The most significant business law case of the year received a great deal of publicity in both the legal and popular press. In Patino v. Birken Manufacturing Company, 304 Conn. 679 (2012), an opinion authored by Chief Justice Chase Rogers, the Connecticut Supreme Court unanimously held that Connecticut General Statute § 46a-81c (1) creates a cause of action for hostile work environment claims where employees are subjected to discrimination and harassment based on their sexual orientation. This decision deserves attention from executives and human resource personnel at all businesses, including in the manufacturing environment.
The facts of the case were relatively straightforward. The plaintiff, a machinist employed at a manufacturing company for many years, claimed that he was harassed by his co-workers due to his sexual orientation and that his employer failed to remedy the situation. Beginning in 1991, the plaintiff’s co-workers began uttering derogatory slurs for homosexuals in languages such as Spanish, Italian and English while in the plaintiff’s presence.
