Facing Unfair Treatment at Work in New York? Discrimination In The Workplace Is A Solvable Issue.

Feeling singled out, unfairly criticized, or consistently passed over for opportunities at your job? If something feels wrong, it might be. Experiencing unfair treatment or hostility at work is more than unpleasant; it can be intensely stressful, impacting your career, financial stability, and overall well-being. Also, this is way more common than you might think.

Knowing you’re not alone in facing these challenges is essential. Workplace discrimination remains a significant issue for many New Yorkers. The New York State Division of Human Rights (DHR) received 7,629 discrimination complaints in Fiscal Year 2023 alone, with the vast majority related to employment. This number will remain high in the thousands in 2024 and 2025. These issues are prevalent across the state.

Fortunately, New York provides strong legal safeguards against unfair employment practices. New York State and New York City have enacted robust anti-discrimination laws to foster fairness and equal opportunity in the workplace. Understanding these laws, recognizing the different forms discrimination can take, and knowing your options are crucial first steps toward protecting yourself and asserting your rights. This knowledge can empower you to address the situation effectively.

If you believe you’re experiencing discrimination, understanding the procedural steps and crucial deadlines is essential. Missing a deadline can, unfortunately, mean losing your right to seek legal recourse. Our team of employment attorneys at Kessler Matura P.C. have successfully handled wrongful termination cases for decades. If you have any questions, you can contact us here or call 631-499-9100 for a free consultation with our team.

New York’s Shield: Laws Protecting You from Workplace Discrimination

When facing potential New York workplace discrimination, your primary shields are the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL) and, if you work in the five boroughs, the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL). It’s vital to understand that these state and city laws often offer significantly broader protections than federal anti-discrimination laws like Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

For instance, the NYSHRL was recently expanded and now covers all employers in New York State, regardless of their size. The NYCHRL applies to employers with four or more employees. Furthermore, these laws protect a wider range of personal characteristics and must be interpreted liberally to achieve their goal of ending discrimination. Protections under New York law often extend beyond traditional employees to cover individuals like independent contractors, interns, consultants, and vendors working on-site.

Protected Characteristics Under New York Law

At the heart of anti-discrimination law are “protected characteristics“—personal attributes that cannot legally be used as a basis for unfair treatment at work. Both the NYSHRL and NYCHRL prohibit discrimination based on a wide array of these characteristics. The NYCHRL is particularly broad, offering protections beyond those typically in state or federal law.

Here’s a comparison of some key protected characteristics under NYS and NYC law (see in more detail here):

Disclaimer: This table provides a general overview. Specific exceptions and nuances may apply. Consult with legal counsel for advice on your particular situation.

Common Types of Workplace Discrimination

Discrimination isn’t always blatant. It occurs when an employer treats you differently or unfairly because of one of these protected characteristics. This unfair treatment can manifest in various ways throughout your employment, including:

• Wrongful Termination: Being fired because of your age, race, pregnancy, disability, religion, sexual orientation, or another protected status falls under wrongful termination. While New York is generally an “at-will” employment state (meaning you can be fired for almost any reason or no reason), termination cannot be based on illegal discrimination.

• Harassment / Hostile Work Environment: This involves enduring unwelcome conduct—like offensive jokes, slurs, threats, intimidation, or unwanted touching—based on a protected characteristic, which is severe or pervasive enough to create an abusive working environment. Significantly, the NY human rights laws (state and city) now use a standard that is easier to meet than the federal “severe or pervasive” test. Under New York law, conduct may be considered illegal harassment if it subjects you to “inferior terms, conditions or privileges of employment” and rises above what a reasonable person with the same protected characteristic would consider “petty slights or trivial inconveniences.”

• Unequal Pay: Receiving lower compensation (salary, bonuses, benefits) than colleagues performing substantially similar work simply because of your gender, race, or other protected status.

• Failure to Hire or Promote: Being denied a job or promotion for which you are qualified, with the position going to someone less skilled, because of discriminatory reasons.

• Retaliation: Facing negative job actions (like demotion, discipline, firing, increased harassment) after engaging in a legally protected activity.6 This includes complaining internally about discrimination, filing a formal charge, participating in an investigation, or otherwise opposing discriminatory practices.6 Retaliation is illegal in itself, and it is one of the most frequently alleged forms of discrimination in New York.

• Failure to Provide Reasonable Accommodations: An employer’s refusal to make necessary and reasonable adjustments to the workplace or job duties to accommodate an employee’s disability, religious practices, pregnancy-related needs, or status as a domestic violence victim unless doing so would cause undue hardship for the employer.

Key Steps and Timelines for Addressing Discrimination in NY

1. Internal Reporting (Optional but Consider): Many employers have internal policies for reporting discrimination, often through Human Resources. Following this process can sometimes lead to resolution and create a record that you notified the employer. However, you are generally not legally required to complain internally before filing externally, and doing so does not pause or extend the legal deadlines for filing with an agency or court.

2. Filing with an Agency: You can report workplace discrimination NY by filing a formal complaint with either the New York State Division of Human Rights (DHR) or the New York City Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) if the discrimination occurred in NYC.

• Process: Both agencies typically investigate complaints, which may involve requesting documents, interviewing witnesses, and potentially holding conferences or mediation sessions. If they find “probable cause” to believe discrimination occurred, the case may proceed to a formal hearing or settlement efforts. If they find “no probable cause,” the case is dismissed, though you may have appeal rights.

• Deadlines (Statute of Limitations): These are strict and crucial:

• NYS DHR: You must file within three years of the last discriminatory act for incidents occurring on or after February 15, 2024. For workplace sexual harassment claims after August 12, 2020, the deadline is also three years. (Before Feb 15, 2024, the general deadline was one year ).

• NYC CCHR: You generally must file within one year of the last discriminatory act. However, for claims of gender-based harassment, the deadline is three years.

• Federal EEOC: If you also have federal claims (e.g., under Title VII), the deadline to file with the EEOC is generally 300 days from the discriminatory act in New York. Agencies often “cross-file” complaints, meaning filing with DHR or CCHR can sometimes satisfy the EEOC filing requirement, but it’s vital to confirm this.

3. Filing a Lawsuit in Court: You can bypass the agencies (DHR/CCHR for state/city claims) and file a lawsuit directly in the New York State Supreme Court.

• Deadline: The statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit under the NYSHRL or NYCHRL is generally three years from the date of the discriminatory act.

• Critical Consideration – Election of Remedies: This is a significant overlooked point. If you file your discrimination complaint with the NYS DHR or the NYC CCHR, you generally lose your right to later sue your employer in court based on the same facts under the NY human rights law (state or city law). The only typical exception is if the agency dismisses your complaint for “administrative convenience.” However, filing first with the federal EEOC typically does not prevent you from later filing state or city law claims in court. This makes the initial decision of where to file—agency or court—a critical strategic choice with potentially irreversible consequences.

The complexity arising from these different deadlines and the “election of remedies” rule highlights a potential challenge for employees. An individual unaware of these nuances could inadvertently miss the correct deadline for their preferred approach or unknowingly forfeit the right to pursue a potentially more advantageous court case by first filing with a state or city agency.

Frequently Asked Questions About New YorkWorkplace Discrimination

1. What counts as retaliation under NY law?

Retaliation is any adverse action your employer takes because you engaged in a protected activity. Protected activities include complaining about discrimination (internally or externally), filing a formal charge, participating in an investigation (yours or someone else’s), requesting a reasonable accommodation, or otherwise opposing practices you reasonably believe are discriminatory.

2. Are small businesses exempt from New York discrimination laws?

No. The New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL) was amended to cover all employers within the state, regardless of the number of employees, effective February 8, 2020. The New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) applies to employers with four or more employees. Therefore, virtually all employees in New York are protected from discrimination by either state or city law (or both).

3. Can I be fired just for complaining about discrimination?

Not. Firing an employee because they made a good-faith complaint about discrimination, participated in an investigation, or opposed discriminatory practices constitutes illegal retaliation. Federal, New York State, and New York City laws protect you from such adverse actions.

4. What compensation can I get if I prove discrimination?

If you successfully prove New York workplace discrimination, potential remedies can include:

• Lost wages and benefits (back pay and potentially front pay).

• Compensation for emotional distress, pain, and suffering (compensatory damages, generally uncapped under NYS/NYC law).

• Punitive damages (to punish the employer, available under NYCHRL and now potentially under NYSHRL).

• Recovery of reasonable attorney’s fees and litigation costs.

• Injunctive relief includes reinstatement to your job, promotion, or orders requiring the employer to change policies or conduct training. Specific remedies depend on the facts of the case and the law applied.

Work with a New York Workplace Discrimination Lawyer

Our team of employment attorneys at Kessler Matura P.C. has successfully handled workplace discrimination cases for over a decade. If you have any questions, you can contact us here or call 631-499-9100 for a free consultation with our team.