Stamford v. Commission on Human Rights & Opportunities, Office of Public Hearings

Citations

• 351 Conn. 298

Syllabus

Pursuant to the Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act (§ 46a-94a (a)), ''[t]he [Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities], any respondent or any complainant, aggrieved by a final order of a presiding officer, may appeal to the Superior Court in accordance with'' the Uniform Administrative Procedure Act. Pursuant to the Uniform Administrative Procedure Act (§ 4-183 (a) and (b)), ''[a] person who has exhausted all administrative remedies available within the agency and who is aggrieved by a final decision may appeal to the Superior Court,'' and ''[a] person may appeal a preliminary, procedural or intermediate agency action or ruling to the Superior Court if (1) it appears likely that the person will otherwise qualify under this [act] to appeal from the final agency action or ruling and (2) postponement of the appeal would result in an inadequate remedy.'' The defendants, the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, its Office of Public Hearings, and the complainant, W, appealed to this court, upon certification by the Chief Justice pursuant to statute (§ 52-265a) that a matter of public interest was involved, from the trial court's decision to deny their motions to dismiss the plaintiff employer's administrative appeal from a ruling by commission's human rights referee. The referee had granted W's motion to amend his employment discrimination complaint to add a new claim regarding the denial of reasonable accommodations in light of W's disability. In moving to dismiss the plaintiff's administrative appeal, the defendants contended that interlocutory rulings are not appealable under § 46a-94a (a) and, alternatively, that the appeal was not permitted under 351 Conn. 298 FEBRUARY, 2025 299 Stamford v. Commission on Human Rights & Opportunities, Office of Public Hearings § 4-183 (b) because the statutory requirements were not satisfied. The trial court denied the defendants' motions to dismiss on the ground that the referee's ruling was a final decision withi