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DRAFT FOR ATTORNEY REVIEW — NOT FINAL

Connecticut Judicial Branch v. Gilbert, 343 Conn. 90 (2022)

Citation
Connecticut Judicial Branch v. Gilbert, 343 Conn. 90 (2022)
Parent Document
Connecticut Judicial Branch v. Gilbert, 343 Conn. 90 (2022)
Jurisdiction
Connecticut (state)
Effective Date
2022-04-26

Other Sections in This Document (128)

Full Text

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that (1) under this court’s holding in Commission on
          Human Rights & Opportunities v. Truelove & Maclean,
          Inc., 238 Conn. 337, 680 A.2d 1261 (1996) (Truelove),
          prior to 2019,3 the commission was not authorized to
          award attorney’s fees and emotional distress damages
          to victims of employment discrimination under either
          § 46a-58 (a) or § 46a-60, (2) the award of prejudgment
          and postjudgment interest against the state under § 46a-
          86 (b) is barred by the state’s sovereign immunity, (3)
          the referee’s award of emotional distress damages also
          was improper because the complainant refused to pro-
          vide the branch with her psychological and medical
          records, allegedly in violation of the referee’s discovery
          orders, and (4) the referee exceeded her legal authority
          in ordering the branch to reinstate the complainant to
          her position at the Danielson courthouse.4
             The trial court agreed with the branch’s third and
          fourth claims and, accordingly, vacated the award of
          emotional distress damages and the injunction. With
          respect to the first claim, the court agreed with the branch
          that Truelove compels the twin conclusions that § 46a-
          60 is the exclusive statutory basis for remedying state
          law employment discrimination claims, and emotional
          damages and attorney’s fees are unavailable for viola-
          tions of § 46a-60 that occurred before 2019. But the
          court also determined that those remedies nevertheless
          remain available to a victim of employment discrimina-
          tion seeking relief in proceedings before the commission
          because violations of federal employment discrimina-
          tion laws—Title VII, in particular—are cognizable under
            3
               In 2019, the legislature amended the Connecticut Fair Employment Prac-
          tices Act to authorize the commission to award damages and attorney’s
          fees, as well as equitable remedies for violations of state employment dis-
          crimination law. See Public Acts 2019, No. 19-16, § 7. Accordingly, complain-
          ants no longer need to establish violations of federal antidiscrimination law
          to obtain such relief.
             4
               The branch raised additional claims of error before the trial court that
          are not before us on appeal.
Page 40                         CONNECTICUT LAW JOURNAL                                April 26, 2022