Filing a Workplace Harassment Complaint in Connecticut
Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team - Connecticut - Last updated September 15, 2026
Connecticut requires you to go through the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities before you can sue. Conn. Gen. Stat. Section 46a-101(a) says it flatly: no action may be brought in accordance with Section 46a-100 unless the complainant has received a release from the commission. The release, called a release of jurisdiction, is available on request once the complaint has been pending one hundred eighty days or after a case assessment review under Section 46a-83(c), whichever is earlier, and the complainant and the respondent may also request one jointly at any time from the date the complaint is filed. The deadline is three hundred days after the date of the alleged act of discrimination. Section 46a-82(f)(2) applies that period to any complaint for an act that occurred on or after October 1, 2021. Three hundred days is also the longest period the EEOC allows, which means that in Connecticut your state and federal clocks close together rather than months apart. The deadline is not where Connecticut differs. Coverage is. Section 46a-51(10) defines employer to include the state and all political subdivisions and to mean any person or employer with one or more persons in that person's employ. Public Act 22-82 redefined both employee and employer in Section 46a-51(9) and (10); before that Connecticut used a three employee rule that had stood since 1967, and a great deal of what is still published about this state reports the old number. The change was not a harassment carve out. One employee is the threshold for every discriminatory employment practice and every protected class, against the fifteen that federal Title VII requires. One limit belongs next to that. Section 46a-51(9) excludes from employee any individual employed by that individual's own parent, spouse or child, so a worker in a family business can fall outside the act even though the employer is covered. If your situation involves assault, threats or stalking, contact emergency services and speak with an attorney rather than relying on a complaint form.
Find out where you stand in Connecticut
Where are you with the harassment complaint?
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How long do I have to file a workplace harassment complaint in Connecticut?
Three hundred days. Conn. Gen. Stat. Section 46a-82(f)(2) provides that a complaint for an alleged act of discrimination that occurred on or after October 1, 2021 must be filed within three hundred days after the date of the alleged act. The clock runs from the act itself. Three hundred days is also the longest charge period the EEOC allows, available where a state agency enforces a law prohibiting the same discrimination, so in Connecticut the state and federal deadlines close at about the same time rather than one buying you extra months.
Do I have to file with a state agency before I can sue for harassment in Connecticut?
Yes. Section 46a-101(a) provides that no action may be brought in accordance with Section 46a-100 unless the complainant has received a release from the commission. That means filing a complaint with the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities and then obtaining a release of jurisdiction before going to court. Connecticut courts have treated the administrative route as a condition of the court's authority to hear the claim, so skipping it is not a shortcut but an ending.
How do I get a release of jurisdiction from the Connecticut commission?
Section 46a-101 sets out the routes. The complainant and the respondent may request a release jointly at any time from the date the complaint is filed. The complainant alone may request one once the complaint has been pending one hundred eighty days, or after a case assessment review under Section 46a-83(c), whichever is earlier, and a request made before day one hundred eighty triggers an expedited case assessment review. The executive director must grant the release within ten business days of receiving the request, may defer for thirty days on a certification that the case may settle, and may decline where the case is already scheduled for public hearing.
Most published guidance still says a Connecticut employer needs three employees to be covered, and that has not been the law since Public Act 22-82 rewrote the definition.
One employee is enough in Connecticut, and this is the fact most competing sources get wrong. Section 46a-51(10) defines employer to include the state and all political subdivisions and to mean any person or employer with one or more persons in that person's employ. Public Act 22-82 made that change by redefining employee and employer in Section 46a-51(9) and (10), replacing a three employee threshold that dated to 1967. The one employee rule is not limited to harassment: it covers every discriminatory employment practice and every protected class in the chapter.
Relevant Laws
Conn. Gen. Stat. Section 46a-82(f)(2): 300 Days to File a CHRO Complaint
A complaint for an alleged act of discrimination occurring on or after October 1, 2021 must be filed within three hundred days after the date of the act. The period runs from the act itself rather than from discharge or discovery.
Conn. Gen. Stat. Section 46a-51(10): One Employee Makes a Covered Employer
Employer includes the state and all political subdivisions and means any person or employer with one or more persons in that person's employ. Public Act 22-82 replaced the three employee threshold that had applied since 1967.
Conn. Gen. Stat. Section 46a-51(9): The Parent, Spouse or Child Exclusion
An individual employed by that individual's own parent, spouse or child is not an employee for these purposes. The training definition at Section 46a-54(15) is drafted the other way and does not answer the liability question.
Conn. Gen. Stat. Section 46a-60(b)(8): The Express Sexual Harassment Prohibition
The express clause covers harassment on the basis of sex or gender identity or expression and asks whether the conduct substantially interfered with work performance or created an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment. Harassment on other bases runs through Section 46a-60(b)(1).
Conn. Gen. Stat. Section 46a-60(b)(8): Corrective Action Cannot Move You Without Written Agreement
An employer's corrective action shall not modify the conditions of employment of the employee making the claim unless that employee agrees in writing, including relocation and schedule changes. Record any change the employer made after your report.
Regional Variances
How Connecticut differs
You cannot sue in Connecticut without a release of
You cannot sue in Connecticut without a release of jurisdiction. Section 46a-101(a) provides that no action may be brought in accordance with Section 46a-100 unless the complainant has received a release from the commission. Section 46a-101 gives three ways to get one: a joint request by the complainant and the respondent at any time from the date the complaint is filed, a request by the complainant once the complaint has been pending one hundred eighty days or after a case assessment review under Section 46a-83(c), whichever is earlier, and an expedited case assessment review where the complainant asks before day one hundred eighty.
The Connecticut filing deadline is three hundred days after
The Connecticut filing deadline is three hundred days after the date of the alleged act of discrimination, under Section 46a-82(f)(2), which governs acts that occurred on or after October 1, 2021. The clock runs from the act, not from a discharge and not from a discovery date. Because three hundred days is also the maximum federal charge period where a state agency enforces a parallel law, Connecticut is one of the states where the two clocks close together. Do not treat the state number as the more generous one.
Two separate court deadlines run at once and both
Two separate court deadlines run at once and both have to be satisfied. Section 46a-101(e) requires an action under Section 46a-100 to be brought not later than ninety days after the date of receipt of the release from the commission. Section 46a-102 independently requires the action to be brought within two years of the date of filing of the complaint with the commission. If your complaint sits at the commission for twenty three months and you then take a release, the two year cap leaves you about a month, not ninety days.
Suggested Compliance Checklist
Conn. Gen. Stat. Section 46a-102: Two Years from the Date of the CHRO Filing
See your deadline days after startingAny action brought under Section 46a-100 must be brought within two years of the date the complaint was filed with the commission. This cap can leave less than the ninety days the release period appears to give.
Conn. Gen. Stat. Section 46a-60(b)(8): The Express Sexual Harassment Prohibition
See your deadline days after startingThe express clause covers harassment on the basis of sex or gender identity or expression and asks whether the conduct substantially interfered with work performance or created an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment. Harassment on other bases runs through Section 46a-60(b)(1).
Conn. Gen. Stat. Section 46a-60(b)(8): Corrective Action Cannot Move You Without Written Agreement
See your deadline days after startingAn employer's corrective action shall not modify the conditions of employment of the employee making the claim unless that employee agrees in writing, including relocation and schedule changes. Record any change the employer made after your report.
Conn. Gen. Stat. Section 46a-54(15)(C): Training at Every Size of Employer
See your deadline days after startingTwo hours of training go to all employees where the employer has three or more, and to all supervisory employees where it has fewer than three, within six months of hire and with supplemental training not less than every ten years. Section 46a-51(8) makes a violation a discriminatory practice.
| Task | Description | Document | Days after starting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conn. Gen. Stat. Section 46a-102: Two Years from the Date of the CHRO Filing | Any action brought under Section 46a-100 must be brought within two years of the date the complaint was filed with the commission. This cap can leave less than the ninety days the release period appears to give. | - | See your deadline |
| Conn. Gen. Stat. Section 46a-60(b)(8): The Express Sexual Harassment Prohibition | The express clause covers harassment on the basis of sex or gender identity or expression and asks whether the conduct substantially interfered with work performance or created an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment. Harassment on other bases runs through Section 46a-60(b)(1). | - | See your deadline |
| Conn. Gen. Stat. Section 46a-60(b)(8): Corrective Action Cannot Move You Without Written Agreement | An employer's corrective action shall not modify the conditions of employment of the employee making the claim unless that employee agrees in writing, including relocation and schedule changes. Record any change the employer made after your report. | - | See your deadline |
| Conn. Gen. Stat. Section 46a-54(15)(C): Training at Every Size of Employer | Two hours of training go to all employees where the employer has three or more, and to all supervisory employees where it has fewer than three, within six months of hire and with supplemental training not less than every ten years. Section 46a-51(8) makes a violation a discriminatory practice. | - | See your deadline |
Frequently Asked Questions
Two deadlines apply and you must meet both. Section 46a-101(e) requires the action to be brought not later than ninety days after the date of receipt of the release from the commission. Section 46a-102 separately requires any action brought in accordance with Section 46a-100 to be brought within two years of the date of filing of the complaint with the commission. The second runs from your agency filing, so a case that stays at the commission for a long time can leave far less than ninety days. Calendar the two year date on the day you file the complaint.
No, and this is the most commonly published error about this state. Section 46a-51(10) defines employer to include the state and all political subdivisions and to mean any person or employer with one or more persons in that person's employ. Public Act 22-82 redefined employee and employer in Section 46a-51(9) and (10), replacing the three employee rule that had been in place since 1967. Federal Title VII still requires fifteen employees, so a worker at a two person Connecticut company can have a full state claim and no federal one.
Two routes, and the difference matters. Section 46a-60(b)(8) is an express prohibition, but it reaches harassment on the basis of sex or gender identity or expression only, asking whether the conduct has the purpose or effect of substantially interfering with an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment. Harassment because of race, religion, age, disability, ancestry, marital status, veteran status or status as a victim of domestic violence is pursued instead through the terms, conditions or privileges of employment language of Section 46a-60(b)(1). Sexual orientation sits in its own section, Section 46a-81c.
The statute addresses this directly. Section 46a-60(b)(8) provides that an employer's corrective action in response to a sexual harassment claim shall not modify the conditions of employment of the employee making the claim unless that employee agrees in writing, and it identifies relocation and changes to a work schedule as examples. Written agreement means written, not a conversation you did not object to. Record the date the change was made, who made it, and what you said about it, and take the timeline to a Connecticut employment lawyer.
Yes, and there is no size floor. Section 46a-54(15)(C) requires an employer with three or more employees to provide two hours of training and education to all employees, supervisory and non supervisory alike, and an employer with fewer than three employees to provide the same training to all supervisory employees. An employee hired by a covered employer must be trained not later than six months after the date of hire, and supplemental training must follow not less than every ten years. Section 46a-51(8) makes a violation of that subparagraph a discriminatory practice, so a failure to train can itself be the subject of a commission complaint.
Section 46a-54(15)(A) requires an employer to post information about the illegality of sexual harassment and the remedies available in a prominent and accessible location. Section 46a-54(15)(B) requires an employer with three or more employees to provide the same information to each employee by email not later than three months after the employee's start date, with a subject line that contains the words Sexual Harassment Policy or words of similar import. If you never received either, that is worth recording alongside the conduct itself, because the training and notice provisions are enforced through the commission.
Possibly not, and this is worth checking before you rely on the one employee rule. Section 46a-51(9) excludes from the definition of employee any individual employed by that individual's own parent, spouse or child. The exclusion is about who the employee is, not about whether the business is a covered employer. Note that the separate definition used for the training mandate at Section 46a-54(15) runs the other way and includes an individual employed by a parent, spouse or child, so do not read the training rule as answering the liability question.
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