Connecticut employers just suffered a major legal defeat in their effort to keep workers from organizing. Attorney General William Tong announced that a federal district court judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by the Connecticut Business and Industry Association and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce challenging the state’s captive audience law, marking a major win for worker protections and a setback for corporate union-busting tactics. Captive audience meetings are mandatory gatherings held during work hours where employers pressure employees to listen to political, religious, or anti-union messaging, often creating an atmosphere of intimidation. These meetings have long been used to discourage union organizing through fear-based tactics, including threats of layoffs, wage cuts, workplace closures, or other retaliation. Connecticut’s Public Act 22-24, enacted in 2022, gives workers the right to refuse to attend or to leave meetings that are primarily intended to communicate an employer’s opinions on political or religious matters, including union organizing, without fear of being disciplined or fired. Business groups sued to overturn the law, claiming it violated employer free speech rights, but U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley ruled that CBIA lacked standing because the law does not infringe on employers’ First Amendment rights. The law does not silence employers; it simply prevents them from punishing workers for choosing not to participate in political or religious coercion. Attorney General Tong emphasized that workers should never be forced to listen to their employer’s political or religious views, including anti-union rhetoric, and pledged to continue defending Connecticut’s ability to protect worker rights. This decision is significant because federal labor law has historically allowed captive audience meetings, with the National Labor Relations Board viewing them as permissible for decades despite their coercive impact. While the NLRB has recently signaled possible reconsideration, long-term protections remain uncertain without federal reform. The PRO Act would ban captive audience meetings nationwide, but it remains stalled in Congress, leaving states like Connecticut to take action. Public Act 22-24 does not create an employer gag order or prevent job-related meetings about safety or workplace policies, but it does ensure that workers cannot be disciplined or fired simply for refusing employer-sponsored political or religious messaging. The ruling confirms that Connecticut workers seeking to form a union can now legally walk out of captive audience meetings and return to work, and if employers retaliate, workers have the right to sue for lost wages and other costs. The bottom line is clear: corporate groups tried to use the courts to preserve a powerful union-busting tool, but Connecticut defended worker freedom and won.

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