General Assembly Raised Bill No. 929
January Session, 2017 LCO No. 4385
*04385_______JUD*
Referred to Committee on JUDICIARY
Introduced by:
(JUD)
General Assembly
Raised Bill No. 929
January Session, 2017
LCO No. 4385
*04385_______JUD*
Referred to Committee on JUDICIARY
Introduced by:
(JUD)
AN ACT EXTENDING WHISTLE-BLOWER PROTECTIONS TO CERTAIN EMPLOYEES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 31-51m of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2017):
(a) As used in this section:
(1) "Person" means one or more individuals, partnerships, associations, corporations, limited liability companies, business trusts, legal representatives or any organized group of persons;
(2) "Employer" means a person engaged in business who has employees, including the state and any political subdivision of the state;
(3) "Employee" means any person engaged in service to an employer in a business of his or her employer;
(4) "Public body" means (A) any public agency, as defined in subdivision (1) of section 1-200, or any employee, member or officer thereof, or (B) any federal agency or any employee, member or officer thereof.
(b) No employer shall discharge, discipline or otherwise penalize any employee because (1) the employee, or a person acting on behalf of the employee, reports, verbally or in writing, a violation or a suspected violation of any state or federal law or regulation or any municipal ordinance or regulation to a public body, (2) the employee objects or refuses to participate in any activity that the employee reasonably believes to be a violation or suspected violation of any state or federal law or regulation or any municipal ordinance or regulation, (3) the employee objects or refuses to participate in any activity that the employee reasonably believes to be a violation or suspected violation of any court order, (4) the employee is requested by a public body to participate in an investigation, hearing or inquiry held by that public body, or a court action, or [(3)] (5) the employee reports a suspected incident of child abuse or neglect pursuant to sections 17a-101a to 17a-101d, inclusive, or 17a-103. No municipal employer shall discharge, discipline or otherwise penalize any employee because the employee, or a person acting on behalf of the employee, reports, verbally or in writing, to a public body concerning the unethical practices, mismanagement or abuse of authority by such employer. The provisions of this subsection shall not be applicable when the employee knows that such report is false.
(c) Any employee who is discharged, disciplined or otherwise penalized by his or her employer in violation of the provisions of subsection (b) may, after exhausting all available administrative remedies, bring a civil action, [within ninety] not later than one hundred eighty days [of] after the date of the final administrative determination or [within ninety] not later than one hundred eighty days [of] after the date such violation, whichever is later, in the superior court for the judicial district where the violation is alleged to have occurred or where the employer has its principal office, for: [the reinstatement] (1) Reinstatement of [his] the employee's previous job, (2) payment of back wages and reestablishment of employee benefits to which [he] the employee would have otherwise been entitled if such violation had not occurred, (3) compensatory damages, (4) the removal of any discipline or penalty imposed upon the employee, (5) future economic damages attributable to a reduction in the employee's wages if reinstatement of the employee's previous job is not feasible or impracticable, and (6) punitive damages, if the employer's conduct is a wilful or intentional violation of the employee's rights. An employee's recovery from any such action shall be limited to such items, [provided] except that the court may allow [to] the prevailing [party his] party's costs, together with reasonable attorney's fees to be taxed by the court. Any employee found to have knowingly made a false report shall be subject to disciplinary action by his or her employer up to and including dismissal.
(d) This section shall not be construed to diminish or impair the rights of a person under any collective bargaining agreement.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2017 31-51m
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
October 1, 2017
31-51m
Statement of Purpose:
To extend whistle-blower protections to an employee who objects, or refuses to participate in any activity that the employee reasonably believes to be a violation or suspected violation of any state or federal law or regulation, any municipal ordinance or regulation or any court order.
[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.]