The CHRO is holding an "informational session" on Wednesday, September 29, 2010 at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford, CT from 3-5 p.m. You can view the flyer here for the program entitled "Inside the CHRO’s Complaint Process."
The program appears to be one-part public outreach, and one-part solicitation of actual employment discrimination complaints against employers.
For example, on the outreach side, the flyer suggests that up for discussion will be: Discrimination, Protected Classes, Intake, Investigation and The Law.
But the program goes beyond that by suggesting that it will be a forum where people can file actual complaints. It asks possible attendees:
- Have you ever been discriminated against?
- Do you want to understand the CHRO’s process?
- Do you want to file a complaint with the CHRO?
- Do you want to meet representatives from CHRO’s investigative and legal staff?
If so, in big blue highlights, it states "COMPLAINTS MAY BE FILED ON-SITE".
Should the CHRO be actively soliciting complaints like this? On the one hand, its duties and powers don’t talk in terms of soliciting complaints. But on the other, the CHRO is responsible for investigating discriminatory practices and compiling facts regarding discrimination.
Whether it "should" or not, its federal counterpart recently engaged in a similar program — albeit with employment law practitioners. So, perhaps its best to put the skepticism aside and be thankful that the CHRO is engaged in a public outreach effort that hasn’t been seen in recent memory.
The program is free and open to the public.