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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In order to elucidate a private employee’s right to free expression pursuant to § 31-51q, it is instructive to examine several decisions of the United States Supreme Court that have carved out the parameters of a government employee’s right to free expression under the first amendment to the United States constitution and 42 U.S.C. § 1983.3 It is undisputed that a government employee does not possess an absolute right to the freedoms of expression guaranteed in the first amendment. Connick v. Myers, 461 U.S. 138, 146, 103 S. Ct. *431684, 75 L. Ed. 2d 708 (1983). Furthermore, restrictions on employee-employer speech are more justified than restrictions on speech of the general public. Waters v. Churchill, 511 U.S. 661, 672, 114 S. Ct. 1878, 128 L. Ed. 2d 686 (1994). Consequently, the United States Supreme Court has set forth a general rule that “[w]hen employee expression cannot be fairly considered as relating to any matter of political, social, or other concern to the community, government officials should enjoy wide latitude in managing their offices, without intrusive oversight by the judiciary in the name of the First Amendment.” Connick v. Myers, supra, 146. Thus, absent the most unusual circumstances, purely personal grievances by government or private employees are granted no protection pursuant to § 31-51q. See id., 146-47; Schnabel v. Tyler, 230 Conn. 735, 751, 646 A.2d 152 (1994).

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