The Utah Business and Employment Lawyer

In a decision that will certainly provide injured workers with a boost and allow more attorneys to represent injured workers, the Utah Supreme Court held that the Labor Commission's regulation of the amount of fees that can be paid to attorneys representing injured workers is unconstitutional under  the Utah Constitution's separation of powers clause.  You can access the decision here . In a decision written by Justice Durham, the Utah Supreme Court held that Utah Code section 34A-1-309 and the Labor Commission's interpretive regulations violation Article VIII, Section 4 and Article V, Section 1, of the Utah Constitution because the Utah Supreme Court has the exclusive power to regulate the practice of law. The Court found that regulating the amount of attorneys' fees paid to an attorney goes to the very heart of the practice of law and regulating the practice of law in the State of Utah rests with the judicial branch, not the legislative branch For employees who ha...

In a move that was surprising to many, the Utah legislature passed, and the Governor signed, H.B. 251, the "Post-Employment Restrictions Act" in March of 2016. You can review the new law here , which sets a one year-limit on employment non-compete agreements starting May 10, 2016. While the Act that ended up being passed was altered significantly from the original bill that was introduced, the Act prohibits employee non-compete agreements from being longer than one year following termination, and, significantly, requires a non-prevailing employer who seeks to enforce an agreement in violation of the Act to pay attorneys' fees and costs to an employee who successfully challenges the enforceability of the post-employment non-compete agreement. What Non-Compete Agreements are Subject to the Act? Utah Code Section 34-51-201 provides that "in addition to the requirements under the common law, for a post-employment restrictive covenant entered into on or after May 10...