New York City Workplace Discrimination Lawyer

Losing a job, a promotion, or a reasonable accommodation because of who you are is not simply unfair. In New York it is illegal under three separate bodies of law, and New York’s protections are among the strongest in the country. The New York City discrimination lawyers at Mark David Shirian P.C. represent employees against employers of every size, from small businesses to national companies with in-house legal departments.

Attorneys Mark D. Shirian and Shawn D. Shirian handle these matters personally. You will not be handed to a case manager after your first call. The firm evaluates each situation on the actual evidence, tells you candidly what your claim is worth pursuing, and moves quickly to preserve the record before an employer has time to rebuild it.

Discrimination Claims We Handle

We represent employees facing discrimination based on:

• Race, color, and national origin
• Sex, gender, gender identity, and gender expression
• Pregnancy and related medical conditions
• Age
• Disability and denial of reasonable accommodation
• Religion and religious observance
• Sexual orientation
• Caregiver and familial status
• Immigration or citizenship status
• Arrest or conviction record
• Retaliation for reporting any of the above

To find out where you stand, contact our employment discrimination attorney today at (212) 931-6530.

Three Laws Protect You, and They Are Not the Same

Most discrimination pages treat this as one body of law. It is three, and the differences decide cases.

Federal law includes Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. Title VII applies only to employers with 15 or more employees. Damages are capped by statute based on employer size, and you generally must go through the EEOC before filing suit.

The New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL) is significantly broader. Since amendments took effect in 2020, it applies to every employer in New York State regardless of how few people they employ. The 2019 amendments also eliminated the demanding “severe or pervasive” standard that federal courts apply to hostile work environment claims. Under state law you now need only show that you were subjected to inferior terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of a protected characteristic, and that the conduct rose above what a reasonable person would consider a petty slight or trivial inconvenience. A single serious incident can support a claim. The state law also allows punitive damages and attorney’s fees, and it is not subject to the federal damage caps.

The New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) is more protective still, and it is interpreted independently of both federal and state law. The city standard asks whether you were treated less well than other employees because of a protected characteristic. It also covers categories federal law does not reach at all, including caregiver status, credit history, unemployment status, and sexual and reproductive health decisions.

The practical consequence is that a claim a federal court would dismiss may be entirely viable under state or city law. Choosing which law to proceed under, and in which forum, is a strategic decision with real consequences for what you can recover.

The Filing Deadlines That Actually Apply in New York

There is a widely repeated figure of 180 days for discrimination complaints. For most New York employees, that number is wrong, and relying on it can cost you a viable claim.

• EEOC (federal claims): 300 days from the discriminatory act. New York is a deferral state because it maintains its own enforcement agency, which extends the ordinary 180-day federal window to 300 days.
• New York State Division of Human Rights: three years from the discriminatory act, for claims arising on or after February 15, 2024. This was extended from one year by legislation signed in November 2023.
• New York State court, under the NYSHRL: three years.
• New York City Commission on Human Rights: one year for most discrimination claims, and three years for gender-based harassment claims.
• New York court, under the NYCHRL: three years.

One further point catches people repeatedly: filing an administrative complaint can foreclose your ability to bring the same claim in court later. The election of remedies doctrine means the path you choose first may be the only path you get. This is a decision to make with counsel before you file anything, not after.

How Workplace Discrimination Is Actually Proven

Employers rarely announce their reasons. Discrimination cases are built from circumstantial evidence, and the patterns are recognizable once you know what they look like.

Shifting explanations. An employer gives one reason for a termination, then a different reason to the unemployment office, then a third in litigation. Inconsistency is evidence of pretext, and it is often the strongest card a plaintiff holds.

Comparator evidence. Employees outside your protected class who did the same thing and were treated better. A colleague with the same attendance record who was not written up. A peer with weaker numbers who got the promotion.

Timing. An excellent performance history that turns critical immediately after you disclose a pregnancy, request an accommodation, take protected leave, or report harassment. Close proximity between protected activity and adverse action carries real evidentiary weight.

Statements and written communications. Remarks about needing “new energy” or someone who is a better “culture fit,” comments about an accent, questions about family plans, or jokes tolerated by management. Emails, Slack and Teams messages, and text threads frequently contain more than people remember sending.

Statistical and structural patterns. A reduction in force that lands disproportionately on employees over 50. A department that has never promoted a woman into management. Turnover concentrated among employees of one background.

Procedural irregularity. Progressive discipline policies skipped in your case but followed for others. A sudden performance improvement plan with no prior warnings. An investigation into your complaint that interviewed no witnesses.

Adverse Actions That Can Support a Claim

A claim requires more than an unpleasant workplace. It requires an adverse employment action connected to a protected characteristic. That includes termination and layoff, but it reaches considerably further:

• Failure to hire or failure to promote
• Demotion, or reassignment to materially lesser duties
• Pay cuts, denied raises, reduced hours, or lost benefits
• Denial of a reasonable accommodation for a disability, pregnancy, or religious practice
• Exclusion from meetings, assignments, training, or advancement opportunities
• Unwarranted discipline or manufactured performance documentation
• Hostile work environment that alters your conditions of employment
• Constructive discharge, where conditions become so intolerable that resigning is the only realistic option

Retaliation Is a Separate Claim

If you complained about discrimination, participated in an investigation, requested an accommodation, or supported a coworker’s complaint, the law protects you from being punished for it. Retaliation is its own cause of action, and it does not depend on whether the underlying discrimination complaint ultimately succeeds. You can lose the discrimination claim and win the retaliation claim.

Retaliation claims are frequently the stronger half of a case, because the timeline is often unmistakable. An employee raises a concern in March and is terminated in April with no intervening discipline. Employers have a difficult time explaining that sequence.

What to Do Right Now

Preserve your evidence, and do it from a personal device. Company laptops and email accounts are cut off the moment you are terminated. Forward nothing that violates a confidentiality agreement, but photograph or save your own performance reviews, offer letter, pay records, handbook, and any communications you were a party to.

Put your complaint in writing. A verbal complaint to a supervisor is difficult to prove later. A short, factual email to HR creates a dated record that the employer knew.

Write down what happened while it is fresh. Dates, who was present, what was said. Contemporaneous notes carry weight that reconstructed memory does not.

Do not sign a severance agreement yet. Severance packages routinely include a release of all discrimination claims. Once signed, it is generally final. Federal law gives workers over 40 a minimum 21-day consideration period and a 7-day revocation window, but agreements should be reviewed before that clock runs out.

What You May Be Able to Recover

Remedies in a New York discrimination case can include back pay for wages and benefits lost from the adverse action forward, and front pay where reinstatement is not realistic. Compensatory damages address emotional distress and reputational harm, which in serious cases are a substantial portion of the recovery.

Punitive damages are available under both the state and city Human Rights Laws where an employer acted with willful or wanton disregard for your rights, and unlike Title VII, they are not subject to federal statutory caps. Attorney’s fees and costs may also be recoverable, which materially changes the economics of pursuing a claim.

Reinstatement, policy changes, and removal of adverse material from a personnel file are available in appropriate cases as well.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to file with the EEOC first?

For federal claims, yes. For claims under the New York State or New York City Human Rights Laws, no. You can proceed directly to court. That is one reason state and city claims are often the better vehicle for a New York employee.

My employer only has six people. Am I covered?

Under state and city law, yes. The NYSHRL applies to all New York employers regardless of size. Title VII’s 15-employee threshold does not limit your state or city claim.

Is it discrimination if my boss is just hostile to everyone?

Generally not, on its own. The law prohibits mistreatment because of a protected characteristic. An equal-opportunity difficult manager is not, by itself, unlawful. That said, close review often reveals the hostility is not evenly distributed.

I was an at-will employee. Does that matter?

No. At-will employment means you can be fired for any reason or no reason, but not for an illegal reason. Discrimination and retaliation are illegal reasons.

Can I be fired for reporting discrimination?

It happens, and it is unlawful. Retaliation for a good faith complaint is prohibited under federal, state, and city law, and it gives rise to a claim independent of the original complaint.

What if I signed an arbitration agreement?

It may not be enforceable. New York has restricted mandatory pre-dispute arbitration for discrimination and harassment claims, and federal legislation has limited enforcement for sexual harassment and sexual assault claims. These agreements warrant review rather than assumption.

How long will my case take?

Cases resolved through negotiation or mediation can conclude in months. Matters that proceed through the Division of Human Rights commonly take 18 to 36 months, and litigated cases can run longer. Many resolve before hearing or trial.

What does it cost to consult the firm?

Case evaluations are confidential and free. Call (212) 931-6530 to discuss your situation directly with an attorney.

Serving Employees Throughout New York

Mark David Shirian P.C. represents employees across Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island, and throughout Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, and Rockland Counties. The firm handles matters in New York State courts, the New York State Division of Human Rights, the New York City Commission on Human Rights, and federal court in the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.

Speak With a New York Discrimination Attorney

The strongest discrimination cases are the ones where evidence was preserved early and the right forum was chosen deliberately. Both of those decisions get harder with time.

If you believe you were treated unlawfully at work, a New York City discrimination lawyer at Mark David Shirian P.C. will review what happened, explain which laws apply to your situation, and tell you honestly whether you have a claim worth pursuing.

Call (212) 931-6530 today to schedule a confidential case evaluation.