News & Events

But simply making the policy accessible isn’t enough. Employees need to actually believe the policy is more than an apathetic or disinterested platitude or some obligatory or boilerplate statement that a lawyer inserted into the handbook. They must feel that the statement reflects a real attitude and that the employer actually aspires to that goal. Otherwise, the policy is unlikely to be followed and almost certainly will have little to no effect on the company culture.

Acts of sexual abuse and harassment that had been allowed to grow and metastasize malignantly in the dark were now being exposed. Victim after victim came forward with stories of abuse and harassment. Their accounts became public, and victims found support and solidarity as part of this growing movement as they empathized with one another. They were encouraged, inspired, and empowered to speak out by the confidence of others already telling their tales of abuse. Banding together, these victims and others supporting the movement publicly and powerfully declared that they will tolerate abuse and harassment no longer. This movement is empowering even more victims to confront their harassers despite the fear of reprisal or embarrassment that accompanies reporting sexual harassment.

This movement has permeated all facets of society, including the workplace. It’s affecting the way the public views and thinks about sexual misconduct. Within the workplace, employees are increasingly opening up about workplace sexual harassment. Bloomberg BNA reports that more than 400 executives and other high-profile employees have been exposed by the growing #MeToo movement since it started to take off. Many employers have embraced the movement and have taken steps to eliminate and prevent further sexual harassment in the workplace.

Unfortunately, that’s not universally the case. Some employers are simply holding their proverbial breath, hoping they won’t be implicated. As this movement puts a spotlight on workplace sexual harassment, they need to begin to take action to eradicate harassment and abuse.

Another session of the Utah Legislature is in the books, and lawmakers have enacted several new laws of which em-ployers should be aware. Most of the new laws went into ef-fect May 8, 2018. In last month’s issue of Utah Employment Law Letter, we reported on the passage of an amendment to the Post-Employment Restrictions Act (i.e., Utah’s law gov-erning noncompete agreements) that affects broadcasters (see “Broadcast the news: no noncompetes for TV and radio tal-ent in Utah” on pg. 1). Below is a summary of some of the other new laws with which you should familiarize yourself.