General Assembly Raised Bill No. 5348
February Session, 2010 LCO No. 1654
*01654_______PRI*
Referred to Committee on Program Review and Investigations
Introduced by:
(PRI)
General Assembly
Raised Bill No. 5348
February Session, 2010
LCO No. 1654
*01654_______PRI*
Referred to Committee on Program Review and Investigations
Introduced by:
(PRI)
AN ACT IMPLEMENTING ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE PROGRAM REVIEW AND INVESTIGATIONS COMMITTEE CONCERNING RETALIATION FOR WHISTLEBLOWER COMPLAINTS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 4-61dd of the 2010 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2010):
(a) (1) Any person having knowledge of any matter involving corruption, unethical practices, violation of state laws or regulations, mismanagement, gross waste of funds, abuse of authority or danger to the public safety occurring in any state department or agency or any quasi-public agency, as defined in section 1-120, or any person having knowledge of any matter involving corruption, violation of state or federal laws or regulations, gross waste of funds, abuse of authority or danger to the public safety occurring in any large state contract, may transmit all facts and information in such person's possession concerning such matter to the Auditors of Public Accounts. The Auditors of Public Accounts shall review such matter and report their findings and any recommendations to the Attorney General. Upon receiving such a report, the Attorney General shall make such investigation as the Attorney General deems proper regarding such report and any other information that may be reasonably derived from such report. Prior to conducting an investigation of any information that may be reasonably derived from such report, the Attorney General shall consult with the Auditors of Public Accounts concerning the relationship of such additional information to the report that has been issued pursuant to this subsection. Any such subsequent investigation deemed appropriate by the Attorney General shall only be conducted with the concurrence and assistance of the Auditors of Public Accounts. At the request of the Attorney General or on their own initiative, the auditors shall assist in the investigation. The Attorney General [shall have power to] may summon witnesses, require the production of any necessary books, papers or other documents and administer oaths to witnesses, where necessary, for the purpose of an investigation pursuant to this section or for the purpose of investigating a suspected violation of subsection (a) of section 17b-301b until such time as the Attorney General files a civil action pursuant to section 17b-301c. Upon the conclusion of the investigation, the Attorney General shall where necessary, report any findings to the Governor, or in matters involving criminal activity, to the Chief State's Attorney. In addition to the exempt records provision of section 1-210, the Auditors of Public Accounts and the Attorney General shall not, after receipt of any information from a person under the provisions of this section or sections 17b-301c to 17b-301g, inclusive, disclose the identity of such person without such person's consent unless the Auditors of Public Accounts or the Attorney General determines that such disclosure is unavoidable, and may withhold records of such investigation, during the pendency of the investigation.
(2) The Auditors of Public Accounts and the Attorney General shall each post on their agency Internet web sites a summary of all matters investigated by their agencies. Such summary shall include, but not be limited to, a listing of the number of complaints for each state agency, quasi-public agency or large state contractor, a description of the type of allegations made, the date each such matter was referred to the auditors or Attorney General and the status and disposition of each such matter, including whether the allegation has been substantiated in whole or in part and whether the agency or large state contractor has attempted to take any corrective action. Such summary shall be updated every six months.
(b) (1) No state officer or employee, as defined in section 4-141, no quasi-public agency officer or employee, no officer or employee of a large state contractor and no appointing authority shall take or threaten to take any personnel action against any state or quasi-public agency employee or any employee of a large state contractor in retaliation for such employee's or contractor's disclosure of information to (A) an employee of the Auditors of Public Accounts or the Attorney General under the provisions of subsection (a) of this section; (B) an employee of the state agency or quasi-public agency where such state officer or employee is employed; (C) an employee of a state agency pursuant to a mandated reporter statute or pursuant to subsection (b) of section 17a-28; or (D) in the case of a large state contractor, an employee of the contracting state agency concerning information involving the large state contract.
[(2) If a state or quasi-public agency employee or an employee of a large state contractor alleges that a personnel action has been threatened or taken in violation of subdivision (1) of this subsection, the employee may notify the Attorney General, who shall investigate pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.]
[(3)] (2) (A) Not later than [thirty] ninety days after learning of the specific incident giving rise to a claim that a personnel action has been threatened or has occurred in violation of subdivision (1) of this subsection, a state or quasi-public agency employee, an employee of a large state contractor or the employee's attorney may file a complaint concerning such personnel action with the Chief Human Rights Referee designated under section 46a-57. Such complaint may be amended if an additional incident giving rise to a claim under this subdivision occurs subsequent to the filing of the original complaint. The Chief Human Rights Referee shall assign the complaint to a human rights referee appointed under section 46a-57, who shall conduct a hearing and issue a decision concerning whether the officer or employee taking or threatening to take the personnel action violated any provision of this section. If, during the pendency of the hearing, the human rights referee has reasonable cause to believe that any officer or employee has taken personnel action in violation of subdivision (1) of this subsection, such referee may order temporary equitable relief, including, but not limited to, an order reinstating the person filing the complaint to the same position held before such personnel action was taken. If, after the hearing, the human rights referee finds [such] a violation, the referee may award the aggrieved employee reinstatement to the employee's former position, back pay and reestablishment of any employee benefits for which the employee would otherwise have been eligible if such violation had not occurred, reasonable attorneys' fees, and any other damages. For the purposes of this subsection, such human rights referee shall act as an independent hearing officer. The decision of a human rights referee under this subsection may be appealed by any person who was a party at such hearing, in accordance with the provisions of section 4-183.
(B) The Chief Human Rights Referee shall adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, establishing the procedure for filing complaints and noticing and conducting hearings under subparagraph (A) of this subdivision.
[(4)] (3) As an alternative to the provisions of [subdivisions] subdivision (2) [and (3)] of this subsection: (A) A state or quasi-public agency employee who alleges that a personnel action has been threatened or taken may file an appeal not later than thirty days after learning of the specific incident giving rise to such claim with the Employees' Review Board under section 5-202, or, in the case of a state or quasi-public agency employee covered by a collective bargaining contract, in accordance with the procedure provided by such contract; or (B) an employee of a large state contractor alleging that such action has been threatened or taken may, after exhausting all available administrative remedies, bring a civil action in accordance with the provisions of subsection (c) of section 31-51m.
[(5)] (4) In any proceeding under subdivision (2) [,] or (3) [or (4)] of this subsection concerning a personnel action taken or threatened against any state or quasi-public agency employee or any employee of a large state contractor, which personnel action occurs not later than [one year] two years after the employee first transmits facts and information concerning a matter under subsection (a) of this section to the Auditors of Public Accounts or the Attorney General, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that the personnel action is in retaliation for the action taken by the employee under subsection (a) of this section.
[(6)] (5) If a state officer or employee, as defined in section 4-141, a quasi-public agency officer or employee, an officer or employee of a large state contractor or an appointing authority takes or threatens to take any action to impede, fail to renew or cancel a contract between a state agency and a large state contractor, or between a large state contractor and its subcontractor, in retaliation for the disclosure of information pursuant to subsection (a) of this section to any agency listed in subdivision (1) of this subsection, such affected agency, contractor or subcontractor may, not later than ninety days after learning of such action, threat or failure to renew, bring a civil action in the superior court for the judicial district of Hartford to recover damages, attorney's fees and costs.
(c) Any employee of a state or quasi-public agency or large state contractor, who is found to have knowingly and maliciously made false charges under subsection (a) of this section, shall be subject to disciplinary action by such employee's appointing authority up to and including dismissal. In the case of a state or quasi-public agency employee, such action shall be subject to appeal to the Employees' Review Board in accordance with section 5-202, or in the case of state or quasi-public agency employees included in collective bargaining contracts, the procedure provided by such contracts.
(d) On or before September first, annually, the Auditors of Public Accounts and the Attorney General shall submit, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, to the clerk of each house of the General Assembly a joint report indicating the number of matters for each agency or large state contractor for which facts and information were transmitted to the auditors pursuant to this section during the preceding state fiscal year, [and the] a description of the type of allegations made, the date each such matter was referred to the auditors and the status and disposition of each such matter, including whether the allegation has been substantiated in whole or in part and whether the agency or large state contractor has attempted to take any corrective action.
(e) Each contract between a state or quasi-public agency and a large state contractor shall provide that, if an officer, employee or appointing authority of a large state contractor takes or threatens to take any personnel action against any employee of the contractor in retaliation for such employee's disclosure of information to any employee of the contracting state or quasi-public agency or the Auditors of Public Accounts or the Attorney General under the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, the contractor shall be liable for a civil penalty of not more than five thousand dollars for each offense, up to a maximum of twenty per cent of the value of the contract. Each violation shall be a separate and distinct offense and in the case of a continuing violation each calendar day's continuance of the violation shall be deemed to be a separate and distinct offense. The executive head of the state or quasi-public agency may request the Attorney General to bring a civil action in the superior court for the judicial district of Hartford to seek imposition and recovery of such civil penalty.
(f) Each state agency or quasi-public agency shall post a notice of the provisions of this section relating to state employees and quasi-public agency employees in a conspicuous place that is readily available for viewing by employees of such agency or quasi-public agency. Each large state contractor shall post a notice of the provisions of this section relating to large state contractors in a conspicuous place which is readily available for viewing by the employees of the contractor.
(g) No person who, in good faith, discloses information to the Auditors of Public Accounts or the Attorney General in accordance with this section shall be liable for any civil damages resulting from such good faith disclosure.
(h) As used in this section:
(1) "Large state contract" means a contract between an entity and a state or quasi-public agency, having a value of five million dollars or more; and
(2) "Large state contractor" means an entity that has entered into a large state contract with a state or quasi-public agency.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2010 4-61dd
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
October 1, 2010
4-61dd
Statement of Purpose:
To implement the recommendations of the Legislative Program Review and Investigations Committee concerning whistleblowers: To require the Attorney General and the Auditors of Public Accounts to post a summary of all complaints on their web site every six months, to require a more detailed report be submitted to the General Assembly, to extend the filing requirement for complaints to ninety days, to extend the rebuttable presumption period for retaliation complaints to two years, to allow human rights referees to grant temporary relief and to permit amendments to complaints, and to repeal the provision setting forth a process for requesting the Attorney General to investigate retaliation complaints.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]