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DRAFT FOR ATTORNEY REVIEW — NOT FINAL

§ 46a-58

Citation
§ 46a-58
Parent Document
Connecticut Judicial Branch v. Gilbert, 343 Conn. 90 (2022)
Jurisdiction
Connecticut (state)
Effective Date
2022-04-26

Other Sections in This Document (128)

Full Text

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or clearly unwarranted exercise of discretion.’’ General
          Statutes § 4-183 (j); see Hiraldo-Cancel v. Aponte, 925
          F.2d 10, 13 (1st Cir.) (‘‘[R]einstatement is an equitable
          remedy [that] is reviewed for abuse of discretion. . . .
          Considerable deference is accorded a reinstatement
          order, as the [referee] has had [firsthand] exposure to
          the litigants and the evidence . . . [and] is in a consid-
          erably better position to bring the scales into balance
          than an appellate tribunal.’’ (Citation omitted; internal
          quotation marks omitted.)), cert. denied, 502 U.S. 1004,
          112 S. Ct. 637, 116 L. Ed. 2d 655 (1991).
              In view of these principles, although we share the
          concerns expressed by the trial court, we find none
          sufficient to warrant the court’s decision to simply
          vacate the injunction as a matter of law. With respect
          to the first point raised by the court, it is true that
          Marco’s retirement eliminated any possibility that the
          complainant might be assigned to a courthouse where
          she would have to serve alongside him. The primary
          purpose for reinstating an employee who is transferred
          after complaining of sexual harassment, however, is to
          vindicate the important public policy against punishing
          or retaliating against victims who report abuse. See,
          e.g., Ellison v. Brady, 924 F.2d 872, 882 (9th Cir. 1991)
          (‘‘[w]e strongly believe that the victim of sexual harass-
          ment should not be punished for the conduct of the
          harasser . . . [by having] to work in a less desirable
          location’’); Jean-Baptiste v. District of Columbia, 958
          F. Supp. 2d 37, 51 (D.D.C. 2013) (issuing permanent
          injunction even though defendant no longer employed
          alleged abuser), appeal dismissed, Docket No. 13-7124,
          2014 WL 812812 (D.C. Cir. January 21, 2014). That pur-
          pose was served by the referee’s order regardless of
          Marco’s particular circumstances at the time relief
          was granted.
             The trial court made clear that its ruling vacating the
          injunction was predicated on the assumption that the
April 26, 2022                 CONNECTICUT LAW JOURNAL                                   Page 85