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General Assembly Committee Bill No. 359
January Session, 2019
LCO No. 6180
Referred to Committee on LABOR AND PUBLIC EMPLOYEES
Introduced by:
(LAB)
AN ACT EXTENDING WHI STLEBLOWER PROTECTIO NS TO
EMPLOYEES OF BUSINES SES RECEIVING FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
FROM THE STATE.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 4-61dd of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2019): 2
(a) Any person having knowledge of any matter involving (1) 3
corruption, unethical practices, violation of state laws or regulations, 4
mismanagement, gross waste of funds, abuse of authority or danger to 5
the public safety occurring in any state department or agency, any 6
quasi-public agency, as defined in section 1-120, or any Probate Court, 7
[or any person having knowledge of any matter involving] (2) 8
corruption, violation of state or federal laws or regulations, gross 9
waste of funds, abuse of authority or danger to the public safety 10
occurring in any large state contract, or (3) corruption by an entity 11
receiving financial assistance pursuant to title 32 that has failed to meet 12
its contractual obligations or has failed to satisfy any condition 13
regarding such financial assistance, may transmit all facts and 14
information in such person's possession concerning such matter to the 15 Committee Bill No. 359
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Auditors of Public Accounts. The Auditors of Public Accounts shall 16
review such matter and report their findings and any 17
recommendations to the Attorney General. Upon receiving such a 18
report, the Attorney General shall make such investigation as the 19
Attorney General deems proper regarding such report and any other 20
information that may be reasonably derived from such report. Prior to 21
conducting an investigation of any information that may be reasonably 22
derived from such report, the Attorney General shall consult with the 23
Auditors of Public Accounts concerning the relationship of such 24
additional information to the report that has been issued pursuant to 25
this subsection. Any such subsequent investigation deemed 26
appropriate by the Attorney General shall only be conducted with the 27
concurrence and assistance of the Auditors of Public Accounts. At the 28
request of the Attorney General or on their own initiative, the auditors 29
shall assist in the investigation. 30
(b) (1) The Auditors of Public Accounts may reject any complaint 31
received pursuant to subsection (a) of this section if the Auditors of 32
Public Accounts determine one or more of the following: 33
(A) There are other available remedies that the complainant can 34
reasonably be expected to pursue; 35
(B) The complaint is better suited for investigation or enforcement 36
by another state agency; 37
(C) The complaint is trivial, frivolous, vexatious or not made in 38
good faith; 39
(D) Other complaints have greater priority in terms of serving the 40
public good; 41
(E) The complaint is not timely or is too long delayed to justify 42
further investigation; or 43
(F) The complaint could be handled more appropriately as part of 44
an ongoing or scheduled regular audit. 45 Committee Bill No. 359
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(2) If the Auditors of Public Accounts reject a complaint pursuant to 46
subdivision (1) of this subsection, the Auditors of Public Accounts 47
shall provide a report to the Attorney General setting out the basis for 48
the rejection. 49
(3) If at any time the Auditors of Public Accounts determine that a 50
complaint is more appropriately investigated by another state agency, 51
the Auditors of Public Accounts shall refer the complaint to such 52
agency. The investigating agency shall provide a status report 53
regarding the referred complaint to the Auditors of Public Accounts 54
upon request. 55
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 12 -15, the 56
Commissioner of Revenue Services may, upon written request by the 57
Auditors of Public Accounts, disclose return or return information, as 58
defined in section 12-15, to the Auditors of Public Accounts for 59
purposes of preparing a report under subsection (a) or (b) of this 60
section. Such return or return information shall not be published in 61
any report prepared in accordance with subsection (a) or (b) of this 62
section, and shall not otherwise be redisclosed, except that such 63
information may be redisclosed to the Attorney General for purposes 64
of an investigation authorized by subsection (a) of this section. Any 65
person who violates the provisions of this subsection shall be subject to 66
the provisions of subsection (g) of section 12-15. 67
(d) The Attorney General may summon witnesses, require the 68
production of any necessary books, papers or other documents and 69
administer oaths to witnesses, where necessary, for the purpose of an 70
investigation pursuant to this section or for the purpose of 71
investigating a suspected violation of subsection (a) of section 4-275 72
until such time as the Attorney General files a civil action pursuant to 73
section 4-276. Service of a subpoena ad testificandum, subpoena duces 74
tecum and a notice of deposition, may be made by: (1) Personal service 75
or service at the usual place of abode; or (2) registered or certified mail, 76
return receipt requested, a duly executed copy thereof addressed to the 77
person to be served at such person's principal place of business in this 78 Committee Bill No. 359
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state, or, if such person has no principal place of business in this state, 79
at such person's principal office or such person's residence. Upon the 80
conclusion of the investigation, the Attorney General shall where 81
necessary, report any findings to the Governor, or in matters involving 82
criminal activity, to the Chief State's Attorney. In addition to the 83
exempt records provision of section 1-210, the Auditors of Public 84
Accounts and the Attorney General shall not, after receipt of any 85
information from a person under the provisions of this section or 86
sections 4-276 to 4-280, inclusive, disclose the identity of such person 87
without such person's consent unless the Auditors of Public Accounts 88
or the Attorney General determines that such disclosure is 89
unavoidable, and may withhold records of such investigation, during 90
the pendency of the investigation. All documentary material or other 91
information furnished to the Attorney General, his or her deputy or 92
any assistant attorney general designated by the Attorney General, 93
pursuant to a demand issued under this subsection for the purpose of 94
investigating a suspected violation of subsection (a) of section 4-275, 95
shall be returned to the person furnishing such documentary material 96
or other information upon the termination of the Attorney General's 97
investigation or final determination of any action or proceeding 98
commenced thereunder. 99
(e) (1) No state officer or employee, as defined in section 4-141, no 100
quasi-public agency officer or employee, no officer or employee of a 101
large state contractor and no appointing authority shall take or 102
threaten to take any personnel action against any state or quasi-public 103
agency employee or any employee of a large state contractor in 104
retaliation for (A) such employee's or contractor's disclosure of 105
information to (i) an employee of the Auditors of Public Accounts or 106
the Attorney General under the provisions of subsection (a) of this 107
section; (ii) an employee of the state agency or quasi-public agency 108
where such state officer or employee is employed; (iii) an employee of 109
a state agency pursuant to a mandated reporter statute or pursuant to 110
subsection (b) of section 17a-28; (iv) an employee of the Probate Court 111
where such employee is employed; or (v) in the case of a large state 112 Committee Bill No. 359
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contractor, an employee of the contracting state agency concerning 113
information involving the large state contract; or (B) such employee's 114
testimony or assistance in any proceeding under this section. 115
(2) (A) Not later than ninety days after learning of the specific 116
incident giving rise to a claim that a personnel action has been 117
threatened or has occurred in violation of subdivision (1) of this 118
subsection, a state or quasi-public agency employee, an employee of a 119
large state contractor or the employee's attorney may file a complaint 120
against the state agency, quasi-public agency, Probate Court, large 121
state contractor or appointing authority concerning such personnel 122
action with the Chief Human Rights Referee designated under section 123
46a-57. Such complaint may be amended if an additional incident 124
giving rise to a claim under this subdivision occurs subsequent to the 125
filing of the original complaint. The Chief Human Rights Referee shall 126
assign the complaint to a human rights referee appointed under 127
section 46a-57, who shall conduct a hearing and issue a decision 128
concerning whether the officer or employee taking or threatening to 129
take the personnel action violated any provision of this section. The 130
human rights referee may order a state agency, quasi-public agency or 131
Probate Court to produce (i) an employee of such agency, quasi-public 132
agency or Probate Court to testify as a witness in any proceeding 133
under this subdivision, or (ii) books, papers or other documents 134
relevant to the complaint, without issuing a subpoena. If such agency, 135
quasi-public agency or Probate Court fails to produce such witness, 136
books, papers or documents, not later than thirty days after such order, 137
the human rights referee may consider such failure as supporting 138
evidence for the complainant. If, after the hearing, the human rights 139
referee finds a violation, the referee may award the aggrieved 140
employee reinstatement to the employee's former position, back pay 141
and reestablishment of any employee benefits for which the employee 142
would otherwise have been eligible if such violation had not occurred, 143
reasonable attorneys' fees, and any other damages. For the purposes of 144
this subsection, such human rights referee shall act as an independent 145
hearing officer. The decision of a human rights referee under this 146 Committee Bill No. 359
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subsection may be appealed by any person who was a party at such 147
hearing, in accordance with the provisions of section 4-183. 148
(B) The Chief Human Rights Referee shall adopt regulations, in 149
accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, establishing the 150
procedure for filing complaints and noticing and conducting hearings 151
under subparagraph (A) of this subdivision. 152
(3) As an alternative to the provisions of subdivision (2) of this 153
subsection: (A) A state or quasi-public agency employee who alleges 154
that a personnel action has been threatened or taken may file an appeal 155
not later than ninety days after learning of the specific incident giving 156
rise to such claim with the Employees' Review Board under section 5-157
202, or, in the case of a state or quasi-public agency employee covered 158
by a collective bargaining contract, in accordance with the procedure 159
provided by such contract; or (B) an employee of a large state 160
contractor alleging that such action has been threatened or taken may, 161
after exhausting all available administrative remedies, bring a civil 162
action in accordance with the provisions of subsection (c) of section 31-163
51m. 164
(4) In any proceeding under subdivision (2) or (3) of this subsection 165
concerning a personnel action taken or threatened against any state or 166
quasi-public agency employee or any employee of a large state 167
contractor, which personnel action occurs not later than two years after 168
the employee first transmits facts and information concerning a matter 169
under subsection (a) of this section or discloses information under 170
subdivision (1) of this subsection to the Auditors of Public Accounts, 171
the Attorney General or an employee of a state agency, quasi-public 172
agency or Probate Court, as applicable, there shall be a rebuttable 173
presumption that the personnel action is in retaliation for the action 174
taken by the employee under subsection (a) of this section or 175
subdivision (1) of this subsection. 176
(5) If a state officer or employee, as defined in section 4-141, a quasi-177
public agency officer or employee, an officer or employee of a large 178 Committee Bill No. 359
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state contractor or an appointing authority takes or threatens to take 179
any action to impede, fail to renew or cancel a contract between a state 180
agency and a large state contractor, or between a large state contractor 181
and its subcontractor, in retaliation for the disclosure of information 182
pursuant to subsection (a) of this section or subdivision (1) of this 183
subsection to any agency listed in subdivision (1) of this subsection, 184
such affected agency, contractor or subcontractor may, not later than 185
ninety days after learning of such action, threat or failure to renew, 186
bring a civil action in the superior court for the judicial district of 187
Hartford to recover damages, attorney's fees and costs. 188
(f) Any employee of a state agency, quasi-public agency, Probate 189
Court or large state contractor, who is found by the Auditors of Public 190
Accounts, the Attorney General, a human rights referee or the 191
Employees' Review Board to have knowingly and maliciously made 192
false charges under subsection (a) of this section, shall be subject to 193
disciplinary action by such employee's appointing authority up to and 194
including dismissal. In the case of a state or quasi-public agency 195
employee, such action shall be subject to appeal to the Employees' 196
Review Board in accordance with section 5-202, or in the case of state 197
or quasi-public agency employees included in collective bargaining 198
contracts, the procedure provided by such contracts. 199
(g) On or before September first, annually, the Auditors of Public 200
Accounts shall submit, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-201
4a, to the clerk of each house of the General Assembly a report 202
indicating the number of matters for which facts and information were 203
transmitted to the auditors pursuant to this section during the 204
preceding state fiscal year and the disposition of each such matter. 205
(h) Each contract between a state or quasi-public agency and a large 206
state contractor shall provide that, if an officer, employee or 207
appointing authority of a large state contractor takes or threatens to 208
take any personnel action against any employee of the contractor in 209
retaliation for such employee's disclosure of information to any 210
employee of the contracting state or quasi-public agency or the 211 Committee Bill No. 359
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Auditors of Public Accounts or the Attorney General under the 212
provisions of subsection (a) or subdivision (1) of subsection (e) of this 213
section, the contractor shall be liable for a civil penalty of not more 214
than five thousand dollars for each offense, up to a maximum of 215
twenty per cent of the value of the contract. Each violation shall be a 216
separate and distinct offense and in the case of a continuing violation 217
each calendar day's continuance of the violation shall be deemed to be 218
a separate and distinct offense. The executive head of the state or 219
quasi-public agency may request the Attorney General to bring a civil 220
action in the superior court for the judicial district of Hartford to seek 221
imposition and recovery of such civil penalty. 222
(i) Each state agency or quasi-public agency shall post a notice of the 223
provisions of this section relating to state employees and quasi-public 224
agency employees in a conspicuous place that is readily available for 225
viewing by employees of such agency or quasi-public agency. Each 226
Probate Court shall post a notice of the provisions of this section 227
relating to Probate Court employees in a conspicuous place that is 228
readily available for viewing by employees of such court. Each large 229
state contractor shall post a notice of the provisions of this section 230
relating to large state contractors in a conspicuous place which is 231
readily available for viewing by the employees of the contractor. 232
(j) No person who, in good faith, discloses information in 233
accordance with the provisions of this section shall be liable for any 234
civil damages resulting from such good faith disclosure. 235
(k) As used in this section: 236
(1) "Large state contract" means a contract having a value of five 237
million dollars or more (A) between an entity and a state or quasi-238
public agency, [having a value of five million dollars or more] or (B) 239
for the receipt of financial assistance by an entity from the state 240
pursuant to title 32; and 241
(2) "Large state contractor" means an entity that has entered into a 242 Committee Bill No. 359
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large state contract with a state or quasi-public agency. 243
(l) (1) No officer or employee of a state shellfish grounds lessee shall 244
take or threaten to take any personnel action against any employee of a 245
state shellfish grounds lessee in retaliation for (A) such employee's 246
disclosure of information to an employee of the leasing agency 247
concerning information involving the state shellfish grounds lease, or 248
(B) such employee's testimony or assistance in any proceeding under 249
this section. 250
(2) (A) Not later than ninety days after learning of the specific 251
incident giving rise to a claim that a personnel action has been 252
threatened or has occurred in violation of subdivision (1) of this 253
subsection, an employee of a state shellfish grounds lessee or the 254
employee's attorney may file a complaint against the state shellfish 255
grounds lessee concerning such personnel action with the Chief 256
Human Rights Referee designated under section 46a-57. Such 257
complaint may be amended if an additional incident giving rise to a 258
claim under this subdivision occurs subsequent to the filing of the 259
original complaint. The Chief Human Rights Referee shall assign the 260
complaint to a human rights referee appointed under section 46a-57, 261
who shall conduct a hearing and issue a decision concerning whether 262
the officer or employee taking or threatening to take the personnel 263
action violated any provision of this subsection. The human rights 264
referee may order a state shellfish grounds lessee to produce (i) an 265
employee of such lessee to testify as a witness in any proceeding under 266
this subdivision, or (ii) books, papers or other documents relevant to 267
the complaint, without issuing a subpoena. If such state shellfish 268
grounds lessee fails to produce such witness, books, papers or 269
documents, not later than thirty days after such order, the human 270
rights referee may consider such failure as supporting evidence for the 271
complainant. If, after the hearing, the human rights referee finds a 272
violation, the referee may award the aggrieved employee 273
reinstatement to the employee's former position, back pay and 274
reestablishment of any employee benefits for which the employee 275 Committee Bill No. 359
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would otherwise have been eligible if such violation had not occurred, 276
reasonable attorneys' fees and any other damages. For the purposes of 277
this subsection, such human rights referee shall act as an independent 278
hearing officer. The decision of a human rights referee under this 279
subsection may be appealed by any person who was a party at such 280
hearing, in accordance with the provisions of section 4-183. 281
(B) The Chief Human Rights Referee shall adopt regulations, in 282
accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, establishing the 283
procedure for filing complaints and noticing and conducting hearings 284
under subparagraph (A) of this subdivision. 285
(3) As an alternative to the provisions of subdivision (2) of this 286
subsection, an employee of a state shellfish grounds lessee who alleges 287
that a personnel action has been threatened or taken may, after 288
exhausting all available administrative remedies, bring a civil action in 289
accordance with the provisions of subsection (c) of section 31-51m. 290
(4) In any proceeding under subdivision (2) or (3) of this subsection 291
concerning a personnel action taken or threatened against any 292
employee of a state shellfish grounds lessee, which personnel action 293
occurs not later than two years after the employee first transmits facts 294
and information to an employee of the leasing agency concerning the 295
state shellfish grounds lease, there shall be a rebuttable presumption 296
that the personnel action is in retaliation for the action taken by the 297
employee under subdivision (1) of this subsection. 298
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2019 4-61dd
LAB Joint Favorable
JUD Joint Favorable