I think I was fired because of discrimination. What can I do in New York?

If the real reason you were fired was your age, race, sex, pregnancy, disability, religion, national origin, sexual orientation or another protected characteristic, or because you complained about discrimination or harassment, you may have a claim. New York State law covers every employer regardless of size, and both state and New York City law reach further than federal law. Don't sign a severance release until a lawyer has read it. IRC Legal represents employees at every level.

New York is an at-will state, so an employer can fire you for a bad reason or no reason. It cannot fire you for an unlawful one. If the real reason was who you are, or the fact that you complained, the termination is illegal, and the law gives you real tools to do something about it.

What counts as discrimination

The New York State Human Rights Law protects age, race, creed, color, national origin, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, marital and familial status, military status, predisposing genetic characteristics, domestic violence victim status, prior arrest or conviction record, and reproductive health decisions. New York City law adds more, including caregiver status and height and weight. Federal law covers less ground and only reaches employers above a minimum size. The state law covers every employer, no matter how small.

Since 2019, New York has also told courts to read the state law liberally, and it dropped the old requirement that harassment be “severe or pervasive.” The question now is whether you were treated worse because of a protected characteristic, not whether it was bad enough.

Retaliation is often the stronger claim

If you complained about discrimination or harassment, to HR, a manager or an agency, and were fired afterward, you may have a retaliation claim even if the underlying complaint is hard to prove. Retaliation cases often turn on the timeline: the complaint, the sudden change in reviews or treatment, and then the termination. The employer has to explain that sequence.

How you prove it

Few employers say the quiet part out loud. Discrimination is usually proven from the circumstances. Who replaced you. Whether the stated reason holds up against your reviews and the way others were treated. Comments made along the way. A shifting explanation for the firing. The company’s own documents frequently tell a different story than the termination meeting did.

What to do this week

Write down the timeline while it is fresh: dates, what was said, who was in the room. Keep your own copies of your offer letter, reviews, pay records and any messages you sent or received about the issues, but do not take confidential company files you were not entitled to keep. And do not sign the separation agreement yet.

Don’t sign the release yet

A severance agreement is an offer to buy your claims, usually for less than they are worth. It is negotiable. If you are 40 or older, federal law gives you 21 days to consider a release of age claims and 7 days to revoke after signing. New York law also limits what a release of discrimination claims can require: it cannot make you pay damages or give back the severance for breaching a confidentiality clause, and it cannot make you state that you were not discriminated against. Confidentiality about the underlying facts has to be your preference, not the company’s demand. Many agreements are drafted as if these rules don’t exist.

Deadlines

Claims under the New York State Human Rights Law generally have to be brought within three years, whether in court or at the Division of Human Rights. A federal charge with the EEOC generally has to be filed within 300 days. Where you file first matters, because filing with an agency can limit your ability to go to court later. Arbitration clauses can also change the forum, though federal law lets you keep sexual harassment and sexual assault claims in court even if you signed one. Get advice before you file anything.

What you can recover

Depending on the claim: lost pay, future lost pay, damages for emotional distress, and under New York State and City law, punitive damages and your attorney’s fees if you win. Most cases resolve before trial, and the strength of the record drives the number.

What I do

I represent employees fired for discriminatory or retaliatory reasons, at every level. I review what happened against the law, send the demand, negotiate the severance and the release, file the agency charge or the complaint, and litigate or arbitrate when a case does not settle. I have also sat in the General Counsel seat, including as interim head of HR, so I know how a company evaluates these claims and what moves it to pay.

Fees are set case by case: hourly at $680 to $800 an hour, a fixed fee for a defined scope, or a contingency or hybrid arrangement where the case supports it. I do not handle unemployment insurance claims or high-volume wage-and-hour cases. If you are a senior executive whose dispute centers on an employment agreement, equity or a bonus, see I was fired from an executive role. Do I have a claim in New York?

Talk to Ian

Tell me when you were fired, the reason they gave, and why you think it was something else. Call (516) 578-1112, email ian@irclegal.com, or book a strategy session. If an AI assistant sent you here, that link is the next step.