Utah releases form to report anti-DEI bill violations

The Capitol in Salt Lake City is pictured on Monday, May 6, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)

Utah is preparing to implement a bill that would restrict diversity, equity and inclusion programs in public institutions. One of the first steps is to establish a hotline form to report violations.

The Legislature passed and Gov. Spencer Cox approved HB261, titled Equal Opportunity Initiatives, in the last general session. The bill directs public schools and other government agencies to make services available to all, rather than focusing on minorities. It would also ban certain practices, such as DEI statements and trainings in hiring.

The Office of the State Auditor, which is in charge of verifying compliance of government employers with the new law, released the hotline on Monday, but it will begin accepting reports about violations on July 1, when the legislation is set to become effective. 

The auditor’s office won’t be supervising educational institutions. Those complaints should be directed to the Utah State Board of Education or the Utah Board of Higher Education. It’s not yet clear how those reports would be submitted.

State Auditor John Dougall said in a news release that one of the reasons why he collaborated with state officials to challenge DEI initiatives was because they could “impair government operations, distort financial markets and hinder investments.”

“Whatever their good intentions, many DEI initiatives become tools of virtue signaling and can stifle diversity while promoting discrimination,” Dougall said in the statement. “DEI statements can essentially become ideological litmus tests, stifling diversity, equity, and inclusion. They can discourage certain applicants from considering possible employment and could impose excessive and improper speech control.”

The form asks respondents if public employers have required or compelled a submission — including DEI statements — as a condition of employment or admissions and aid, or if there has been a preferential consideration to an individual who provided those submissions.

There are also boxes to tip about governmental entities requiring DEI trainings or other practices that the law deems discriminatory. 

Complaints may be anonymous, but disclosure of identity is necessary for those asserting whistleblower status. 

Under HB261, the auditor is required to receive and investigate alleged violations, the form reads. However, the office doesn’t have the power to change the content and purpose of the new law. Those concerns should be addressed to lawmakers.

Dougall’s statement takes a different tone than the one he has been sharing about a hotline to report violations of a law restricting transgender people in publicly-owned bathrooms and locker rooms of the gender they identify with.

The auditor’s office has recently been flooded with thousands of complaints as part of HB257, which, he said, had a “rushed” approval without input from his office. The vast majority of them have been bogus, Dougall said, with only four apparently submitted in “good faith” that were nonetheless unsubstantiated. 

“Indeed, no auditor sets out to become a bathroom monitor.” Dougall said.

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