Connecticut
Connecticut Whistleblower Laws: Protections and How to Report
Independently fact-checked against primary sources (last audited August 20, 2026). · Reviewed by the RecordingLaw editorial team. · Law checked current as of August 20, 2026. · 1 primary source cited on this page. How we verify our legal content
Connecticut protects employees who report suspected legal violations through Conn. Gen. Stat. 31-51m, which prohibits employers from retaliating against workers who disclose violations to a public body. State employees receive additional protection under Conn. Gen. Stat. 4-61dd for reporting corruption or unethical practices to the Auditors of Public Accounts.
A Summary of Connecticut Whistleblower Laws
Employees in Connecticut can be relieved from work for any reason due to the practice of the employment-at-will doctrine. However, nowadays, there are exceptions to this doctrine, which make it illegal to discharge employees under certain circumstances. Exceptions to this doctrine constitute common law protections and statutory protections. Statutory protections are enacted by Connecticut's legislature and cover specific subject areas (e.g., workers' compensation), while common law protections cover cases that are not defined in the statutory protections.
This is a summary of Connecticut Whistleblower Laws, make sure to check out the Federal Whistleblower Laws as well.
Whistleblower Rights in Connecticut
Common Law Protections
Connecticut employees can be protected by the state's public policy, which is recognized as a remedy to the employment-at-will doctrine. This means employers are not allowed to discharge an employee for reasons that violate public policy. To determine if a dismissal of an employee violated public policy, Connecticut courts rely on constitutional and statutory laws that address similar cases. So, for example, if a statute endorses the right to collect workers' compensation, an employer who retaliates against an employee for exercising this right will be violating public policy.
Statutory Protections Connecticut
General Whistleblower Protection
Employers are not allowed to discharge or in any way discriminate against an employee in retaliation for:
- Reporting verbally or in writing a violation or suspected violation of federal law, state law, or any other law to a public body.
- Participating or intending to participate in an investigation, hearing, or inquiry hosted by a public body or court.
- Reporting child abuse and child neglect incidences.
Also, municipal employers are not allowed to discharge or in any way discriminate against an employee in retaliation for disclosing issues concerning unethical practices, mismanagement, or abuse of authority by the employer to a public body. Conn. Gen Stat. § 31-51m.
Disclosure of information to Auditors of Public Accounts
No state officer or employee, quasi-public agency officer or employee, officer or employee of a large state contractor, and no appointing authority are allowed to in any way discriminate against an employee in retaliation for disclosing information concerning corruption, violation of state laws or regulations, gross waste of funds or any other unethical practice to an employee of the Auditors of Public Accounts or the Attorney General, an employee of the state agency or quasi-public agency or an employee of a large state contractor. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 4-61dd.
Discrimination
It is against the law for an employer to discharge, alter terms of employment, or in any way discriminate against an employee or any individual because of the employee's or individual's race, color, religion, sex, age, gender, marital status, national origin, ancestry or disability. It is also against the law for an employer to in any way discriminate against an employee in retaliation for opposing discriminatory practices, filing a complaint, testifying, or participating in a proceeding regarding the state's discrimination law. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46a-60.
Family and Medical Leave
It is illegal for an employer to discharge or in any way discriminate against an employee in retaliation for:
- Exercising rights under the Family and Medical Leave statute.
- Filing a charge or instituting a proceeding under this statute.
- Giving or intending to give information related to a proceeding or inquiry under this statute.
- Opposing practices that are deemed unlawful by this statute.
- Testifying or intending to testify in a proceeding or hearing related to this statute.
Conn. Gen Stat. § 31-51pp.
Minimum Wage
Employers are not allowed to discharge or in any way discriminate against an employee in retaliation for testifying or intending to testify in a proceeding under Connecticut's minimum wage laws. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-69.
Occupational Safety and Health
Under this statute, employers are required to provide each of their employees with a list of all carcinogenic substances that are produced or used in the manufacturing process and safety instructions related to such substances. It is against the law for an employer to discipline or in any way discriminate against an employee in retaliation for filing a complaint concerning the violation of requirements regarding carcinogenic substances or assisting an authorized person in the investigation of such a complaint. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-40c, 31-40d.
Workers' Compensation
No employer is allowed to discharge or in any way discriminate against an employee in retaliation for filing a workers' compensation claim or exercising his or her rights under this statute. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-290a.
Whistleblower Hotlines in Connecticut
To file a complaint under the discrimination statute, call the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO) at 1-800-477-5737.
To file a complaint under the Family and Medical Leave Act and Occupational Safety and Health act, call the Connecticut Labor Commissioner at (860) 263-6000.
To file a complaint under the workers' compensation act, call the Connecticut Workers' Compensation Commission (WCC) at (860) 493-1500.
To file a complaint under the Disclosure of information to Auditors of Public Accounts statute, call the attorney general at 860-808-5318.
Whistleblower Retaliation Claims in Connecticut
Unless stated otherwise by a statute, whistleblowers are required to file a lawsuit within 3 years of the retaliation. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-577.
General Whistleblower Protection
Whistleblowers are allowed to file a lawsuit after exhausting administrative remedies. Lawsuits should be filed within 90 days of the final administrative determination or within 90 days of the retaliatory action, whichever is later.
Disclosure of information to Auditors of Public Accounts
Employees who suffer retaliation are required to file a complaint with the Chief Human Rights Referee within 30 days of the retaliatory action.
Discrimination
Complaints under this statute should be filed with the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO) within 180 days of the retaliation.
Workers' Compensation
Employees who suffer retaliatory action due to exercising their rights under this statute can choose to file a lawsuit or file a complaint with the chairman of the Workers' Compensation Commission.
Retaliation and Violation Penalties in Connecticut
Remedies vary by statute. Under Connecticut's main whistleblower law, Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-51m, recovery is statutorily limited to reinstatement, back wages, and reestablishment of benefits, plus court costs and reasonable attorney fees; the statute does not give a court discretion to award additional damages beyond those listed items.
Disclosure of information to Auditors of Public Accounts
In addition to compensations awarded to the employee by the court, a contractor may be liable to pay a civil penalty capped at $5000 for each violation and up to a maximum of 20% of the value of the contract.
Discrimination
Discrimination retaliation claims under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46a-60 are enforced administratively through the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, not through a criminal penalty. Available relief includes cease-and-desist orders, back pay, reinstatement, and other affirmative relief the CHRO or a court determines appropriate.
Minimum Wage
In addition to compensations awarded to the employee by the court, employers who retaliate against employees for exercising their rights under this statute may be liable to pay a fine ranging from $100 to $400. Employers who pay less than the minimum wage may be found guilty of a class D felony and may be liable to pay a fine ranging from $4000 to $10,000 for each violation if the total amount of unpaid wages owed to the employee is more than $2000. However, the amount of fine payable decreases with a decrease in the amount of total wages owed to the employee.
Occupational Safety and Health
In addition to compensations awarded to the employee by the court, violators of this statute may be liable to pay a civil penalty of not more than $1000 for each offense.
Click for an overview of Federal Whistleblower Laws .
More Connecticut Laws
Updates
Removed a criminal penalty (class A misdemeanor / class D felony) that had been misattributed to Connecticut's employment-discrimination retaliation statute, § 46a-60 — that penalty actually belongs to an unrelated hate-crime property-desecration statute, § 46a-58. Also corrected the general retaliation-remedies summary to reflect that recovery under the state's main whistleblower law, § 31-51m, is statutorily capped (reinstatement, back wages, benefits, attorney fees) rather than left to open-ended court discretion.
Independently fact-checked against the cited primary sources; governing law re-checked for recent changes
Corrected a KeyTakeaways bullet that presented a three-year filing window as the general rule; the article's own flagship statute, Conn. Gen. Stat. 31-51m, actually requires filing within 90 days after exhausting administrative remedies.
Governing law re-checked for recent changes
Reviewed and approved by an editor
The Law Behind This Article
This article rests on the statutory provisions below, held in our own legal record and retrieved from the official source. Tap a section to read the operative text.
Connecticut General Statutes, Title 31 (Labor), Chapter 557
§ 31-51mProtection of employee who discloses employer's illegal activities or unethical practices or reports a suspected incident of child abuse or neglect. Civil action.In forcecited in 2 of our articles
(a) As used in this section: (1) “Person” means one or more individuals, partnerships, associations, corporations, limited liability companies, business trusts, legal representatives or any organized group of persons; (2) “Employer” means a person engaged in business who has employees, including the state and any political subdivision of the state; (3) “Employee” means any person engaged in service to an employer in a business of his employer; (4) “Public body” means (A) any public agency, as defined in subdivision (1) of section 1-200, or any employee, member or officer thereof, or (B) any federal agency or any employee, member or officer thereof.
Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-09-09 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at cga.ct.gov
Cited in 104 court opinions in our collectionLatest citing opinion in our collection: 2026
Opinions citing this section in our collection:
- Schoonmaker v. Lawrence Brunoli, Inc. (Supreme Court of Connecticut 2003, 265 Conn. 210)“…gful discharge actions alleged that the defendants violated General Statutes §§ 31-51m, 9 31-51q 10 *220 and 31-69b. 11…”
- Campbell v. Town of Plymouth (Connecticut Appellate Court 2002, 74 Conn. App. 67)“…ent as to count one, which alleged wrongful discharge under General Statutes § 31-51m, and (3) denied the plaintiffs motion t…”
- Young v. City of Bridgeport (Connecticut Appellate Court 2012, 135 Conn. App. 699)“…nt alleging claims of retaliatory discharge in violation of General Statutes §§ 31-51m 2 and 31-51q. 3…”
Identified automatically from the court opinions citing this section — not a ranking of which case controls.
Also relied on in: Connecticut Workplace Recording Laws: Employee Rights and Employer Rules (2026)
Connecticut General Statutes, Title 46a (Human Rights), Chapter 814c
§ 46a-60(Formerly Sec. 31-126). Discriminatory employment practices prohibited.In force
(a) As used in this section: (1) “Pregnancy” means pregnancy, childbirth or a related condition, including, but not limited to, lactation; (2) “Reasonable accommodation” means, but is not limited to, being permitted to sit while working, more frequent or longer breaks, periodic rest, assistance with manual labor, job restructuring, light duty assignments, modified work schedules, temporary transfers to less strenuous or hazardous work, time off to recover from childbirth or break time and appropriate facilities for expressing breast milk; and (3) “Undue hardship” means an action requiring significant difficulty or expense when considered in light of factors such as (A) the nature and cost of the accommodation; (B) the overall financial resources of the employer; (C) the overall size of the business of the employer with respect to the number of employees, and the number, type and location of its facilities; and (D) the effect on expenses and resources or the impact otherwise of such accommodation upon the operation of the employer.
Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-07-29 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at cga.ct.gov
Cited in 716 court opinions in our collectionLatest citing opinion in our collection: 2026
Opinions citing this section in our collection:
- Perodeau v. City of Hartford (Supreme Court of Connecticut 2002, 259 Conn. 729)“…731 to General Statutes § 51-199b (d), 1 are: (1) whether General Statutes § 46a-60 (a) (1) 2 imposes civil liability agai…”
- Bridgeport Hospital v. Commission on Human Rights & Opportunities (Supreme Court of Connecticut 1995, 232 Conn. 91)“…r emotional distress and attorney’s fees for a violation of General Statutes § 46a-60 (a) (l). 2 We conclude that it does n…”
- Levy v. Commission on Human Rights & Opportunities (Supreme Court of Connecticut 1996, 236 Conn. 96)“…etardation, and learning disability or physical disability. General Statutes § 46a-60 (a) (1). Additionally, state law protec…”
Identified automatically from the court opinions citing this section — not a ranking of which case controls.
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Sources and References
- Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-51m: protection of employee who discloses employer's illegal activities or unethical practices(cga.ct.gov).gov
- Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46a-60 — Discriminatory employment practices prohibited(law.justia.com)
- Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-51m — Protection of employee who discloses employer's illegal activities; damages limited(law.justia.com)