Absent Judge Claims Workplace Worsened Health Problems: Report

GREATER HARTFORD, CT — A Connecticut judge who has collected $350K in salary despite not showing up to work since November 2019 is alleging the state judicial branch created a "stressful work environment" that contributed to unspecified health problems.

Last month, the Connecticut Supreme Court summoned Superior Court Judge Alice Bruno, saying she needs to explain her over two-year absence from the bench, the Hartford Courant reported.

Ahead of Bruno's appearance scheduled for April 5, new details on her case have become available through an affidavit she prepared herself that was made public, according to the Courant.

In it, she alleges the judicial branch created a "stressful work environment related to the hostility toward my medical conditions and appointments," which she claims exacerbated her health problems, the Courant reported.

Most of Bruno's medical information had been removed before the affidavit was made public, the Courant said. She claims the judicial branch wouldn't accommodate her demand to work at a location "reasonably" close to her home in New Britain, the Courant reported. Judicial records show Bruno is assigned to the Judicial District Courthouse at 300 Grand St. in Waterbury.

Read the Courant's full report here.