More Government Intrusion into the Workplace

State lawmakers are still considering a proposal (HB 6667) that overturns state law protecting employers’ ability to manage their workplaces and the communications made by employees while on the job.

Not only is the bill needlessly intrusive and likely to cause disruptions in the workplace, HB 6667 is another legislative sidetrack from what should be lawmakers’ main goal this year—focusing on job creation.

Lawmakers should be rooting out proposals like HB 6667 that will make it harder to business in Connecticut.

HB 6667 is harmful for many reasons, including that it:

• Overturns a unanimous Connecticut Supreme Court ruling, similar to a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision-that confirmed the right of employers to discipline their employees if the workers say inappropriate things while on the job.
• Openly contradicts the U.S. Supreme Court, which said that employers need some measure of control over their employees’ words; without it, added the Court, there would be little chance for an efficiently operating workplace.

As a result, this legislation could elevate any workplace dispute into a free-speech case. What’s more, it makes employers helpless to prevent harmful speech made by an employee that could be offensive to customers and attributable to the company.

CBIA is urging state lawmakers to reject HB 6667 as too costly for Connecticut’s business climate and economy.

For more information, contact CBIA’s Eric Gjede at 860.244.1931 or eric.gjede@cbia.com.