| (1) |
| (a) | An employer may not take retaliatory action against an employee because the employee, or a person authorized to act on behalf of the employee, communicates in good faith:
| (i) | the waste or misuse of public funds, property, or manpower; |
| (ii) | a violation or suspected violation of a law, rule, or regulation adopted under the law of this state, a political subdivision of this state, or any recognized entity of the United States; or |
| (iii) | as it relates to a state government employer:
| (B) | abuse of authority; or |
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| (b) | For purposes of Subsection (1)(a), an employee is presumed to have communicated in good faith if the employee gives written notice or otherwise formally communicates the conduct described in Subsection (1)(a) to:
| (i) | a person in authority over the person alleged to have engaged in the conduct described in Subsection (1)(a); |
| (ii) | the attorney general's office; |
| (iii) | law enforcement, if the conduct is criminal in nature; |
| (iv) | if the employee is a public entity employee, public body employee, legislative employee, or a judicial employee:
| (A) | the state auditor's office; |
| (B) | the president of the Senate; |
| (C) | the speaker of the House of Representatives; |
| (D) | the Office of Legislative Auditor General; |
| (E) | the governor's office; |
| (F) | the state court administrator; or |
| (G) | the Division of Finance; |
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| (v) | if the employee is a public entity employee, but not an employee of an institution of higher education, the director of the Division of Purchasing and General Services; |
| (vi) | if the employee is a political subdivision employee:
| (A) | the legislative body, or a member of the legislative body, of the political subdivision; |
| (B) | the governing body, or a member of the governing body, of the political subdivision; |
| (C) | the top executive of the political subdivision; or |
| (D) | any government official with authority to audit the political subdivision or the applicable part of the political subdivision; or |
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| (vii) | if the employee is an employee of an institution of higher education:
| (A) | the Utah Board of Higher Education or a member of the Utah Board of Higher Education; |
| (B) | the commissioner of higher education; |
| (C) | the president of the institution of higher education where the employee is employed; or |
| (D) | the entity that conducts audits of the institution of higher education where the employee is employed. |
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| (c) | The presumption described in Subsection (1)(b) may be rebutted by showing that the employee knew or reasonably ought to have known that the report is malicious, false, or frivolous. |
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