for an employer to discipline an employee in retaliation for the employee’s exercise of rights under § 31-51m. Section 31-51m, in turn, protects the employee from retaliatory discharge when the employee has complained, in good faith, about a suspected violation of state or federal law or regulation. Such whistle-blowing claims for retaliatory discharge typically invite analysis under the framework first established in McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 802-804, 93 S. Ct. 1817, 36 L. Ed. 2d 668 (1973). “In an action under § 31-51m (b), [the] plaintiff has the initial burden under McDonnell Douglas Corp. ... of proving by a preponderance of the evidence a prima facie case of retaliatory discharge. See LaFond v. General Physics Services Corp., 50 F.3d 165, 172 (2d Cir. 1995) (<HOLDING>). This consists of three elements: (1) that
holding that the employers discharge of the plaintiff four months after the plaintiff filed a discrimination claim is insufficient to establish a prima facie case of retaliatory discharge recognizing the tort of retaliatory discharge holding that connecticut courts would apply federal employment discrimination standards to a claim of retaliatory discharge under  3151m holding that retaliatory discharge demotion or other adverse employment claims state a cause of action under  1981 holding that plaintiffs retaliatory discharge claim under michigan law was not preempted because the statelaw tort of retaliatory discharge creates rights independent of those established by the collective bargaining agreement further holding that discrimination claim was not preempted even though the employer was likely to rely on provisions of the cba in its defense