Hartford Police Dept. v. Commission on Human Rights & Opportunities

Summary

The court reversed the Appellate Court and reinstated the trial court judgment upholding the human rights referee’s finding that Hartford Police discriminated against Khoa Phan based on his Asian and Vietnamese ancestry. It held that substantial evidence supported both an inference of discrimination through the transfer of discriminatory intent from a supervisor to the ultimate decision maker and the referee’s finding that the Department’s stated reasons for termination were pretextual. The court emphasized that appellate review of agency factual findings is highly deferential and does not permit reweighing credited evidence.