Utah legislators made national headlines last night when they approved a bill providing antidiscrimination protections to LGBT employees coupled with protections for religious expression in the workplace. Titled the Utah Antidiscrimination and Religious Freedom Act (the “Act”), the bill received support from across Utah’s political spectrum, including the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the ACLU of Utah, and some of Utah’s leading LGBT advocacy groups. Utah Governor Gary Herbert has pledged to sign the bill into law later today.

The bill could serve as a template for other so-called “Red States” also seeking to balance concerns about religious liberty and expression with the need for workplace antidiscrimination protections for LGBT employees. Our objective in this article is to describe how the new law will impact Utah employers, their obligations under the Act, who is protected and who is exempt, and how the law’s religious belief protections for employees are meant to apply.
Continue Reading Utah Legislators Make History, Pass LGBT Antidiscrimination/Religious Freedom Bill