Court Affirms Ruling that Time Period for Filing Complaint Begins on Termination Date, Not Notice Date

The Connecticut Supreme Court today, in a per curiam decision, affirmed an appellate court decision that held that the time period for filing an employment discrimination complaint under state law (not federal) begins on the date the employee’s employment actually ends, not the date that the employee received notice that his or her employment would end.

The court’s decision in Vollemans v. Wallingford (available here), is devoid of any analysis concluding that the Appellate Court’s decision was thorough and that any "further discussion by this court would serve no useful purpose."  (I should note that the decision will not "officially" be released until October 21, 2008.)

The Appellate Court decision, available here, essentially declined to file the 1980 landmark Supreme Court case of Delaware State College v. Ricks, which held that the notice date given to employees started the running of the statute of limitations period.  The appellate court decision here said that the remedial purpose behind the state’s ant-discrimination laws differs from the federal laws.

For employers, this decision is yet another reminder of the split in interpretations arising between federal and state anti-discrimination laws. Despite some of the restrictions placed on litigants in federal court, state courts have been — in general — much more lenient in some of their interpretations.  Expect more state discrimination claims to be followed where the laws interpreting federal and state laws contrast.