Age Discrimination Lawyer in Hartford

What Connecticut & Federal Law Prohibit

Age discrimination claims in Connecticut can proceed under two separate legal frameworks. The Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act, codified at Connecticut General Statutes Section 46a-60, prohibits employers from discriminating against employees or applicants on the basis of age. The federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act protects workers 40 and older from discrimination in hiring, firing, promotion, compensation, and other terms of employment.

Both laws cover intentional disparate treatment, meaning an employer treats an employee worse specifically because of their age. Federal law also recognizes disparate-impact claims, where a facially neutral policy disproportionately affects older workers even without discriminatory intent. Which theory applies to your situation shapes how a claim is built and where it is filed.

The CHRO & EEOC Filing Process in Connecticut

Before an age discrimination lawsuit can proceed in Connecticut state court, an employee must first file a complaint with the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO), the state agency responsible for investigating employment discrimination claims. The CHRO’s main office is located in Hartford. Complaints must generally be filed within 300 days of the discriminatory act, making the timeline critical from the moment you suspect a problem.

Connecticut has a work-sharing agreement between the CHRO and the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), so a complaint filed with one agency is cross-filed with the other. This allows an employee to preserve rights under both state and federal law through a single filing. This process, called administrative exhaustion, must be completed before a court will hear most age discrimination cases. Once it concludes, the CHRO issues a Release of Jurisdiction and the EEOC issues a Notice of Right to Sue, either of which allows a case to proceed toward litigation.

How Age Discrimination Appears in the Workplace

Prohibited age discrimination covers a wide range of employment decisions. These situations commonly give rise to claims:

• Hiring and promotion decisions where qualified older applicants or employees are passed over in favor of younger candidates without a legitimate, documented reason
• Layoffs and terminations structured in ways that disproportionately eliminate older workers, sometimes framed as performance-based or organizational decisions
• Forced retirement or pressure to leave a position before an employee is ready, often through reduced responsibilities or isolation
• Age-based harassment, including derogatory comments about age, repeated suggestions that an employee is “past their prime,” or being treated as less capable than younger coworkers without basis
• Workforce restructuring that eliminates positions held primarily by older employees while preserving equivalent roles held by younger workers

Steps to Take If You Suspect Age Discrimination

Documentation matters significantly in these cases. If you believe you’re being treated differently because of your age, start keeping a record of relevant communications, performance evaluations, and specific instances where you were treated differently than younger coworkers in comparable situations. Note dates, who was present, and what was said or done.

It’s also important to know that reporting age discrimination or participating in a related investigation is itself protected activity. Retaliation against an employee for making a complaint or cooperating with an investigation is separately prohibited under both the Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act and the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act. If your employer takes adverse action against you after you raise a concern, that conduct may form the basis of an independent retaliation claim.