Paralegal Who Refused to Notarize Affidavit Can Sue Over Firing

A Connecticut law firm must face a former paralegal’s lawsuit alleging she was fired in violation of state public policy for refusing to notarize an affidavit prepared for her attorney boss because she knew it contained false representations, a state appeals court ruled.

A lower court misconstrued two provisions of state statutory law when it granted TJC Esq.'s motion to dismiss Helen Sieranski’s claim that her firing fell under the public policy exception to Connecticut’s employment at will doctrine, the three-judge panel said.

Connecticut General Statutes §§3-94h and 53a-157b both potentially cover the facts pleaded by Sieranski in her November ...