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General Assembly Committee Bill No. 440
January Session, 2019
LCO No. 5741
Referred to Committee on JUDICIARY
Introduced by:
(JUD)
AN ACT PROTECTING EM PLOYEE FREEDOM OF SPEECH AN D
CONSCIENCE.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 31-51q of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2019): 2
(a) As used in this section: 3
(1) "Political matters" means matters relating to elections for political 4
office, political parties, legislation, regulation and the decision to join 5
or support any political party or political, civic, community, fraternal 6
or labor organization; and 7
(2) "Religious matters" means matters relating to religious affiliation 8
and practice and the decision to join or support any religious 9
organization or association. 10
(b) Any employer, including the state and any instrumentality or 11
political subdivision thereof, who subjects or threatens to subject any 12
employee to discipline or discharge on account of (1) the exercise by 13
such employee of rights guaranteed by the first amendment to the 14
Committee Bill No. 440
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United States Constitution or section 3, 4 or 14 of article first of the 15
Constitution of the state, provided such activity does not substantially 16
or materially interfere with the employee's bona fide job performance 17
or the working relationship between the employee and the employer, 18
or (2) such employee's refusal to (A) attend an employer-sponsored 19
meeting with the employer or its agent, representative or designee, the 20
primary purpose of which is to communicate the employer's opinion 21
concerning religious or political matters, or (B) listen to speech or view 22
communications, the primary purpose of which is to communicate the 23
employer's opinion concerning religious or political matters, shall be 24
liable to such employee for damages caused by such discipline or 25
discharge, including punitive damages, and for reasonable attorney's 26
fees as part of the costs of any such action for damages. If the court 27
determines that such action for damages was brought without 28
substantial justification, the court may award costs and reasonable 29
attorney's fees to the employer. 30
(c) Nothing in this section shall prohibit: (1) An employer or its 31
agent, representative or designee from communicating to its 32
employees any information that the employer is required by law to 33
communicate, but only to the extent of such legal requirement; (2) an 34
employer or its agent, representative or designee from communicating 35
to its employees any information that is necessary for such employees 36
to perform their job duties; (3) an institution of higher education, or 37
any agent, representative or designee of such institution, from meeting 38
with or participating in any communications with its employees that 39
are part of coursework, any symposia or an academic program at such 40
institution; (4) casual conversations between employees or between an 41
employee and an agent, representative or designee of an employer, 42
provided participation in such conversations is not required; or (5) a 43
requirement limited to the employer's managerial and supervisory 44
employees. 45
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This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2019 31-51q
Statement of Purpose:
To prohibit an employer from coercing employees into attending or
participating in meetings sponsored by the employer concerning the
employer's views on political or religious matters.
[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.]
Co-Sponsors: SEN. LOONEY, 11th Dist.; SEN. FONFARA, 1st Dist.
SEN. MCCRORY, 2nd Dist.; SEN. CASSANO, 4th Dist.
SEN. LESSER, 9th Dist.; SEN. WINFIELD, 10th Dist.
SEN. COHEN, 12th Dist.; SEN. ABRAMS, 13th Dist.
SEN. OSTEN, 19th Dist.; SEN. MOORE, 22nd Dist.
SEN. BRADLEY, 23rd Dist.; SEN. KUSHNER, 24th Dist.
SEN. HASKELL, 26th Dist.; SEN. FLEXER, 29th Dist.
SEN. NEEDLEMAN, 33rd Dist.; SEN. BERGSTEIN, 36th Dist.
REP. ELLIOTT, 88th Dist.; REP. MICHEL, 146th Dist.
REP. CURREY, 11th Dist.
S.B. 440