Since the publication of my post last week on House Bill 6667 on free speech in the workplace, there’s been a lot of followup press coverage. Two that I would highlight include this Patch.com article, and this blog post by Mara Lee at the Hartford Courant. The CBIA also highlighted the post on its website… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: free speech
Proposed Bill Would Create Chaos for Employers and Constituionalize Common Workplace Grievances
Posted in Featured, Highlight, Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Laws and Regulations, Legislative DevelopmentsEmployers: If there is one proposed bill at the Connecticut General Assembly to be concerned about this year, it is the stealth House Bill 6667. It could have the single biggest impact on employer/employee relations in a generation. And that’s just for starters. If you look at the bill on the legislative website, it looks innocuous enough. … Continue Reading
Sandy Spooks Employers but Will Employers Scare Employees Into Voting?
Posted in Highlight, Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Labor Law & NRLB, Laws and RegulationsEveryone ok out there? What a wild couple of days we’ve had in Connecticut and, for those still without power, it’s not over yet. Much like Irene and the October snowstorm before it, Sandy has left her mark. But it’s time to get back to business today. We’re less than a week away from the… Continue Reading
Federal Court Suggests Connecticut Constitution Protects Private Employee Speech
Posted in LitigationEarlier this summer, the Connecticut Supreme Court issued two decisions that held that the free speech protections in Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 31-51q were limited by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Garcetti v. Ceballos. To grossly oversimplify, an employee (public or private) whose speech related to their official job duties, was not entitled to protection. In… Continue Reading
Conn. Supreme Court Rejects $10M Verdict; Insubordination is Not Protected Speech
Posted in Featured, Highlight, Litigation, Wage & HourIn one of the most significant employment law cases decided by the Connecticut Supreme Court in recent years, the Court unanimously ruled earlier this month that an employee’s free speech rights in the private workplace do not extend to speech pursuant to his job duties. Those rights do not cover insubordinate behavior either. In doing so, the Court reversed the… Continue Reading
Decisions Only Your In-House Lawyer Could Love
Posted in LitigationIn a post from earlier this week , I indicated that a new Appellate Court decision had some interesting points on wrongful discharge claim that were worth exploring. At the same time, the U.S. Supreme Court released a FMLA decision that made a few headlines. But what I didn’t mention was this: the takeaways from these cases are… Continue Reading
Court: Employee’s Complaint Trumps Performance Issues
Posted in LitigationIt will come as no surprise to employers that summary judgment (essentially, throwing out a case before trial) in employment cases in state court is hard to get. State judges are typically reluctant to grant such a motion, which means cases get scheduled for trial — an expensive and uncertain proposition at best for employers. … Continue Reading
A Look Back at 2011 Prediction … and a Sneak Peek at 2012
Posted in Laws and Regulations, Legislative Developments, LitigationIt’s easy to make predictions about the future. It’s far harder to look back at them and see if you were right. Fortunately or unfortunately for me, my predictions are in print — there for a looking. So how did my prediction go for 2011? Well, in my main article, I predicted that on a… Continue Reading
Choose Your Own Takeaway from Appellate Court Decision
Posted in LitigationWhen people come up to me to talk about the blog, one of the things that often gets discussed is “How do you pick things to write about?” Often times, I tell them, it comes easily. But a new Appellate Court decision, Johnson v. Board of Education — a decision that will be officially released… Continue Reading
Back Again? After Remanding Case Once, Second Circuit This Time Finds for Employer on First Amendment Claims
Posted in LitigationIn broad terms, the First Amendment prohibits public employers from retaliating against employees who engage in "protected speech". (Connecticut has a statute, Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 31-51q that purports to apply the First Amendment to private employers too.) But proving these cases remains difficult for employees. And even victories may later end up as defeats… Continue Reading
Second Circuit Throws Out Demoted Dean’s First Amendment Claim
Posted in LitigationThe Second Circuit ruled Friday that the University of Connecticut is entitled to "qualified immunity" on a School of Engineering Dean’s claim that he was demoted in violation of his First Amendment rights to free speech. The case has very important ramifications for public employers on how they can deal with criticism from managerial-level employees…. Continue Reading
First Amendment Claim Brought by Ex-Courant Columnist Could Address Issue of “Competing” Rights
Posted in LitigationThe Connecticut Law Tribune ran a story this week about the lawsuit being brought by a former Hartford Courant columnist, George Gombossy. I’ve discussed the case before — it raises a claim that the columnist’s First Amendment rights were violated under a state law (Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 31-51q) that purports to apply that amendment… Continue Reading
Tribune Company Sued by Its Former “Watchdog” on Free Speech Grounds
Posted in LitigationUPDATED George Gombossy, who penned a consumer-advocacy column for the Hartford Courant before being fired last month, has filed suit against the Courant (and its parent company, the Tribune Company) alleging that he was fired in retaliation for his lawful speech. Gombossy now has a website he calls "CT Watchdog" and posted the complaint and… Continue Reading
The Latest Trend? Another Free-Speech Victory for Employees
Posted in Human Resources (HR) Compliance, LitigationIs a trend forming in First Amendment free-speech cases in Connecticut? It certainly seems that way. Last week, a jury returned a verdict in favor of Andrea Charron in her lawsuit against the Town of Griswold. The jury awarded damages in excess of $800,000 (not including punitive damages and attorneys fees). This is at least… Continue Reading
About Daniel Schwartz
Trusted advisor. Experienced employment law attorney. Bar leader. Award-winning author. Noted Speaker. "Legal Rebel". All can be said to be apt descriptions of Daniel Schwartz, a member of Pullman & Comley. More +
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