Police Disclosure of a Past Incident to an Employer
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Reviewed & verified by A. Jason Velez, Esq.*
Managing Attorney, 1LAW · Last reviewed January 1, 2026
Legal Inquiry
Consumer Legal Issue
My work had asked about an issue that wasnt supposed to be talked about.The police station here had talked about my issues. which then almost losted me my job b.
The police station here has always been very rude to me. They never respect me. They tell people I'm a bad kid. My boss heard and got mad a threated to fire me. I got in trouble about a year ago and the police station decided to blurt it out. I was just wondering what I could do.
Attorney Answer
Depending on exactly what was said and whether that information was legally protected, the disclosure to your employer could be a records-law violation — but Utah's records law mostly handles that as a criminal matter rather than handing you a payout.
Under Utah's Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA), Utah Code § 63G-2-305(10), records created or maintained for civil, criminal, or administrative enforcement purposes can be classified as "protected," but only where release could reasonably be expected to cause one of the harms listed in that subsection, such as interfering with an enforcement investigation. Protection is not automatic, and a good deal of law enforcement information is actually public. So the first question is exactly what was said and whether it was protected in the first place.
If it was protected and it was disclosed improperly, Utah Code § 63G-2-801 makes it a class B misdemeanor for a public employee or other person with lawful access to intentionally disclose a protected record knowing the disclosure is prohibited — subject to several defenses, including a good-faith belief that the disclosure was lawful. On the civil side, Utah Code § 63G-2-802 lets a district court enjoin an entity that violates GRAMA and award attorney fees, but its damages remedy is narrow and does not work as a general right to sue for money whenever information is repeated to someone.
One more thing worth raising when you ask: if the incident from about a year ago was handled as a juvenile matter, a separate set of confidentiality rules can apply to those records, and that changes the analysis.
Practically, your strongest immediate move is establishing exactly what was disclosed, by whom, and on what basis — and any personal recovery would more likely come from a different legal theory than GRAMA's own remedies.
What you can do
1) Submit a GRAMA records request to the police department for any record of contact with your employer about you, and for how your own records are classified.
2) File a written complaint with the department's internal affairs or with the city about the disclosure, and ask for a written response.
3) Write down exactly what your boss told you was said, by whom, and when, while it is still fresh.
4) Ask your employer, in writing if possible, exactly what they were told and when.
5) Consult a Utah attorney this week about whether a separate claim, such as invasion of privacy, may be available even where GRAMA's own remedies are limited.
Cases Cited
Published decisions relevant to this issue, provided as legal background rather than advice about any particular case.
- State v. Coleman, 2025 UT App 33, 566 P.3d 772 — Court of Appeals of Utah 2025
- Graves v. Utah County Government, 2024 UT App 80, 551 P.3d 1029 — Court of Appeals of Utah 2024
- Utah Legal Clinic v. Salt Lake City Corporation, 2019 UT App 58, 440 P.3d 948 — Court of Appeals of Utah 2019
Court of Appeals decision applying GRAMA's protected-record framework in an access dispute: once records are properly classified as protected under Utah Code § 63G-2-305, a requester seeking their release bears the burden under § 63G-2-406(1) of showing by a preponderance of the evidence that the public interest in disclosure is at least equal to the governmental entity's interest in restricting access.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What makes a police record "protected" under Utah's GRAMA law?
A record created for enforcement purposes can be classified as protected where its release could reasonably be expected to cause one of the harms the statute lists, such as interfering with an enforcement investigation. The classification is not automatic, and much law enforcement information is public.
Is it a crime for a Utah government employee to improperly disclose a protected record?
Yes. Utah Code § 63G-2-801 makes it a class B misdemeanor for a person with lawful access to intentionally disclose a protected record while knowing the disclosure is prohibited, though several defenses can apply, including a good-faith belief that the disclosure was lawful.
Can I sue for money damages if a Utah government agency wrongly discloses my information under GRAMA?
Utah Code § 63G-2-802 mainly authorizes an injunction against an entity that violates GRAMA and an award of attorney fees. Its damages provision is narrow and does not function as a general right to sue for money whenever information is improperly shared.
