Schumann v. Dianon Systems, Inc.

Summary

The court held that the Garcetti rule applies to claims against private employers under § 31-51q and bars protection for employee speech made pursuant to official job duties. The plaintiff’s objections to a new diagnostic testing process and terminology were part of his duties as a pathologist, so the trial court should have entered judgment for the defendant on the statutory claim. The court also concluded that the speech would not have been protected under the pre-Garcetti Pickering/Connick framework, declined to decide the state constitutional question, and remanded for judgment on the statutory claim and a new trial on the common-law wrongful termination claim.