Section 4-61dd

Citation: Section 4-61dd
Parent Document: Dept. of Public Health v. Estrada, 349 Conn. 223 (2024)
Jurisdiction: Connecticut (state)
Effective Date: 2024-06-11
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/10131752/dept-of-public-health-v-estrada/ ↗

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The department does not dispute that § 4-61dd con-
          tains a statutory waiver of sovereign immunity. Rather,
          the department argues that, because Estrada filed griev-
          ances challenging the same adverse personnel actions
          that form the basis of her whistleblower complaint,
          her whistleblower retaliation action falls outside of the
          waiver of sovereign immunity in § 4-61dd, and, there-
          fore, the Office of Public Hearings lacks subject matter
          jurisdiction to hear Estrada’s whistleblower claim.
          We disagree.
             The plain language of § 4-61dd (e) (2) (A) provides
          that the authorized claim to be brought before the com-
          mission is one alleging that ‘‘a personnel action has
          been threatened or has occurred in violation of subdivi-
          sion (1) of this subsection . . . .’’ Subdivision (1) of
          subsection (e) limits those claims to ones that allege
          that the employee was retaliated against for disclosing
          certain information. General Statutes (Rev. to 2017) § 4-
          61dd (e) (1). Indeed, the referee is limited to ‘‘issu[ing]
          a decision concerning whether the officer or employee
          taking or threatening to take the personnel action vio-
          lated any provision of this section.’’ (Emphasis added.)
          General Statutes (Rev. to 2017) § 4-61dd (e) (2) (A).
          Because the referee is vested only with the authority
          to decide whether the alleged conduct violates § 4-61dd,
          and the only right protected under this section is the
          right not to be retaliated against for whistleblowing
          activity, it is logical that the only type of claim that can
          be brought before the commission pursuant to § 4-61dd
          (e) (2) (A) is one that alleges whistleblower retaliation.
             Subdivision (3) of § 4-61dd (e) provides the second
          and ‘‘alternative’’ mechanism for bringing a claim that
          an adverse personnel action has been taken or threat-
          ened. Specifically, the state employee may pursue ‘‘such
          claim’’ through the grievance process outlined in his or
          her collective bargaining agreement. Although subdivi-
          sion (3) does not explicitly define the type of claim that
June 11, 2024            CONNECTICUT LAW JOURNAL                      Page 21

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