Sexual Harassment Attorney

Sexual harassment remains one of the most damaging forms of workplace misconduct in New York City. It undermines careers, drives talented people out of their jobs, and inflicts serious emotional and financial harm. Fortunately, New York workers are protected by two of the strongest anti-harassment laws in the country: the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL), codified at Executive Law § 296, and the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL), codified at N.Y.C. Administrative Code § 8-107. Understanding how these laws work (including their precise deadlines and filing procedures) is essential to protecting your rights.

Our firm represents employees, independent contractors, interns, and other workers throughout New York City in sexual harassment matters. Below, we explain what the law prohibits, who is covered, what compensation is available, and exactly what steps you should take if you are experiencing harassment on the job.

What Qualifies as Sexual Harassment Under New York Law?

Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination prohibited by Executive Law § 296(1)(a) and N.Y.C. Administrative Code § 8-107(1)(a). It generally takes two forms:

Quid Pro Quo Harassment

Quid pro quo harassment occurs when a supervisor, manager, or other person with authority conditions a job benefit (hiring, a raise, a promotion, a favorable schedule, or continued employment) on submission to sexual advances or conduct. A single quid pro quo demand can support a claim; no pattern of behavior is required.

Hostile Work Environment

A hostile work environment claim arises from unwelcome sexual conduct that alters the conditions of employment. This can include sexual comments, jokes, or innuendo; unwanted touching; repeated requests for dates after refusal; sexually explicit messages, images, or emails; comments about a person's body or appearance; and gender-based hostility or degradation even without overtly sexual content.

Critically, New York abandoned the demanding "severe or pervasive" standard that once applied. Under the 2019 amendments to the NYSHRL, harassment is unlawful whenever it subjects a person to inferior terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of sex, regardless of whether the conduct would be considered severe or pervasive. The employer's only comparable defense under Executive Law § 296(1)(h) is proving that the conduct amounted to nothing more than "petty slights or trivial inconveniences." The NYCHRL applies a similarly employee-friendly standard: a plaintiff need only show they were treated less well than others because of their gender. In practical terms, conduct that might not have supported a claim a decade ago may well be actionable in New York today.

Who Is Protected?

New York's protections are unusually broad:

• All employers are covered. Since February 8, 2020, the NYSHRL applies to employers of every size; there is no minimum employee threshold for harassment claims. The NYCHRL likewise applies broadly to employers within New York City, and its gender-based harassment provisions reach employers of all sizes.
• Non-employees are protected. Executive Law § 296-d extends protection to independent contractors, subcontractors, vendors, consultants, gig workers, and others providing services under a contract, when the employer knew or should have known of the harassment and failed to act. The NYCHRL similarly protects freelancers and independent contractors.
• Interns and domestic workers are covered. Both paid and unpaid interns are protected under Executive Law § 296-c, and domestic workers have express protection under Executive Law § 296-b.
• Harassment by anyone can create liability. The harasser may be a supervisor, coworker, client, customer, patient, or vendor. What matters is the employer's knowledge and response.

Sexual harassment often overlaps with other unlawful conduct, including harassment based on race, religion, age, disability, or sexual orientation. If your situation involves multiple forms of mistreatment, our overview of workplace harassment claims explains how these theories fit together and can strengthen a case.

Retaliation Is Separately Illegal

Many clients hesitate to report harassment because they fear losing their jobs. New York law addresses this directly. Executive Law § 296(7) and N.Y.C. Administrative Code § 8-107(7) prohibit retaliation against anyone who opposes harassment, files a complaint, or participates in an investigation or proceeding. Retaliation includes termination, demotion, schedule cuts, negative references, exclusion from meetings or opportunities, and (under the NYCHRL) any act "reasonably likely to deter" a person from complaining. A retaliation claim stands on its own: you can win a retaliation case even if the underlying harassment claim does not succeed, so long as your original complaint was made in good faith.

Deadlines and Procedure: How and Where to File

Choosing the right forum and meeting the correct deadline are among the most consequential decisions in a harassment case. Here are the principal options in New York City:

1. Filing a Lawsuit in Court

You may sue directly in New York State Supreme Court without filing any administrative complaint first. The limitations periods are:

• NYSHRL claims: three years from the unlawful act, under CPLR 214(2).
• NYCHRL claims: three years, under N.Y.C. Administrative Code § 8-502(d).

Worked example: Suppose your supervisor made repeated unwanted advances, and after you refused, you were terminated on June 10, 2024. Your deadline to file a court action asserting NYSHRL and NYCHRL claims based on the termination would be June 10, 2027. If the harassment itself continued through your last day, the continuing violation doctrine may allow the court to consider earlier incidents as part of a single unlawful practice, but you should never rely on that doctrine as a substitute for filing promptly.

2. New York State Division of Human Rights (DHR)

Under Executive Law § 297(5), a sexual harassment complaint may be filed with the DHR within three years of the alleged conduct (this extended period, enacted effective August 12, 2020, applies specifically to sexual harassment in employment; most other discrimination claims filed with the DHR carry a shorter window). The DHR investigates, may hold a public hearing before an administrative law judge, and can award back pay, compensatory damages, and civil penalties.

3. New York City Commission on Human Rights

Complaints of gender-based harassment may be filed with the City Commission within three years under N.Y.C. Administrative Code § 8-109(e) (most other claims before the Commission must be filed within one year). The Commission can order reinstatement, damages, and civil penalties of up to $250,000 for willful violations.

The Election-of-Remedies Trap

Be careful: under Executive Law § 297(9), filing a complaint with the DHR generally bars you from later suing in court on the same claims, unless the DHR dismisses the complaint for administrative convenience. The same principle applies under N.Y.C. Administrative Code § 8-502(a) for Commission filings. This is why consulting an attorney before filing anything is so important, a well-intentioned administrative filing can inadvertently close the courthouse door on a case that would have been worth substantially more before a jury.

What Compensation Can You Recover?

New York law provides strong remedies for sexual harassment victims:

• Back pay and front pay: lost wages, bonuses, commissions, and benefits, past and future.
• Emotional distress damages: compensation for anxiety, humiliation, depression, and harm to reputation, with no statutory cap under either the NYSHRL or NYCHRL.
• Punitive damages: available under the NYCHRL (§ 8-502(a)) and, since the 2019 amendments, under the NYSHRL as well (Executive Law § 297(4)(c)(vi), § 297(9)).
• Attorneys' fees and costs: recoverable by prevailing plaintiffs under Executive Law § 297(10) and N.Y.C. Administrative Code § 8-502(g).
• Injunctive relief: reinstatement, policy changes, mandatory training, and removal of negative records.

Your Employer's Legal Obligations

Every New York employer is required by Labor Law § 201-g to adopt a written sexual harassment prevention policy meeting the State's minimum standards and to provide annual interactive sexual harassment training to all employees. The policy must include a complaint form, describe available forums for adjudicating complaints, and prohibit retaliation. An employer's failure to maintain a compliant policy or conduct required training can be powerful evidence that it failed to take harassment seriously.

New York has also dismantled the tools employers once used to keep harassment quiet:

• Nondisclosure restrictions: Under General Obligations Law § 5-336 and CPLR 5003-b, an employer cannot require confidentiality of the underlying facts of a harassment claim in a settlement unless confidentiality is the complainant's preference, memorialized after the complainant is given 21 days to consider the term and 7 days to revoke it.
• Mandatory arbitration: CPLR 7515 declares clauses that force sexual harassment claims into arbitration null and void, subject to limits imposed by controlling federal law.

What to Do if You Are Being Harassed: A Practical Checklist

1. Document everything. Keep a dated log of each incident; what was said or done, where, and who witnessed it. Contemporaneous notes carry significant evidentiary weight.
2. Preserve evidence. Save texts, emails, chat messages, voicemails, and photographs. Forward work emails to a personal account only if doing so does not violate a data policy; screenshots taken on your personal phone are usually safer.
3. Report in writing. Follow your employer's complaint procedure and put your report in writing (email works well). A written complaint establishes the employer's knowledge (a key element of liability) and triggers retaliation protection.
4. Do not resign in haste. Quitting can complicate damages. In some circumstances a resignation forced by intolerable conditions can qualify as constructive discharge, but speak with counsel before making that decision.
5. Watch the calendar. Note the date of the most recent incident and count forward three years, but consult an attorney long before then, while witnesses' memories are fresh and evidence still exists.
6. Get legal advice before filing anywhere. Because of the election-of-remedies rules discussed above, the order in which you act can permanently affect the value of your case.

Why Experienced Counsel Matters

Sexual harassment cases are rarely straightforward. Employers frequently respond with denials, shifting explanations, or attacks on the complainant's performance and credibility. An experienced attorney levels the field: sending preservation demands before evidence disappears, framing claims under the statute with the most favorable standard, valuing the case realistically, and negotiating from a position of strength. Because these cases frequently intertwine with other misconduct (bullying, discriminatory comments, unequal pay) a thorough review of the entire workplace harassment picture often reveals additional claims and additional leverage.

Most sexual harassment matters are handled on a contingency basis, meaning you pay no attorneys' fees unless we recover compensation for you, and initial consultations are confidential.

You can contact the Law Offices of Albert Goodwin by phone at 212-233-1233 or by email at [email protected].