HB 244 Utah House · 2026 General Session

Employment Amendments

HB 244 protects employees and job applicants who voluntarily cooperate with law enforcement. It prohibits employers from asking employees not to cooperate, penalizing them for cooperating, or refusing to hire them based on this choice. Employees who face retaliation can sue for damages or court orders under the new law. The bill takes effect on May 6, 2026, and applies to all employers in Utah.

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 20, 2026 Last action Mar 7, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced → Substitute #1 · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to expand employer restrictions by explicitly prohibiting them from requiring employees to cooperate with law enforcement or from penalizing employees who refuse to cooperate. It also added protections for employees who indicate their intent to either cooperate or decline cooperation, ensuring these intentions cannot be used as grounds for adverse employment actions.

Scope change

The scope of protection was broadened to cover not only the act of cooperating or refusing to cooperate, but also the employee's stated intention to do either, and it clarified that the prohibition applies regardless of whether the employee is required by law to cooperate.

REQUIREMENT

Added 'require' to the list of prohibited employer actions, preventing employers from forcing employees to interact with law enforcement.

Clarified that the prohibition against penalizing employees applies even when the employee is not legally required to cooperate with law enforcement.

ELIGIBILITY

Extended protections to include employees who decline to cooperate with law enforcement, provided such refusal is not legally required.

Protected employees who indicate an intention to cooperate or decline cooperation, preventing employers from penalizing them for these stated intentions.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 5, 2026

Lower · Passed

House/ comm rpt/ sent to Rules [House Rules Committee]

lower

Mar 4, 2026

Lower · Passed

House Comm - Recommends Returned to Rules [House Business, Labor, and Commerce Committee]

lower

Feb 20, 2026

Lower · Passed

House Comm - Held [House Business, Labor, and Commerce Committee]

lower

Feb 18, 2026

Lower · Passed

House Comm - Not Considered [House Business, Labor, and Commerce Committee]

lower

Feb 17, 2026

Committee

House/ to standing committee [House Business, Labor, and Commerce Committee]

lower

Jan 20, 2026

Introduced

House/ 1st reading (Introduced)

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors