ability to seek
workers’ compensation benefits or retaliate against an employee for seeking
workers’ compensation benefits.
SB0014 – Industrial Accident Restricted Account Sunset – Eliminates
language that provides for a repeal of provisions related to the Industrial
Accident Restricted Account.
SB0040 – Workers’ Compensation Dependent Benefit Amendments – Modifies
the calculation of benefits paid to one or more dependents of an employee with
a disability under the Workers’ Compensation Act.
SB0064 – Workers’ Compensation Health Care Amendments – Among
other things, addresses the rate at which certain workers’ compensation
carriers and self-insured employers must reimburse a hospital for covered
medical services.
SB0075 – Labor Code Amendments – Modifies
the mailing requirements under Title 34A, Utah Labor Code and provides
circumstances under which the Division of Industrial Accidents may waive or
reduce a penalty for conducting business without securing workers’ compensation
coverage.
SB0092 – Workers Compensation Attorney Fees – Provides
that to the extent allowed by court rule, an employee may be awarded reasonable
attorney fees in an adjudication of a workers’ compensation claim where only
medical benefits are at issue.
SB0176 – Student Internship Liability – Removes
a distinction to broaden the class of student interns that the State Risk Fund
covers.