Children Committee
Judiciary Committee
AN ACT CONCERNING RESPONSIBILITIES OF MANDATED REPORTERS OF CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT
SUMMARY: This act (1) prohibits employers from attempting to prevent employees from reporting child abuse or neglect or testifying in child abuse or neglect hearings and (2) subjects employers to the whistleblower penalties, in addition to the current civil penalties, if they take adverse action against employees who report child abuse or neglect.
The act prohibits employers from hindering, preventing, or attempting to hinder or prevent an employee's efforts to report child abuse or neglect or testify in a child abuse or neglect proceeding. The law already prohibits discharging, discriminating, or retaliating against an employee for making such reports or providing such testimony. The attorney general may sue an employer who violates this provision and a court may impose a civil penalty or other equitable relief. The act extends this relief to these new violations.
The state's whistleblower law prohibits employers from discharging, disciplining, or otherwise penalizing employees who report certain violations of state law. The act extends this prohibition to instances when the employee reports suspected child abuse or neglect. An employee may sue an employer who violates this law for job reinstatement, back pay, and reestablishment of employee benefits after exhausting all available administrative remedies.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2013
BACKGROUND
Related Act
PA 13-297 makes it a class A misdemeanor (see Table on Penalties) for mandated reporters to fail to report suspected child abuse or neglect to the Department of Children and Families. Under prior law, fines were between $500 and $2,500.
OLR Tracking: KGD: ND: VR: RO