1. (a) It shall be a discriminatory practice in violation of this section:

   1. (1) To deny any person within the jurisdiction of this state full and equal accommodations in any place of public accommodation, resort or amusement because of race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender identity or expression, marital status, age, lawful source of income, intellectual disability, mental disability, physical disability, including, but not limited to, blindness or deafness, status as a veteran or status as a victim of domestic violence, of the applicant, subject only to the conditions and limitations established by law and applicable alike to all persons; (2) to discriminate, segregate or separate on account of race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender identity or expression, marital status, age, lawful source of income, intellectual disability, mental disability, learning disability, physical disability, including, but not limited to, blindness or deafness, status as a veteran or status as a victim of domestic violence; (3) for a place of public accommodation, resort or amusement to restrict or limit the right of a mother to breast-feed her child; (4) for a place of public accommodation, resort or amusement to refuse entry to a person with a disability who is accompanied by a service animal; or (5) to deny any person with a disability or any person training an animal as a service animal to assist a person with a disability, accompanied by such service animal, full and equal access to any place of public accommodation, resort or amusement. Any person with a disability or any person training an animal as a service animal may keep such service animal at all times in such place of public accommodation, resort or amusement at no extra charge, provided such service animal is in the direct custody and control of such person. When it is not obvious what service an animal provides, staff of a place of public accommodation, resort or amusement may inquire of the owner or keeper whether such animal is a service animal required because of a disability and what work or task the animal has been trained to perform. Nothing in this subsection shall preclude a business owner's ability to recover for damage caused to a person or property by a service animal. For the purposes of this subsection, “disability” and “service animal” have the same meanings as provided in section 22-345 and “place of public accommodation, resort or amusement” has the same meaning as provided in section 46a-44.

2. (b)

   1. (1) The provisions of this section with respect to the prohibition of sex discrimination shall not apply to (A) the rental of sleeping accommodations provided by associations and organizations which rent all such sleeping accommodations on a temporary or permanent basis for the exclusive use of persons of the same sex or (B) separate bathrooms or locker rooms based on sex. (2) The provisions of this section with respect to the prohibition of discrimination on the basis of age shall not apply to minors or to special discount or other public or private programs to assist persons sixty years of age and older. (3) The provisions of this section with respect to the prohibition of discrimination on the basis of physical disability shall not require any person to modify his property in any way or provide a higher degree of care for a physically disabled person, including, but not limited to blind or deaf persons, than for a person not physically disabled. (4) The provisions of this section with respect to the prohibition of discrimination on the basis of creed shall not apply to the practice of granting preference in admission of residents into a nursing home as defined in section 19a-490, if (A) the nursing home is owned, operated by or affiliated with a religious organization, exempt from taxation for federal income tax purposes and (B) the class of persons granted preference in admission is consistent with the religious mission of the nursing home. (5) The provisions of this section with respect to the prohibition of discrimination on the basis of lawful source of income shall not prohibit the denial of full and equal accommodations solely on the basis of insufficient income.
3. (c) Any person who violates any provision of this section shall be guilty of a class D misdemeanor.

See Sec. 1-1f for definitions of “blind” and “physically disabled”.

See Sec. 46a-42 re definition of “mobility impaired person”.

See Sec. 46b-35a re denial of certain accommodations on religious grounds.

(1949 Rev., S. 8375; 1949, 1953, S. 3267d; 1959, P.A. 113; 1961, P.A. 472; 1963, P.A. 594; February, 1965, P.A. 141; 1967, P.A. 177, S. 1; 1972, P.A. 186, S. 15; P.A. 73-119; 73-279, S. 6; P.A. 74-205; P.A. 75-323; P.A. 76-49, S. 3; P.A. 77-604, S. 37, 84; P.A. 78-148, S. 12; P.A. 79-186; P.A. 80-422, S. 12; 80-483, S. 135, 186; P.A. 85-289, S. 7; 85-512, S. 5; P.A. 88-114; 88-288; P.A. 89-21, S. 2; 89-288, S. 2; P.A. 90-230, S. 63, 101; 90-246, S. 3; 90-330, S. 4, 11; P.A. 94-238, S. 4, 6; P.A. 97-141, S. 2; 97-210, S. 1; P.A. 07-217, S. 167; P.A. 11-55, S. 25; 11-129, S. 20; P.A. 12-80, S. 94; P.A. 17-127, S. 5; P.A. 22-82, S. 13; P.A. 24-18, S. 12.)

History: 1959 act included as place of public accommodation housing which is one of five or more accommodations located on a single parcel or contiguous parcels of land and owned and controlled by any person; 1961 act included building lots as housing accommodations, reduced the number of accommodations to be subject to section from five to three and made person who owned or controlled the accommodations within one year prior to a violation liable and provided ownership or control by the same interests would be deemed to be by one person; 1963 act deleted the aforesaid provisions re accommodations on a single parcel of land making the statute applicable to a single accommodation or lot and added Subdivs. (1) and (2); 1965 act added prohibition against discrimination by reason of national origin or ancestry; 1967 act added commercial property and buildings; 1972 act included mobile home parks as place of public accommodation, resort or amusement in Subsec. (a); P.A. 73-119 specified discrimination based on sex as violation of section and specified inapplicability of section re sex discrimination to rental of sleeping accommodations by associations or organizations when rent accommodations for exclusive use of persons of same sex; P.A. 73-279 prohibited discrimination because of physical disability including blindness, inserted new Subsecs. (b) and (c) qualifying said prohibition, designated penalty provisions as Subsec. (d) and relettered former Subsec. (b) as (e); P.A. 74-205 prohibited discrimination based on marital status and added provision rendering that prohibition inapplicable to cases where housing accommodation denied to man and woman who are unrelated and not married to each other; P.A. 75-323 prohibited discrimination on basis of age and added provision limiting that prohibition with respect to minors, housing for elderly and housing exclusively for persons within specified age groups; P.A. 76-49 prohibited discrimination based on deafness, applied provisions of Subsecs. (b) and (c) to deaf persons and defined “deaf person” in Subsec. (b); P.A. 77-604 made technical correction in Subsec. (a); P.A. 78-148 prohibited discrimination based on mental retardation in Subsec. (a); P.A. 79-186 required posting of notice re guide dogs in Subsec. (c); P.A. 80-422 rephrased and rearranged provisions, deleted provisions defining “place of public accommodation, resort or amusement” and “deaf person”, deleted former Subsec. (e) which specified that section does not apply to proceedings pending before civil rights commission or any court on October 1, 1963, and extended provision limiting prohibition on age discrimination to include discount and other programs for persons 60 and older; P.A. 80-483 added feminine personal pronouns in Subsec. (c); Sec. 53-35 transferred to Sec. 46a-64 in 1981; P.A. 85-289 made Subsec. (a) applicable to mobility impaired persons; P.A. 85-512 amended section to provide for exemption from age discrimination prohibition for certain mobile manufactured home parks; P.A. 88-114 added Subsec. (b)(6) exempting practice of granting preference in admission of residents into a nursing home from provisions of section re discrimination on basis of creed if it is owned, operated by or affiliated with a religious organization, exempt from taxation and the class of persons granted preference in admission is consistent with religious mission of nursing home; P.A. 88-288 added reference to mental disability in Subsec. (a); P.A. 89-21 added option that guide dog wear an orange-colored leash and collar; P.A. 89-288 amended Subsec. (a) to prohibit discrimination in places of public accommodation based on lawful source of income and added new Subsec. (b)(7) rendering the prohibition inapplicable to cases where the denial of full and equal accommodations is solely based on insufficient income; P.A. 90-230 made a technical change in Subsec. (a); P.A. 90-246 amended Subsec. (b) by deleting references to housing accommodations or mobile manufactured home parks; P.A. 90-330 amended Subsec. (a) by adding reference to persons with “learning disability”; P.A. 94-238 amended Subsec. (b) by exempting separate bathrooms or locker rooms based on sex, effective July 1, 1994; P.A. 97-141 amended Subsec. (a) to make provisions applicable with respect to any person training a dog as a guide dog for a blind person or a dog to assist a deaf or mobility impaired person, and to add definitions of “assistance dog”, “guide dog” and “person training a dog as a guide dog for a blind person or a dog to assist a deaf or mobility impaired person”; P.A. 97-210 added new Subsec. (a)(3) re breast-feeding and renumbering the remaining Subdivs.; P.A. 07-217 made technical changes in Subsec. (c), effective July 12, 2007; P.A. 11-55 amended Subsec. (a)(1) and (2) to prohibit discrimination on basis of gender identity or expression; pursuant to P.A. 11-129, “mental retardation” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “intellectual disability” in Subsec. (a); P.A. 12-80 amended Subsec. (c) to replace penalty of a fine of not less than $25 or more than $100 or imprisonment of not more than 30 days or both with a class D misdemeanor; P.A. 17-127 amended Subsec. (a) to add “status as a veteran” and make technical changes in Subdivs. (1) and (2); P.A. 22-82 amended Subsec. (a)(1) and (2) by adding “status as a victim of domestic violence” and making technical changes; P.A. 24-18 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing references to blind, deaf or mobility impaired person with references to person with a disability, replacing references to dog and guide dog or assistance dog with references to animal and service animal, replacing “fail or refuse to post a notice, in a conspicuous place, that any blind, deaf or mobility impaired person, accompanied by his guide dog wearing a harness or an orange-colored leash and collar, may enter such premises or facilities” with “refuse entry to a person with a disability who is accompanied by a service animal” in Subdiv. (4), replacing “provided the dog wears a harness or an orange-colored leash and collar and is in the direct custody of such person” with “provided such service animal is in the direct custody and control of such person”, deleting provisions re persons being liable for damage done to premises or facilities by guide dog or assistance dog and re definitions of “guide dog” or “assistance dog” and “person training a dog as a guide dog for a blind person or a dog to assist a deaf or mobility impaired person”, adding provisions re place of public accommodation, resort or amusement staff inquiry as to service animal status or training of such animal and re nonpreclusion of business owner's recovery for damage caused by service animal and defining “disability”, “service animal” and “place of public accommodation, resort or amusement”, effective July 1, 2024.