Brooklyn Employment Discrimination Lawyer

Workplace discrimination does not always announce itself with a firing notice or an explicit slur. It shows up in the pattern of who gets promoted and who gets passed over, in the sudden shift in a manager’s tone after a medical leave request, in the performance review that materialized only after an employee filed a harassment complaint. Brooklyn workers face these dynamics across industries, from the logistics hubs along the waterfront to the healthcare networks in Flatbush, from the retail corridors of Downtown Brooklyn to the hospitality industry in Williamsburg. When those patterns cross the line into illegal conduct, employees have real legal options, and the decisions made in the early weeks after discrimination occurs can shape the outcome of everything that follows.

New York offers some of the broadest workplace discrimination protections in the country. The New York State Human Rights Law and the New York City Human Rights Law extend protections well beyond what federal statutes like Title VII of the Civil Rights Act require. The NYC Human Rights Law, in particular, is interpreted expansively by city and state courts, covering employers of any size and reaching conduct that might not rise to the level of a federal claim. For Brooklyn employees, this layered framework means there are often multiple avenues for relief, but pursuing the right one, in the right sequence, with the right documentation, requires understanding how these laws actually work together in practice.

At Mark David Shirian P.C., attorneys Mark D. Shirian and Shawn D. Shirian represent employees across New York City who have experienced discrimination, harassment, and retaliation in the workplace. As a Brooklyn employment discrimination lawyer, the firm handles these cases with the same assertive, strategic approach that has produced millions recovered on behalf of clients throughout New York State.

The Discrimination Claims Brooklyn Employees Bring Most Often

• Race and National Origin Discrimination: Brooklyn’s workforce reflects extraordinary diversity, and discrimination based on race, ethnicity, or national origin remains among the most frequently filed employment claims. This includes discriminatory hiring, racialized performance evaluations, hostile work environments, and disparate discipline applied along racial lines.
• Disability and Medical Condition Discrimination: Under both the NYC Human Rights Law and the Americans with Disabilities Act, employers are required to engage in a cooperative process to identify reasonable accommodations for employees with qualifying conditions. Failing to accommodate, retaliating against accommodation requests, or terminating employees who take medical leave all trigger potential liability.
• Gender and Pregnancy Discrimination: This includes pay disparities, denial of promotion, forced leave during pregnancy, and termination after parental leave. The New York Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and federal protections under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act of 2023 strengthen the rights available to pregnant employees and those who have recently given birth.
• Sexual Harassment: New York law covers both quid pro quo harassment and hostile work environment claims. Following legislative changes in recent years, the threshold for what constitutes a hostile work environment under New York State law has been lowered from “severe or pervasive” to conduct that rises above what a reasonable victim would consider petty slights. This shift matters significantly for how claims are evaluated.
• Age Discrimination: The Age Discrimination in Employment Act covers workers 40 and older. The NYC Human Rights Law provides broader coverage. Age discrimination often appears in layoff decisions, restructuring, and the quiet reassignment of responsibilities away from older employees.
• Retaliation: Employees who report discrimination, file internal complaints, or cooperate with investigations are protected from retaliation under all three legal frameworks. Retaliation can look like a schedule change, a demotion, sudden negative performance feedback, or termination, and it is one of the most common companion claims in any discrimination case.
• Religion and LGBTQ+ Status: The NYC Human Rights Law explicitly covers sexual orientation and gender identity, and the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton County confirmed that federal law also prohibits discrimination on those bases. Religious accommodation claims follow a similar framework to disability accommodation and are increasingly relevant in diverse workplaces.

What Brooklyn Employees Should Do After Experiencing Workplace Discrimination

The window for taking action is not indefinite. Under the NYC Human Rights Law, employees generally have three years from the discriminatory act to file a claim in state court. Filing with the New York City Commission on Human Rights or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission triggers different timelines and procedural consequences, including a 300-day window for federal EEOC charges in New York. These deadlines run from specific events, so the clock can begin ticking from a termination date, a denied promotion, or the date a hostile act occurred. Waiting to see whether things improve at work is one of the most common mistakes that limits employees’ options later.

Documentation is the foundation of any discrimination claim. That means preserving text messages, emails, performance reviews, and any written communications that reflect the discriminatory conduct or the context surrounding it. It also means writing down what was said, by whom, when, and who was present, while the memory is fresh. Employees should be careful about conducting this documentation outside of employer systems, using personal email or devices to store copies of relevant communications they legitimately received.

Brooklyn employees who believe they have experienced discrimination can file administrative charges with the EEOC at the New York District Office, located at 33 Whitehall Street in Manhattan, or with the New York City Commission on Human Rights, which handles complaints under the NYC Human Rights Law. However, filing an administrative charge is not always required before bringing a lawsuit under the NYC Human Rights Law or the NYSHRL, depending on the path chosen. An employment discrimination attorney in Brooklyn can evaluate which filing sequence makes the most strategic sense given the specific circumstances and the relief the employee is seeking.

One thing employees should avoid is signing any document from their employer, including a separation agreement, release of claims, or settlement proposal, without having an attorney review it first. Many severance agreements contain releases that extinguish discrimination claims the employee may not even know they have. An employer offering separation pay shortly after a protected activity, a complaint, a leave request, or a disclosure of a medical condition is a pattern worth examining carefully before any paperwork is signed.

How New York Law Treats Workplace Harassment and Hostile Work Environments

One of the more significant evolutions in New York employment law in recent years involves the standard for evaluating harassment claims. Prior to legislative reforms, New York courts applied a threshold similar to the federal standard, requiring conduct that was severe or pervasive enough to alter the conditions of employment. New York State law now directs courts to evaluate whether the harassing conduct subjected the employee to inferior terms and conditions of employment compared to employees who were not members of the protected class, without requiring that the conduct be severe or pervasive. This makes it meaningfully easier to pursue a harassment claim under state law than under Title VII alone.

The NYC Human Rights Law goes further still. New York City courts have long interpreted its provisions more expansively than either federal or state law, and claims that might not survive under federal standards may still proceed under the city law. For Brooklyn employees, this distinction is practically important. A claim evaluated under all three frameworks, federal, state, and city, gives an attorney more tools and more avenues than a federal-only case would provide.

Employer size used to matter significantly in harassment cases because smaller employers were sometimes exempt from certain obligations under federal law. The NYC Human Rights Law eliminates this limitation by covering employers regardless of how few employees they have. A Brooklyn employee who works for a small business, a restaurant, a bodega, a salon, or a family-owned operation is not without recourse simply because the employer is small. That is a feature of New York City’s legal framework that sets it apart from what employees in other parts of the country can access.

What to Expect from an Employment Discrimination Claim in New York

Employment discrimination cases in New York can proceed along several different tracks. Cases filed in state court under the NYC Human Rights Law or the NYSHRL are heard in Supreme Court (which is the trial-level court in New York, not an appellate court). Federal claims proceed in the Eastern District of New York for Brooklyn matters, located at 225 Cadman Plaza East in Brooklyn. Administrative charges filed with the EEOC or the City Commission may result in mediation, investigation, probable cause findings, or a right-to-sue letter that opens the door to federal litigation.

Many employment discrimination cases resolve through negotiated settlement before trial. The strength of a settlement depends heavily on the evidence gathered early, the legal theories pursued, and whether the employer perceives the case as one that will survive dispositive motions. An employment discrimination attorney in Brooklyn who has litigated in both state and federal courts understands what evidence courts in this jurisdiction respond to and how to position a case for the strongest possible outcome, whether that outcome is a negotiated resolution or a verdict.

Damages available in successful discrimination claims can include back pay for lost wages, front pay for anticipated future losses, compensatory damages for emotional distress, and in certain cases involving intentional discrimination, punitive damages. The NYC Human Rights Law allows recovery of attorney’s fees in successful cases, which is a meaningful provision that levels the playing field for employees who might otherwise be unable to afford litigation.

Questions Brooklyn Workers Ask About Employment Discrimination

What qualifies as employment discrimination under New York law?

Employment discrimination occurs when an employer takes an adverse action against an employee or job applicant because of a protected characteristic. Protected characteristics under the NYC Human Rights Law include race, color, creed, national origin, ancestry, age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, marital status, partnership status, caregiver status, alienage or citizenship status, and several other categories. Adverse actions include termination, demotion, denial of promotion, pay reduction, schedule changes, and other actions that materially affect the terms or conditions of employment.

Does my employer have to have a certain number of employees for me to file a discrimination claim?

Under the NYC Human Rights Law, employers of any size are covered. The federal law and the New York State Human Rights Law each have their own employee thresholds, but for most Brooklyn workers, the city law provides coverage regardless of employer size. If your employer has even one employee, you may have a viable claim under the NYC Human Rights Law.

I was laid off during a company-wide reduction in force. Can that still be discrimination?

Yes. Reductions in force can be conducted in a discriminatory manner if the employer selects employees for layoff based on protected characteristics. Statistical patterns, such as the disproportionate inclusion of older workers, women, or employees of a particular race, can support a discrimination claim even when an employer characterizes the decision as a neutral business decision. The analysis often requires comparing who was laid off against the overall workforce demographics.

What is the difference between filing with the EEOC and filing a lawsuit directly?

Filing a charge with the EEOC is a prerequisite to bringing a federal lawsuit under Title VII, the ADEA, or the ADA. The EEOC investigates the charge, may attempt mediation, and eventually issues a right-to-sue letter. Filing directly in state court under the NYC Human Rights Law or the NYSHRL does not require EEOC exhaustion, though electing one administrative route can sometimes affect options under another. An attorney can map out the sequence that preserves the most options given your specific facts.

My employer is retaliating against me for reporting harassment, but they haven’t fired me yet. Do I have a claim?

Retaliation does not require termination. Any materially adverse action taken because an employee engaged in protected activity, including filing a complaint, cooperating with an investigation, or simply refusing to participate in discriminatory conduct, can constitute unlawful retaliation. Courts have found that even significant changes to work assignments, scheduling, or supervisory relationships can qualify, particularly when the timing is closely connected to the protected activity.

How long does an employment discrimination case typically take in New York?

Cases that proceed through full federal litigation in the Eastern District of New York can take two to four years from filing through trial, depending on court scheduling and the complexity of discovery. State court timelines vary. Many cases, however, resolve in settlement before reaching trial, sometimes within a year of filing, particularly when the evidence is clear and the employer’s exposure is significant. Administrative proceedings through the EEOC or the City Commission operate on their own timelines and are often slower than direct litigation.

Can I be fired for filing a discrimination complaint against my employer?

Terminating an employee for filing a complaint with the EEOC, the City Commission, or in court is textbook retaliation and is itself unlawful. Employers who take adverse action after an employee engages in protected legal activity face liability for the retaliation claim in addition to whatever the underlying discrimination claim involves. New York courts take retaliation claims seriously, and a retaliation termination shortly after a protected filing often strengthens the overall case.

What if the discrimination was carried out by a coworker, not a manager?

Employer liability for coworker harassment depends on what the employer knew or should have known and whether it took appropriate corrective action. If an employee reported harassment and the employer failed to respond adequately, or if the harassment was so open and obvious that management should have been aware, the employer can be held liable. Supervisor harassment operates under a stricter liability standard. Either way, documenting the harassment and reporting it internally, in writing, creates the record that matters if the employer later claims it had no knowledge.

Does discrimination have to be in writing to be proven?

No. Discrimination is rarely documented in writing by the employer. Cases are built from patterns, circumstantial evidence, witness testimony, statistical data, comparator evidence (how similarly situated employees outside the protected class were treated), and the sequence of events. The absence of a written statement of discriminatory intent does not prevent a claim from succeeding. Courts routinely evaluate indirect evidence, and experienced employment attorneys know how to develop a compelling factual narrative from the available record.

If I already signed a severance agreement, is it too late to pursue a discrimination claim?

It depends on the specific language of the agreement and when it was signed. Federal law imposes specific procedural requirements on releases of age discrimination claims under the ADEA, including a 21-day consideration period and a 7-day revocation window. For other claims, the enforceability of a release depends on whether it was knowing and voluntary and whether proper consideration was given. In some circumstances, releases can be challenged, but this requires prompt legal attention. If you signed a severance agreement recently and believe you had discrimination claims at the time, speaking with a Brooklyn employment discrimination attorney as soon as possible is critical.

Brooklyn and Beyond: Employment Discrimination Representation Across New York City

Mark David Shirian P.C. represents employees facing workplace discrimination throughout Brooklyn and the surrounding boroughs. From Greenpoint and Bushwick through Crown Heights, Bedford-Stuyvesant, and East New York, to the neighborhoods of Sunset Park, Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, and Canarsie, the firm works with workers across all of Brooklyn’s communities. The firm also serves clients in Park Slope, Flatbush, Ditmas Park, Borough Park, Red Hook, Carroll Gardens, and the rapidly changing employment landscape of DUMBO and Downtown Brooklyn. Beyond Brooklyn, the firm’s employment discrimination practice extends to clients in Queens neighborhoods such as Jackson Heights, Astoria, Jamaica, and Flushing; Manhattan workers throughout Midtown, the Financial District, Harlem, and Washington Heights; and employees in the Bronx communities of Fordham, Mott Haven, and Pelham Bay. Staten Island workers in St. George, Stapleton, and New Dorp also have access to the same representation. The firm handles matters throughout New York State wherever its clients need support.

Speak With a Brooklyn Employment Discrimination Attorney at Mark David Shirian P.C.

Mark David Shirian P.C. was founded with a clear purpose: to help people who have been wronged. For Brooklyn workers who have experienced discrimination, that purpose translates into direct, substantive representation from attorneys who treat your case with the seriousness it deserves. Founded in 2016 by Mark D. Shirian, the firm has recovered millions on behalf of clients and brings that track record to every new matter, including yours. Clients have described the firm’s attorneys as compassionate, hard-working, and deeply attentive to the details that shape case outcomes.

If you believe you have experienced discrimination or retaliation in your Brooklyn workplace, a Brooklyn employment discrimination attorney at this firm is ready to evaluate your situation. The consultation is confidential, there is no obligation to retain, and the sooner you get a legal perspective on what happened and what your options are, the better positioned you will be to act before any deadlines narrow your choices. Reach out to Mark David Shirian P.C. to schedule your case evaluation today.