Blog
Employment law articles for workers in New York and New Jersey.
Substantive answers to the questions workers ask before hiring a lawyer. General information, not legal advice.
The articles below cover common situations in workplace discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation, wage, and wrongful termination cases. Each article focuses on how the law works under Title VII, the ADA, the ADEA, the New York State Human Rights Law, the New York City Human Rights Law, and the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination. Nothing here is legal advice, and reading an article does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Statutes, deadlines, and case law change. Each matter is decided on its own facts. For guidance on your situation, contact the firm.
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Sexual Harassment
Hostile Work Environment Sexual Harassment: What Actually Meets the Standard
The federal 'severe or pervasive' standard, the far broader NYCHRL and NJLAD standards, and the categories of conduct that produce hostile work environment cases.
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Sexual Harassment
Sexual Harassment by a Coworker: Employer Liability When the Harasser Is Not Your Boss
Why coworker sexual harassment is treated differently from supervisor harassment, when the employer becomes liable, and how the standard changes under the NYCHRL and NJLAD.
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Sexual Harassment
Sexual Harassment by a Customer, Client, or Patient: When the Employer Is Still on the Hook
Why sexual harassment by non-employees is workplace harassment, the employer's duty to intervene, and the industries where third-party harassment cases most often arise.
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Sexual Harassment
Sexual Harassment of Men in the Workplace: The Law, the Patterns, and Why the Cases Are Under-Reported
Sexual harassment of male workers is fully covered by Title VII, the NYSHRL, the NYCHRL, and the NJLAD — including same-sex harassment and harassment based on failure to conform to gender stereotypes.
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Sexual Harassment
Sexual Assault at Work: Civil Claims, Employer Liability, and the NYC Gender Motivated Violence Act
The civil-side framework for workplace sexual assault: employer liability, common-law tort claims, and the NYC Gender Motivated Violence Act's private right of action.
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Discrimination
LGBTQ+ Discrimination at Work: What Federal, New York, and New Jersey Law Protect
Since Bostock, sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination are actionable under Title VII. New York and New Jersey law has protected LGBTQ+ workers for years, and does so more broadly.
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Discrimination
Racial Slurs at Work: When One Incident Is Enough for a Hostile Work Environment Claim
Federal, New York, and New Jersey law treat racial slurs as severe. Under the NYSHRL, NYCHRL, and NJLAD, a single utterance by a supervisor can support a hostile work environment claim.
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Discrimination
Pregnancy Accommodations at Work: What the PWFA, NYSHRL, NYCHRL, and NJLAD Actually Require
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act changed the federal framework in 2023. New York and New Jersey have required pregnancy accommodations for longer, and continue to require more.
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Retaliation
Whistleblower Protections in New York and New Jersey: NY Labor Law § 740, NJ CEPA, and the Federal Overlays
The 2022 amendments to NY Labor Law § 740 dramatically expanded protection for New York whistleblowers. New Jersey's CEPA remains one of the broadest whistleblower statutes in the country.
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Retaliation
What Counts as Retaliation at Work: The Legal Standard and the Conduct It Reaches
Workplace retaliation reaches beyond firing. Under federal, New York, and New Jersey law, actions that would deter a reasonable worker from complaining are actionable — often on a lower bar than the underlying discrimination claim.
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Sexual Harassment
Is What My Boss Did Sexual Harassment? What the Law Actually Requires
What actually counts as sexual harassment at work under Title VII, the NYSHRL, the NYCHRL, and the NJLAD — and what to do if you are unsure.
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Sexual Harassment
How to Report Sexual Harassment to HR Without Making It Worse
What to put in writing, what to keep verbal, and how to preserve your retaliation protections when you take a sexual harassment complaint to HR.
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Sexual Harassment
Fired or Demoted After Reporting Sexual Harassment? Your Rights Under New York, New Jersey, and Federal Law
Retaliation for reporting sexual harassment is illegal — and often a stronger claim than the underlying harassment. What counts, what to prove, and what to do first.
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Sexual Harassment
How Much Is a Sexual Harassment Case Worth in New York?
The categories of damages, the caps that apply under federal law but not under the NYCHRL, and the factors that drive case value in New York and New Jersey.
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Sexual Harassment
Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment: When a Supervisor Conditions Your Job on Sexual Conduct
How quid pro quo sexual harassment works, why one incident can be enough, and why employers are strictly liable when a supervisor is involved.
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Severance
Should You Sign That Severance Agreement? Five Red Flags Before You Waive Your Rights
What a severance agreement really is, the clauses that most often hurt workers, and the legal protections that limit what an employer can require you to sign.
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Discrimination
Fired While Pregnant or on Maternity Leave in New York or New Jersey? What the Law Actually Requires
The overlapping federal, New York, and New Jersey protections for pregnant workers and new parents — and what to do if you were fired, demoted, or denied return from leave.
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Wrongful Termination
Can I Be Fired for No Reason in New York? At-Will Employment and Its Many Exceptions
The at-will rule in New York and New Jersey, and the substantial list of exceptions — antidiscrimination laws, whistleblower statutes, contracts, and protected activity — that swallow most of it in practice.
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Discrimination
Denied a Reasonable Accommodation for a Disability? Here's What to Do Next
Federal, New York, and New Jersey disability accommodation law — what qualifies as a reasonable accommodation, what employers must do, and what to do when they refuse.
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Discrimination
Signs of Race Discrimination at Work — and What Actually Proves It
How to recognize race discrimination when it is not overt, what evidence actually wins cases, and the federal, New York, and New Jersey laws that protect you.
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Have a question the articles do not cover?
Every case is different. If your situation resembles one of the scenarios in an article — or if you are unsure — contact the firm for a free, confidential consultation.
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