Amanda DeMatteis: Hi, Josh.
Josh Goodbaum: Hi, Amanda. What are we talking about today?
DeMatteis: I thought we would talk about a potential client that comes in to see you and says, “Hey, I got fired from my job because my company car got stolen on my watch and my employer turns around and terminates me. I didn’t do anything wrong. Do I have a clause of action against my employer for terminating me because my company vehicle was stolen?”
Goodbaum: Probably not. You say you didn’t do anything wrong – you weren’t negligent in any way – but your employer might disagree. Maybe you left the keys in the car. Maybe you left the door unlocked. Certainly, your employer can fire you – and I think with decent reason – if you haven’t taken appropriate measures to safeguard the car that they entrusted to you.
But I think you’re asking a broader question, which is: “I’ve been the victim of a crime. Can I be fired for that?” And the answer is: it’s a little bit unclear, but probably sometimes yes, sometimes no.
There’s a Connecticut statute that’s on point. It’s at section 54-85b of the General Statutes. And what it says is that you can’t be fired from your job or otherwise penalized because you have reported a crime to the police or because you’ve assisted in an investigation or because you’ve been a victim of what’s called a “crime of family violence” – think about domestic violence, spousal violence, the violation of a restraining order by somebody else. But implicit in the idea that you can’t be fired because you’re a victim of a crime of family violence is the idea that you’re not protected if you’re a victim of some other kind of crime.
So, if your employer fires you and says, “Hey, we’re not firing you because you were the victim of a crime. We’re firing you because you got the police involved and we didn’t want the police involved,” then I think you’ve got a claim. It’s always protected to go to the police and report a crime. But, if your employer just says, “You reported your car stolen – your company car stolen – and we don’t think you did a good job guarding it, or we just don’t think you took appropriate measures to safeguard the car,” then I think you’re probably out of luck.
But have a look at section 54-85b – that might provide some recourse. And don’t hesitate to talk to an employment lawyer. It certainly can’t hurt.
DeMatteis: Thanks very much, Josh. And thank you for watching. Take care.