Utah’s job discrimination watchdog, which last year was the subject of a critical audit that has the Utah Legislature considering imposing changes, filed an increased number of charges against employers in 2017, according to recently released statistics.
The Utah Antidiscrimination and Labor Division, known as UALD in employment law circles, increased discrimination charges by more than one-third. In all, UALD accused employers of 1,831 instances of discrimination in 2017.
Of those, the biggest jump was in what are called retaliation complaints. That’s when a worker reports experiencing or witnessing discrimination based on one of the other protected classes — such as race, sex, age or pregnancy — and the manager or employer retaliates against the complainant.