A CHRO release of jurisdiction is the document that ends the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities’ administrative handling of your discrimination complaint and clears you to sue in Connecticut Superior Court. You can request one jointly with the respondent at any time after filing, or on your own once 180 days have passed or the CHRO has completed a case assessment review. Once the release is granted, two separate deadlines start pressing on your lawsuit, and both have to be met.
When You Can Request a Release
Connecticut General Statutes § 46a-101 sets out three ways to become eligible.
- A joint request by you and the respondent (or your attorneys) can be filed on any date after the complaint is filed. There is no waiting period.
- A request from you alone is available once your complaint has been pending 180 days.
- A request from you alone is also available once the CHRO completes a case assessment review, if that happens before the 180-day mark. You can ask the CHRO to conduct an expedited case assessment review if you want a release sooner.
If the CHRO dismisses your complaint at case assessment review, the agency issues a release automatically, so you can still take the case to court.
One point worth clearing up before you go further: a reasonable-cause finding by a CHRO investigator does not open the door to Superior Court. When the agency finds reasonable cause, it tries to negotiate a settlement, and if that fails the case moves to a public hearing before the CHRO itself, not to court. The release is the mechanism that shifts the case to court, and you have to request it.
How to Submit the Request
The CHRO uses a standard Request for Release of Jurisdiction form, available on the Commission’s website under forms and publications. You’ll need your CHRO case number, which appears in the upper-right corner of official correspondence, along with the name of the assigned investigator and the regional office handling the file.
Match the names on the release request to the names on the original complaint exactly, especially the respondent’s legal name. A discrepancy between the release and your later court filing can create avoidable problems. Submit the completed form to the CHRO’s central office at 450 Columbus Boulevard in Hartford, or to the regional branch handling your case.
What the CHRO Does With Your Request
Once the CHRO receives a valid request, the executive director must grant it within 10 business days. That timeline is set by statute.
Two exceptions can slow or stop the process. If your case is already scheduled for a public hearing, the executive director can decline to issue a release at all. And if the executive director believes the case is close to being resolved administratively, the CHRO can defer acting on your request for up to 30 days, backed by a written certification explaining why resolution is expected in that window.
When the release is granted, the CHRO dismisses the administrative complaint and closes the file. There is no fee. The agency stops all investigation and mediation activity, and all parties receive notice that the administrative process has ended.
Two Deadlines You Have to Track
Once the release is in your hands, two separate clocks are running at the same time. You have to meet both.
90 Days From the Release
Under § 46a-101(e), you must file your civil action no later than 90 days after receiving the release. The clock starts when the release letter is delivered to you or your attorney. Miss it, and your case likely cannot proceed in court regardless of the strength of the underlying claim.
Two Years From the Original CHRO Filing
Section 46a-102 sets a separate outer limit: the lawsuit must be filed within two years of the date you originally filed your complaint with the CHRO. This is the deadline that catches people off guard. If your complaint sat in the administrative process for 23 months before you got the release, you don’t have 90 days. You have roughly a month before the two-year window closes.
Track both deadlines from the day you file with the CHRO, and if you’re hoping for an administrative resolution, still request the release early enough to leave meaningful time for the court case.
Filing in Superior Court
Under § 46a-100, the lawsuit goes in one of three judicial districts: where the discrimination occurred, where the respondent does business, or where you live. Cases against a state agency or state official must be filed in the Hartford judicial district.
The Superior Court civil filing fee is $360. Process must be served by leaving an attested copy of the writ of summons and complaint with the defendant or at their usual place of abode. It must be made returnable no later than two months after the date of the process and served at least 12 days before the return day. The rules are strict and the 90-day deadline is unforgiving, so most people who aren’t already represented retain an attorney at this stage.
The release itself is a jurisdictional prerequisite. Section 46a-101(a) says no action may be brought under § 46a-100 unless the complainant has received a release, so reference or attach it in your initial court papers.
Federal Claims and the EEOC
If your claim also falls under a federal statute like Title VII, the ADA, or the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, your CHRO complaint may have been dual-filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under a worksharing agreement. When you file with the CHRO and the allegation is also covered by federal law, the CHRO forwards a copy of the charge to the EEOC, though the CHRO typically keeps the case for processing.
A CHRO release does not substitute for a federal Notice of Right to Sue. To file in federal court under federal anti-discrimination statutes, you need a separate right-to-sue notice from the EEOC, and once you receive it you have 90 days to file the federal action. The state and federal deadlines run independently. Pursuing one doesn’t pause or extend the other.
What a Court Can Award That the CHRO Cannot
The administrative process is limited in what it can award. Under § 46a-104, a court hearing a discrimination case brought after a release can grant both legal and equitable relief, including temporary or permanent injunctions, attorney’s fees, and court costs.
Back pay is common in employment cases, covering lost wages and benefits from the date of the discriminatory act through resolution. Courts can also order reinstatement, or front pay as a substitute when reinstatement isn’t practical.
Attorney’s fees deserve attention because Connecticut law provides that the fee award is not tied to the amount of damages recovered. A prevailing plaintiff can recover reasonable attorney’s fees even when the monetary damages are modest.
Punitive damages are not available under § 46a-104. The Connecticut Supreme Court held in Ames v. Commissioner of Motor Vehicles that awarding them on top of attorney’s fees would create a double recovery the legislature did not intend.
If you also bring federal claims, separate caps apply based on employer size. For intentional discrimination under Title VII or the ADA, combined compensatory and punitive damages are capped at $50,000 for employers with 15 to 100 employees and scale up to $300,000 for employers with more than 500 employees. Back pay and front pay are calculated separately and are not subject to those caps.