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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Because of this exception, however, it was then necessary for the court to engage in the process of balancing the state’s interest “in the effective and efficient fulfillment of its responsibilities to the public”; id., 150; against the employee’s interest in free expression. That balancing process, however, the court made clear, must be made on a case-by-case basis. The “State’s burden in justifying a particular discharge varies depending upon the nature of the employee’s expression. Although such particularized balancing is difficult, the courts must reach the most appropriate possible balance of the competing interests.” Id. Again, “the manner, time and place” of the employee’s expression must be weighed in that balance; id., 152; as well as “the context in which the dispute arose . . . .” Id., 153. Applying those very general principles, the court concluded that the defendant had been justified in discharging the plaintiff. Id., 154.

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