Section 31-51q

Citation: Section 31-51q
Parent Document: Cotto v. United Technologies Corp., 251 Conn. 1 (1999)
Jurisdiction: Connecticut (state)
Effective Date: 1999-10-12
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/7898264/cotto-v-united-technologies-corp/ ↗

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As a statutory matter, a statute that protects constitutional rights in the workplace should not be construed so as to transform every dispute about working conditions into a constitutional question. The legislature made its intention in that respect clear by stating expressly, in § 31-51q, that the statute provides a cause of action only against discharge for expressions of opinion that do “not substantially or materially interfere with the employee’s bona fide job performance or the working relationship between the employee and the. employer . . . .” The statute applies only to expressions regarding public concerns that are motivated by an employee’s desire to speak out as a citizen. Connick v. Myers, 461 U.S. 138, 146, 103 S. Ct. 1684, 75 L. Ed. 2d 708 (1983); Daley v. Aetna Life & Casualty Co., 249 Conn. 766, 783-84, 734 A.2d 112 (1999); see also Lewis v. Cowen, 165 F.3d 154, 163-64 (2d Cir. 1999).

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