Sec. 4-61dd. Whistleblowing. Disclosure of information to Auditors of Public Accounts. Investigation by Attorney General. Proceedings re alleged retaliatory personnel actions. Report to General Assemb
Sec. 4-61dd. Whistleblowing. Disclosure of information to Auditors of Public
Accounts. Investigation by Attorney General. Proceedings re alleged retaliatory
personnel actions. Report to General Assembly. Large state contractors. (a) Any
person having knowledge of any matter involving corruption, unethical practices, violation of state laws or regulations, mismanagement, gross waste of funds, abuse of authority or danger to the public safety occurring in any state department or agency or any
quasi-public agency, as defined in section 1-120, or any person having knowledge of
any matter involving corruption, violation of state or federal laws or regulations, gross
waste of funds, abuse of authority or danger to the public safety occurring in any large
state contract, may transmit all facts and information in such person's possession concerning such matter to the Auditors of Public Accounts. The Auditors of Public Accounts
shall review such matter and report their findings and any recommendations to the
Attorney General. Upon receiving such a report, the Attorney General shall make such
investigation as the Attorney General deems proper regarding such report and any other
information that may be reasonably derived from such report. Prior to conducting an
investigation of any information that may be reasonably derived from such report, the
Attorney General shall consult with the Auditors of Public Accounts concerning the
relationship of such additional information to the report that has been issued pursuant to
this subsection. Any such subsequent investigation deemed appropriate by the Attorney
General shall only be conducted with the concurrence and assistance of the Auditors of
Public Accounts. At the request of the Attorney General or on their own initiative, the
auditors shall assist in the investigation. The Attorney General shall have power to
summon witnesses, require the production of any necessary books, papers or other documents and administer oaths to witnesses, where necessary, for the purpose of an investigation pursuant to this section. Upon the conclusion of the investigation, the Attorney
General shall where necessary, report any findings to the Governor, or in matters involving criminal activity, to the Chief State's Attorney. In addition to the exempt records
provision of section 1-210, the Auditors of Public Accounts and the Attorney General
shall not, after receipt of any information from a person under the provisions of this
section, disclose the identity of such person without such person's consent unless the
Auditors of Public Accounts or the Attorney General determines that such disclosure
is unavoidable, and may withhold records of such investigation, during the pendency
of the investigation.
(b) (1) No state officer or employee, as defined in section 4-141, no quasi-public
agency officer or employee, no officer or employee of a large state contractor and no
appointing authority shall take or threaten to take any personnel action against any state
or quasi-public agency employee or any employee of a large state contractor in retaliation
for such employee's or contractor's disclosure of information to (A) an employee of
the Auditors of Public Accounts or the Attorney General under the provisions of subsection (a) of this section; (B) an employee of the state agency or quasi-public agency where
such state officer or employee is employed; (C) an employee of a state agency pursuant
to a mandated reporter statute; or (D) in the case of a large state contractor, an employee
of the contracting state agency concerning information involving the large state contract.
(2) If a state or quasi-public agency employee or an employee of a large state contractor alleges that a personnel action has been threatened or taken in violation of subdivision (1) of this subsection, the employee may notify the Attorney General, who shall
investigate pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.
(3) (A) Not later than thirty days after learning of the specific incident giving rise
to a claim that a personnel action has been threatened or has occurred in violation of
subdivision (1) of this subsection, a state or quasi-public agency employee, an employee
of a large state contractor or the employee's attorney may file a complaint concerning
such personnel action with the Chief Human Rights Referee designated under section
46a-57. The Chief Human Rights Referee shall assign the complaint to a human rights
referee appointed under section 46a-57, who shall conduct a hearing and issue a decision
concerning whether the officer or employee taking or threatening to take the personnel
action violated any provision of this section. If the human rights referee finds such a
violation, the referee may award the aggrieved employee reinstatement to the employee's former position, back pay and reestablishment of any employee benefits for which
the employee would otherwise have been eligible if such violation had not occurred,
reasonable attorneys' fees, and any other damages. For the purposes of this subsection,
such human rights referee shall act as an independent hearing officer. The decision of
a human rights referee under this subsection may be appealed by any person who was
a party at such hearing, in accordance with the provisions of section 4-183.
(B) The Chief Human Rights Referee shall adopt regulations, in accordance with
the provisions of chapter 54, establishing the procedure for filing complaints and noticing and conducting hearings under subparagraph (A) of this subdivision.
(4) As an alternative to the provisions of subdivisions (2) and (3) of this subsection:
(A) A state or quasi-public agency employee who alleges that a personnel action has
been threatened or taken may file an appeal not later than thirty days after learning of
the specific incident giving rise to such claim with the Employees' Review Board under
section 5-202, or, in the case of a state or quasi-public agency employee covered by a
collective bargaining contract, in accordance with the procedure provided by such contract; or (B) an employee of a large state contractor alleging that such action has been
threatened or taken may, after exhausting all available administrative remedies, bring
a civil action in accordance with the provisions of subsection (c) of section 31-51m.
(5) In any proceeding under subdivision (2), (3) or (4) of this subsection concerning
a personnel action taken or threatened against any state or quasi-public agency employee
or any employee of a large state contractor, which personnel action occurs not later than
one year after the employee first transmits facts and information concerning a matter
under subsection (a) of this section to the Auditors of Public Accounts or the Attorney
General, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that the personnel action is in retaliation
for the action taken by the employee under subsection (a) of this section.
(6) If a state officer or employee, as defined in section 4-141, a quasi-public agency
officer or employee, an officer or employee of a large state contractor or an appointing
authority takes or threatens to take any action to impede, fail to renew or cancel a contract
between a state agency and a large state contractor, or between a large state contractor
and its subcontractor, in retaliation for the disclosure of information pursuant to subsection (a) of this section to any agency listed in subdivision (1) of this subsection, such
affected agency, contractor or subcontractor may, not later than ninety days after learning of such action, threat or failure to renew, bring a civil action in the superior court
for the judicial district of Hartford to recover damages, attorney's fees and costs.
(c) Any employee of a state or quasi-public agency or large state contractor, who
is found to have knowingly and maliciously made false charges under subsection (a)
of this section, shall be subject to disciplinary action by such employee's appointing
authority up to and including dismissal. In the case of a state or quasi-public agency
employee, such action shall be subject to appeal to the Employees' Review Board in
accordance with section 5-202, or in the case of state or quasi-public agency employees
included in collective bargaining contracts, the procedure provided by such contracts.
(d) On or before September first, annually, the Auditors of Public Accounts shall
submit to the clerk of each house of the General Assembly a report indicating the number
of matters for which facts and information were transmitted to the auditors pursuant to
this section during the preceding state fiscal year and the disposition of each such matter.
(e) Each contract between a state or quasi-public agency and a large state contractor
shall provide that, if an officer, employee or appointing authority of a large state contractor takes or threatens to take any personnel action against any employee of the contractor
in retaliation for such employee's disclosure of information to any employee of the
contracting state or quasi-public agency or the Auditors of Public Accounts or the Attorney General under the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, the contractor shall
be liable for a civil penalty of not more than five thousand dollars for each offense, up
to a maximum of twenty per cent of the value of the contract. Each violation shall be a
separate and distinct offense and in the case of a continuing violation each calendar
day's continuance of the violation shall be deemed to be a separate and distinct offense.
The executive head of the state or quasi-public agency may request the Attorney General
to bring a civil action in the superior court for the judicial district of Hartford to seek
imposition and recovery of such civil penalty.
(f) Each large state contractor shall post a notice of the provisions of this section
relating to large state contractors in a conspicuous place which is readily available for
viewing by the employees of the contractor.
(g) No person who, in good faith, discloses information to the Auditors of Public
Accounts or the Attorney General in accordance with this section shall be liable for any
civil damages resulting from such good faith disclosure.
(h) As used in this section:
(1) "Large state contract" means a contract between an entity and a state or quasi-public agency, having a value of five million dollars or more; and
(2) "Large state contractor" means an entity that has entered into a large state contract with a state or quasi-public agency.
(P.A. 79-599, S. 1, 2; P.A. 83-232; P.A. 85-559, S. 5; P.A. 87-442, S. 1, 8; P.A. 89-81, S. 3; P.A. 97-55; P.A. 98-191,
S. 1, 2; P.A. 02-91, S. 1; P.A. 04-58, S. 1, 2; P.A. 05-287, S. 47; P.A. 06-196, S. 26.)
History: P.A. 83-232 amended Subsec. (a) to authorize a former state employee or state employee bargaining representative to disclose information and to require the attorney general to report to the complainant his findings and any actions
taken, amended Subsec. (b) to prohibit retaliatory action by "any state officer or employee" and to provide that an employee
may file an appeal if retaliatory action is threatened or taken, and added Subsec. (c) re sanctions for an employee who
makes false charges; P.A. 85-559 required that state employees report to inspector general rather than to attorney general
and that findings be reported in accordance with Sec. 2-104(b) rather than to governor or chief state's attorney as was
previously the case; P.A. 87-442, in Subsec. (a), substituted "person" for "state employee, former state employee or state
employee bargaining representative acting on behalf of any state employee or former state employee or on his own behalf",
authorized any such person to transmit facts and information to auditors of public accounts, instead of to inspector general,
required auditors to review matter and report to attorney general, required attorney general to make investigation and
auditors to assist at his request, required attorney general, instead of inspector general, to report findings to governor or
chief state's attorney, instead of to complainant, and applied provisions re nondisclosure of identity of person to auditors
and attorney general instead of to inspector general and limited applicability of such provisions to receipt of information
under this section, instead of this section or Sec. 1-19(b) and, in Subsec. (b), substituted "auditors of public accounts or
attorney general" for "inspector general" and limited applicability of provisions of Subsec. to disclosure of information
under provisions of this section instead of this section and Sec. 1-19(b); P.A. 89-81 added Subsec. (d) requiring annual
report by auditors to general assembly on matters transmitted to them under this section; P.A. 97-55 applied section to
quasi-public agencies; P.A. 98-191 applied section to large state contractors, effective July 1, 1998 (Revisor's note: P.A.
88-230, 90-98, 93-142 and 95-220 authorized substitution of "judicial district of Hartford" for "judicial district of Hartford-New Britain" in public and special acts of the 1998 session of the General Assembly, effective September 1, 1998);
P.A. 02-91 substantially revised Subsec. (b) procedures re alleged retaliatory personnel actions by designating existing
provisions as Subdivs. (1) and (4), adding Subdivs. (2) and (3) re investigation by Attorney General and complaints to
Chief Human Rights Referee, adding provision in Subdiv. (4) re existing procedure for employee appeals and civil actions
as alternative to provisions of Subdivs. (2) and (3), adding Subdiv. (5) providing, in proceedings under Subdivs. (2), (3)
and (4), for a rebuttable presumption that certain personnel actions are retaliatory and making conforming and technical
changes, and made technical change in Subsec. (e), effective June 3, 2002; P.A. 04-58 made technical changes in Subsecs.
(a) and (c); P.A. 05-287 made technical and conforming changes throughout the section, amended Subsec. (a) to authorize
the Attorney General to conduct any investigation deemed proper based on any other information that may be reasonably
derived from the report, require the Attorney General to consult with the Auditors of Public Accounts re the relationship
of such other information to the report and authorize the withholding of records from such investigation during the pendency
of such investigation, amended Subsec. (b) to insert clause designators, include contractors in the list of protected persons
and provide protection for disclosure to state agencies in Subdiv. (1), designate new Subdiv. (3)(A) re complaints by state
or quasi-public agency employees and employees of large state contractors, redesignate existing Subdiv. (3) as Subdiv.
(3)(B) and add Subdiv. (6) re action by a state officer or employee, quasi-public agency officer or employee, or employee
or officer of a large state construction contractor to impede, fail to renew or cancel a contract, amended Subsec. (e) re
disclosure to any employee of the contracting state or quasi-public agency, added new Subsec. (g) re good faith disclosures
to the Auditors of Public Accounts or the Attorney General, redesignated existing Subsec. (g) as Subsec. (h) and amended
same by redefining "large state contract" in Subdiv. (1), effective July 13, 2005; P.A. 06-196 made technical changes in
Subsec. (b), effective June 7, 2006.
Plain language reading of section includes "sheriffs" and "deputy sheriffs" among those who could be investigated
because of legislature's use of the words "state department or agency" within the statute. 47 CS 447. Requirement that
Attorney General forward information to Chief State's Attorney if warranted does not make section a criminal statute. Id.
Power granted to Attorney General under section is not an impermissible intrusion upon powers granted to another department of government. Id.