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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 6475
January Session, 2021
AN ACT CONCERNING PU BLIC ENFORCEMENT ACT IONS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2021) (a) As used in this section: 1
(1) "Public enforcement action" means a civil action brought pursuant 2
to this section to enforce protections enforceable by the state pursuant 3
to chapter 557 or 558 of the general statutes or section 46a-60 or 46a-81c 4
of the general statutes; 5
(2) "Responsible state official" means a person authorized to enforce 6
any provision of chapter 557 or 558 of the general statutes or section 46a-7
60 or 46a-81c of the general statutes or to impose or seek penalties or 8
other remedies for violations of such chapter or section, including 9
persons delegated to act on the responsible state official's behalf with 10
respect to enforcing such chapter or section, imposing or seeking 11
penalties or other remedies for violations of such chapter or section or 12
receiving and disposing of notices pursuant to this section; 13
(3) "Relator" means a whistleblower or a representative organization 14
that acts as a qui tam plaintiff in a public enforcement action under this 15
section; 16
(4) "Representative organization" means a nonprofit corporation or a 17 Substitute Bill No. 6475
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labor organization that assists in enforcement pursuant to this section 18
and that has been selected by a whistleblower, in writing, in a form 19
prescribed by the Attorney General, to initiate a public enforcement 20
action on the whistleblower's behalf; and 21
(5) "Whistleblower" means any current or former employee, 22
contractor, subcontractor or employee of a contractor or subcontractor 23
of a defendant. 24
(b) A relator may, on behalf of the state and in the name of the state, 25
initiate a public enforcement action pursuant to the procedures specified 26
in this section. Such action may be brought in the Superior Court and 27
may allege multiple violations of chapter 557 or 558 of the general 28
statutes or section 46a-60 or 46a-81c of the general statutes that have 29
affected different individuals aggrieved by the same defendant and may 30
seek any injunctive and declaratory relief that the state would be 31
entitled to seek. 32
(c) For purposes of a public enforcement action brought pursuant to 33
this section, whenever the state is authorized to assess a civil penalty, 34
the court is authorized to assess such a civil penalty. To the extent that 35
the state is authorized to determine whether an employer has violated a 36
provision of this section, the court is authorized to determine whether 37
an employer has committed such a violation. 38
(d) For any violation of a provision of this section where no civil 39
penalty is provided, there shall be a civil penalty of five hundred dollars. 40
Such civil penalty shall be awarded for each party aggrieved by each 41
violation during each two-week period that such violation is found to 42
have occurred. 43
(e) The court may award civil penalties in an amount that is less than 44
the amount specified in this section if the court determines to do 45
otherwise would result in an award that is arbitrary and oppressive or 46
confiscatory. 47
(f) The state is authorized to assess penalties if the state has 48 Substitute Bill No. 6475
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intervened in a public enforcement action brought pursuant to this 49
section. 50
(g) Nothing in this section shall limit the state's right to seek 51
restitution and damages, where available, for relators as part of a public 52
enforcement action in which it has intervened. 53
(h) A relator that prevails in a public enforcement action pursuant to 54
this section shall be entitled to an award by the court of reasonable 55
attorney's fees and costs, whether or not the state has intervened in such 56
action. 57
(i) Any civil penalty awarded in a public enforcement action 58
pursuant to this section shall be distributed as follows: (1) Where the 59
state has not intervened, (A) thirty per cent to the relator, (B) twenty per 60
cent to the Office of the Attorney General, and (C) fifty per cent to the 61
office of the state official responsible for enforcement of such action, 62
twenty-five per cent of which shall be deposited into the community 63
outreach and workplace account in accordance with subsection (b) of 64
section 2 of this act, and (2) where the state has intervened, (A) twenty 65
per cent to the relator, (B) thirty per cent to the Office of the Attorney 66
General, and (C) fifty per cent to the office of the state official responsible 67
for enforcement of such action, twenty-five per cent of which shall be 68
deposited into the community outreach and workplace account in 69
accordance with subsection (b) of section 2 of this act. 70
(j) The relator shall equitably distribute all penalties due the relator 71
among the parties aggrieved by the practices complained of in the 72
public enforcement action. The relator shall submit a written 73
distribution summary to the state and the state may order a different 74
distribution not later than sixty days after receipt of the summary, 75
provided the relator shall receive compensation in an amount that 76
reflects the burdens and risks assumed by the relator in prosecuting the 77
action, including any costs incurred by a representative organization 78
that serves as a relator. 79 Substitute Bill No. 6475
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(k) The right to bring a public enforcement action under this section 80
shall not be impaired by any private agreement. 81
(l) Notwithstanding any other provision of the general statutes, a 82
public enforcement action to recover penalties imposed pursuant to this 83
section shall be commenced within the same period of time that the state 84
is authorized to file a public enforcement action based on the same set 85
of alleged violations. The statute of limitations for bringing a public 86
enforcement action pursuant to this section shall be tolled from the date 87
a relator files a notice pursuant to subsection (q) of this section or the 88
date the state commences an investigation, whichever is earlier. 89
(m) A relator may not bring a public enforcement action pursuant to 90
this section: (1) If the state, on the same facts and theories, cites a person 91
within the period of time that the state is authorized to file a public 92
enforcement action for a violation of the same authority under which 93
such relator is attempting to recover a civil penalty or other remedy, or 94
(2) for any violation of a posting, notice, agency reporting or filing 95
requirement, except where the filing or reporting requirement involves 96
mandatory payroll or injury reporting. 97
(n) No person shall retaliate in any manner against any relator or 98
potential relator or person, or threaten to retaliate against any relator, 99
potential relator or person, because: (1) The relator or potential relator 100
has brought or is perceived to have brought a public enforcement action, 101
(2) the relator or potential relator has cooperated in a public enforcement 102
action, or (3) the person believes that the relator or potential relator may 103
bring a public enforcement action or cooperate with one. 104
(o) Any person aggrieved by a violation of subsection (n) of this 105
section may bring an action in the Superior Court for compensatory, 106
liquidated and punitive damages or equitable relief, including restraint 107
of prohibited acts, restitution of wages or benefits, reinstatement of 108
employment, costs, reasonable attorney's fees and other appropriate 109
relief. 110 Substitute Bill No. 6475
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(p) There is a rebuttable presumption that any adverse action taken 111
against a relator not later than ninety days after the relator has filed an 112
action pursuant to subsection (b) of this section is retaliatory. 113
(q) Before filing a public enforcement action pursuant to this section, 114
a relator shall submit written notice of such action to each responsible 115
state official and to the Attorney General. The notice shall be construed 116
by the responsible state office and the Attorney General in the light most 117
favorable to the relator and shall include: (1) The name, address and 118
contact information of the alleged violator, (2) the name and contact 119
information of the relator, (3) the name, address and contact information 120
of the representative organization and, if the action is brought by a 121
representative organization, a statement of the organization's 122
qualifications as a representative organization, (4) the name, address 123
and contact information of the relator's legal counsel, if such relator has 124
legal counsel, and (5) a statement of the underlying claim. 125
(r) If the state intends to investigate the alleged violation contained in 126
the public enforcement action, it shall notify the relator of its decision 127
not later than sixty days after receiving notice pursuant to subsection (q) 128
of this section. 129
(s) After the filing of a public enforcement action, the state may 130
intervene as of right and proceed with any and all claims in the action. 131
(t) The provisions of this section shall be construed in light of its 132
remedial purpose to expand the enforcement of state law protecting 133
employees. 134
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2021) (a) There is established an 135
account to be known as the "community outreach and workplace 136
account" which shall be a separate, nonlapsing account within the 137
General Fund. The account shall contain any moneys required by law to 138
be deposited in the account. Moneys in the account shall be expended 139
by the Labor Department for the purpose of awarding grants as 140
provided in subsection (c) of this section. 141 Substitute Bill No. 6475
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(b) Twenty-five per cent of any civil penalties distributed in 142
accordance with subparagraph (C) of subdivision (1) of subsection (i) of 143
section 1 of this act and subparagraph (C) of subdivision (2) of 144
subsection (i) of section 1 of this act shall be deposited into the 145
community outreach and workplace account. 146
(c) Funds in the community outreach and workplace account shall be 147
granted from time to time by the Labor Commissioner to labor or 148
nonprofit organizations to fund outreach, education and technical 149
assistance pertaining to employee rights in the workplace. Grants 150
provided under this section shall be used for activities to assist workers 151
in enforcing employment rights, including outreach, community-based 152
education events, training materials, technical assistance, counseling, 153
research and referral services. When considering applications for such 154
grants, the commissioner shall give priority to projects that provide 155
services to especially vulnerable workers, including low-wage, 156
immigrant, refugee and contingent workers, women, lesbian, gay, 157
bisexual or transgendered workers, workers with disabilities and 158
injured workers. 159
(d) The Labor Department may adopt regulations in accordance with 160
the provisions of chapter 54 of the general statutes to implement the 161
provisions of subsections (a) to (c), inclusive, of this section. 162
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2021 New section
Sec. 2 October 1, 2021 New section
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
In Section 1(a)(2), "title" was changed to "chapter" for accuracy; in
Section 1(b), "of any provision of chapter 557 or 558 of the general
statutes or section 46a-60 or 46a-81c of the general statutes" was added
after "violations" for accuracy and clarity; in Section 1(d), "violation of
a" was added before "provision" for accuracy and clarity, "specifically
provided by law" was changed to "provided" for clarity and consistency
with standard drafting conventions and "occurs" was changed to "found Substitute Bill No. 6475
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to have occurred" for accuracy; Section 1(e) was rewritten for clarity and
consistency with standard drafting conventions; in Section 1(f),
"brought" was added before "pursuant" for clarity and accuracy; in
Section 1(g), "operate to" was deleted for consistency with standard
drafting conventions; Section 1(h) was rewritten for clarity; Section 1(i)
was rewritten for clarity and consistency with standard drafting
conventions; in Section 1(j), "a service award" was changed to
"compensation in an amount" for clarity and consistency with standard
drafting conventions; in Section 1(l), "pursuant to this section" was
changed to "pursuant to subsection (q) of this section" for clarity and
accuracy; Section 1(m)(1) and Section 1(n) were rewritten for clarity; in
Section 1(o), "of employment" was added after "reinstatement" for
clarity; in Section 1(q), "by the responsible state official and the Attorney
General" was added after "construed" for clarity and accuracy and
Subdiv. (3) was rewritten for clarity; Sections 1(t) to 1(w), inclusive, were
renumbered as Sections 2(a) to 2(d) for clarity and consistency with
standard drafting conventions; and Section 1(x) was redesignated as
Section 1(t) for consistency with standard drafting conventions.
LAB Joint Favorable Subst.