The Connecticut Supreme Court has unanimously ruled in favor of a former employee at a UBS AG subsidiary who claimed he was fired in 2008 from his managing director job in violation of his free speech rights, after repeatedly warning that properties in the company's investment funds were overvalued by millions of dollars.
Justices said in the decision released Monday that the state constitution and state law ban public and private employers from disciplining workers for speech about "certain matters of significant public interest." In an excerpt from their decision:
Under the state constitution, employee speech pursuant to official job duties on certain matters of significant public interest is protected from employer discipline in a public workplace, and § 31-51q extends the same protection to employee speech pursuant to official job duties in the private workplace.
Richard Trusz of Glastonbury sued the Swiss bank and subsidiary UBS Realty Investors for back pay and punitive damages in federal court, where a judge asked the state Supreme Court to rule on the speech issue.
The Hartford Courant reported that Trusz has not found another job since he was fired from UBS. Trusz said the lawsuit has not only impacted him financially.
"It has been extremely difficult for myself, my wife, my three kids," Trusz said. "From an emotional standpoint, it has been a huge toll for everybody in our family."
UBS denied Trusz's allegations that it ignored his warnings and said he was among those laid off when the company outsourced valuation work.
Leyda Quast is an intern at WNPR. This report includes information from The Associated Press.
