The State of Connecticut is not backing down. As the nation’s oldest governmental civil rights agency, the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO) is marching full steam ahead in protecting all people from discrimination and ensuring equal opportunities for all.
The first actions taken by a new federal administration signals their focus. This administration’s first actions were to halt civil rights law enforcement, repeal the basis for affirmative action, dismantle DEI, and require staff to report on their inclusive co-workers or face adverse consequences.
These actions are out of the Project 2025 playbook and are meant to rewind hard won justice for all. Each executive order starts with a statement that this administration is not merely halting progress but is actively working to drag us backwards. Yet these swift actions have not changed the CHRO’s commitment to protecting and advancing civil rights. If anything, they strengthen it.
It is critical to note that no executive order can roll back Connecticut’s civil rights laws, which are independent from and more expansive than their federal counterparts.
As just one example, one of the recent Executive Orders dictates that federal agencies ignore Supreme Court rulings and decide that federal protections against sex discrimination in employment only apply to biological men and women as defined at the point of conception. This directive attempts to strip protections based on gender identity, leaving trans people without federal protection. Even if the President had the power to ignore Supreme Court precedent (which he does not), our state law remains in full force and effect. Connecticut law has prohibited discrimination based on gender identity and expression since 2011. No change in federal interpretation or executive order can change state law.
The confusion and fear stoked by the flurry of executive orders last week is meant to shock and awe us into submission. But we are not deterred. We are not powerless. Our state civil rights laws are not so easily brushed aside. Here at the CHRO, we process over 2,400 complaints of employment, housing, public accommodations, and credit discrimination each year. We are skilled mediators, helping parties reach resolutions that work in the real world and deter future discrimination.
Our investigators dig for the truth with the full weight of enforcement powers behind them. And our attorneys prosecute alleged discriminators when they deny someone in Connecticut rights that people from all walks of life have fought and died to secure. CHRO attorneys have been pushing the law forward for decades in administrative hearings, court trials, and appeals to the highest court in the state.
In recent cases, the CHRO’s legal division has ensured that students have the right to discrimination-free schools, that employers who lie to cover up discrimination face consequences, and that victims are fairly compensated for the devastating impact of discrimination.
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At the CHRO, we’re standing tall and proud in advancing our mission to eliminate discrimination and ensure equal opportunities for all, and we’re not going anywhere.
Tanya Hughes is the Executive Director of the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities.