13-75-201. Franchisee religious day operation protection.

277 words·~1 min read·/ut/title-13/chapter-75/13-75-201

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

Effective 3/17/2025

(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