Connecticut § 31-57v - Retaliatory personnel action prohibited. Filing of complaint with Labor Commissioner. Hearing. Penalties.

§ 31-57v. Retaliatory personnel action prohibited. Filing of complaint with Labor Commissioner. Hearing. Penalties.

Sec. 31-57v. Retaliatory personnel action prohibited. Filing of complaint with Labor Commissioner. Hearing. Penalties. (a) No employer shall take retaliatory personnel action or discriminate against an employee because the employee (1) requests or uses paid sick leave either in accordance with sections 31-57s and 31-57t or in accordance with the employer's own paid sick leave policy, as the case may be, or (2) files a complaint with the Labor Commissioner alleging the employer's violation of sections 31-57s to 31-57w, inclusive.

(b) The Labor Commissioner shall advise any employee who (1) is covered by a collective bargaining agreement that provides for paid sick days, and (2) files a complaint pursuant to subsection (a) of this section of the employee's right to pursue a grievance with the employee's collective bargaining agent.

(c) Any employee aggrieved by a violation of the provisions of sections 31-57s to 31-57w, inclusive, may file a complaint with the Labor Commissioner. Upon receipt of any such complaint, the commissioner may hold a hearing. After the hearing, any employer who is found by the Labor Commissioner, by a preponderance of the evidence, to have violated the provisions of subsection (a) of this section shall be liable to the Labor Department for a civil penalty of five hundred dollars for each violation. Any employer who is found by the Labor Commissioner, by a preponderance of the evidence, to have violated the provisions of sections 31-57s to 31-57u, inclusive, or section 31-57w shall be liable to the Labor Department for a civil penalty of up to one hundred dollars for each violation. The Labor Commissioner may award the employee all appropriate relief, including the payment for used paid sick leave, rehiring or reinstatement to the employee's previous job, payment of back wages and reestablishment of employee benefits to which the employee otherwise would have been eligible if the employee had not been subject to such retaliatory personnel action or discriminated against. Any party aggrieved by the decision of the commissioner may appeal the decision to the Superior Court in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54.

(d) The Labor Commissioner shall administer this section within available appropriations.

(P.A. 11-52, S. 5; P.A. 24-8, S. 5.)

History: P.A. 11-52 effective January 1, 2012; P.A. 24-8 made technical changes in Subsecs. (a) to (c), effective January 1, 2025.