Connecticut law prohibits discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, and credit transactions on the basis of characteristics like your race, religion, sex, disability, and many more "protected classes" or "protected characteristics." [Click here to learn more about Connecticut's protected classes.]
Discrimination can involve actions, spoken or written statements, rules, or policies that treat a person unfairly based on protected class. For example, an employer cannot refuse to hire you (or pay you less) because of your race. A landlord cannot refuse to rent to you (or charge you more in rent) because you are disabled. A restaurant cannot refuse to serve you food because you are a veteran. And a creditor cannot deny your application for credit because of your marital status.
In some cases, discrimination is direct and easy to recognize. It can appear in advertising, notices, or statements that discourage or limit access for certain people. It can be verbal or physical harassment, or the denial of an accommodation request based on a disability or pregnancy. But discriminatory treatment is not always obvious. Sometimes it may appear through patterns, repeated treatment, or requirements that affect some people but not others, such as giving men longer breaks than women at work. If you have been excluded, limited, or offered different terms based on your personal characteristics, you may have been discriminated against.
A discrimination complaint filed with CHRO focuses on reporting this type of discriminatory treatment so it can be reviewed under Connecticut discrimination law. The complaint begins a formal review, but it does not decide the final outcome or guarantee a specific result. Regardless of the result of your complaint, retaliation for reporting discrimination to CHRO is illegal.
Further examples of employment discrimination include, but are not limited to:
- Hiring
- Firing
- Promotions
- Discipline
- Pay
- Harassment
- Job assignments
- Workplace policies
- Reasonable accommodations
Further examples of housing discrimination include, but are not limited to:
- Renting housing
- Selling housing
- Advertising housing
- Setting rental terms or rules
- Evictions
- Mortgage or financing practices
- Disability-related accommodations
Examples of places of public accommodations include, but are not limited to:
- Restaurants
- Stores
- Hotels
- Hospitals
- Barber shops
- Retail businesses
- Gyms
- Entertainment venues
- Professional offices
- Schools
- State agencies
Further examples of credit transaction discrimination include, but are not limited to:
- Loans
- Credit cards
- Financing
- Lending decisions
- Interest rates
- Credit terms
Connecticut's laws against discrimination based on "protected classes" or "protected characteristics" apply to everyone - not only certain groups. Connecticut's protected classes are explained in a separate section. Click here to learn more about Connecticut's protected classes.
Information about how to file a discrimination complaint and what steps are involved is covered in another section. Click here to learn how to file a discrimination complaint.
