Utah Code § 13-75-201 Franchisee religious day operation protection.
13-75-201. Franchisee religious day operation protection.
(1) Except as provided in Subsection (2), when a franchisee asserts a sincerely held religious belief, a franchisor may not:
(a) unilaterally impose a religious day operation requirement;
(b) require a franchisee to accept a religious day operation requirement as a part of an amendment to the franchise agreement; or
(c) refuse to renew a franchise agreement based solely on a franchisee's failure to comply with a religious day operation requirement.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply when:
(a) the original franchise agreement provides a religious day operation requirement;
(b) the franchisee agrees through a renewal or an amendment to the franchise agreement to a religious day operation requirement; or
(c) the franchisor and the franchisee enter into a franchise agreement to develop an additional franchise location that contains a religious day operation requirement.
(3) The protections provided in Subsection (1) are not transferable.
(4) If a court with jurisdiction finds reasonable cause to believe that a franchisor violated Subsection (1), the court may order:
(a) actual damages, reasonable attorney fees, and costs to the franchisee;
(b) a permanent or temporary injunction, a temporary restraining order, or other appropriate order; and
(c) civil penalties against the franchisor in an amount not exceeding:
(i) $10,000 for a first violation;
(ii) $25,000 for a second violation within three years after the day on which the franchisee filed the complaint for the first violation; or
(iii) $50,000 for a violation subsequent to a second violation within five years after the day on which the franchisee filed the complaint for the first violation.
Enacted by Chapter 32, 2025 General Session