Domestic Violence Victims Gain Greater Protection

In an important recent ruling the Connecticut Superior Court held that employers cannot terminate “at-will” employees simply because they are victims of domestic violence. Gillies v. Stonington Free Library.

The case involved a Stonington librarian who was fired after being beaten by her husband and missing some work as a result. According to the complaint a library official advised her not to talk about her situation with any library patrons because it would reflect poorly on the library. She also alleged the library considered her to be an embarrassment due to the fact she had been abused by her husband.

While the library claimed she was discharged as part of a staff reorganization, board minutes mention both the reorganization and the employees “personal circumstances” as reasons for her termination. In moving to strike her claim, the library argued Ms. Gillies already had a statutory remedy available, which provides employees the right to sue if First Amendment rights to speak are wrongly curtailed in the workplace, and therefore her right to bring a wrongful termination suit was barred. In rejecting the library’s argument, the Court stated the plaintiff has sufficiently stated a claim of wrongful discharge in violation of a clear public policy against domestic abuse. It went on to state that there is no specific alternative statutory or other clear remedy for the claims made by her.

Employers taking any adverse action against domestic abuse victims must now make sure they are not doing so based on the victim’s history of abuse.