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Recent decisions clarify 'constructive discharge' in Connecticut

June 2020 employment law letter
Authors: 
Jonathan Sterling & Brendan N. Gooley, Carlton Fields

Two recent decisions clarify when employees have been "constructively discharged" and can sue for wrongful "termination" even though the employer never fired them—they instead resigned or retired. Both the federal and state courts looked at these claims under federal and state law within the past couple of months.

The case of the missing biscuits

Dyanna Green worked in the records department of the East Haven, Connecticut, Police Department. In December 2014, she allegedly borrowed a wire basket from the kitchen/breakroom and took a canister of Pillsbury buttermilk biscuits that had been there for several weeks.

A lieutenant sent an e-mail to the department asking that the biscuits be returned "to their rightful owner." Green then took the biscuits back to the kitchen, where she found the fridge covered with yellow "crime scene" tape. The department chief was also there, and he asked her what was in her bag. She told him her salad was in her bag but didn't tell him about the biscuits.

The chief looked in the bag and saw the biscuits, however. Green told him she had taken the biscuits to bake them and return them to the kitchen for the officers to share and had only borrowed the wire basket. She was nevertheless placed on administrative leave.

An investigation occurred. During the investigation, the department's internal affairs officer interviewed Green. She claims the officer told her she would likely be fired and that she should resign or retire if she could. She also claimed her union representative told her after he met with the department that she would also certainly lose her upcoming hearing.

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