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Utah’s Employer/Independent Contractor Distinction Remains Cloudy, Even To Judges

In a February 3, 2022 opinion by the Utah Court of Appeals, the struggle that courts have in distinguishing between employees and independent contractors continues.  In Jensen Tech Services and Sentinel Insurance Company, Ltd., v. Labor Commission and Sergio Herrera, 2022 UT App 18, the Utah Court of appeals was asked to consider whether an […]

| 3 min read | Tagged: , ,
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Utah Is Very Arbitration Friendly

At a time when some courts seem willing to write arbitration clauses out of contracts because of perceived fairness issues, Utah is firmly and liberally behind them. The Utah Court of Appeals recently confirmed Utah’s very strong policy in favor of arbitration and its liberal construction of arbitration clauses. Although not decided in the context […]

| 2 min read | Tagged: , ,
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Utah Affirms Again – Implied Covenants, Even Good Faith and Fair Dealing, Do Not Trump Express Covenants

On October 29, 2019, the Utah Supreme Court issued a rare decision reversing the Utah Court of Appeals. At issue was whether an at-will salesperson who had completed six contracts for sale of television services, and who was terminated before they were installed, had earned the commissions on those sales. In Vander Veur v. Groove […]

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Wall Street Journal Notes Growing Clouds Over Restrictive Covenants

Harriett Torrey of the Wall Street Journal wrote on Monday of this week that there is a growing backlash against employers getting in the way of workers quitting jobs for better offers and to secure a better living. There are two very strong public policies at war here.  One is that there should be no […]

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Supreme Court to Consider Whether Title VII Covers LGBT Bias

On Monday, April 22nd, the U.S. Supreme Court said that it will hear three cases that turn on whether existing civil rights bans on discrimination in the workplace under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 include discrimination based on sexual orientation and transgender status. The decision will determine the issue that has […]