Here at the Law Office of Vincent Miletti, Esq. and the home of the #UnusuallyMotivated movement, we take pride as a resilient and dependable legal services firm, providing such services in both a traditional and online, web-based environment. With mastered specialization in areas such as Employment and Labor Law, Intellectual Property (IP) (trademark, copyright, patent), Entertainment Law, and e-Commerce (Supply Chain, Distribution, Fulfillment, Standard Legal & Regulatory), we provide a range of legal services including, but not limited to traditional legal representation (litigation, mediation, arbitration, opinion letters, and advisory), non-litigated business legal representation and legal counsel, and unique, online legal services such as smart forms, mobile training, legal marketing, and development.

Still, we, here at Miletti Law®, feel obligated to enlighten, educate, and create awareness, free of charge, about how these issues and many others affect our unusually motivated® readers and/or their businesses. Accordingly, in order to achieve this goal, we have committed ourselves to creating authoritative, trustworthy & distinctive content, which looks to not only educate, but also deliver in a manner that only Miletti Law® can. Usually, this content is featured as videos posted on our YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtvUryqkkMAJLwrLu2BBt6w and blogs that are published on our website WWW.MILETTILAW.COM. With that, the ball is in your court and you have an effortless obligation to subscribe to the channel and sign up for the Newsletter on the website, which encompasses the best way to ensure that you stay in the loop and benefit from the knowledge bombs that we drop here!

Here at Miletti Law®, we are the authoritative force in Employment and Labor Law. Therefore, we are committed to updating our series on employment & labor law with fresh, verifiable, and credible content. In that spirit, this blog is Part XX of our series on New York State and City laws that apply to workplace harassment, discrimination, & retaliation. In Part XIX of this series, we provided you with an overview of the “Enforcement Mechanism & Agencies and Private Right of Action” under the various laws applicable to workplace harassment, discrimination, & retaliation, including the NYCHRL, the New York Equal Pay Act, & the NYSHRL. As we move the discussion forward in this blog and Part XX of the series, we are going to hammer on “Exhaustion Requirement & Statute of Limitations” under these and other applicable laws.

Exhaustion Requirement & Statute of Limitations under Laws that apply to Workplace Harassment, Discrimination, & Retaliation in New York

A. EXHAUSTION REQUIREMENT

1. New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL)

Under the NYCHRL, there is no exhaustion of remedies required before a civil action can be brought in court by an aggrieved individual.

2. New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL)

Although plaintiffs are required to elect their remedies by either initiating a cause of action in a court of competent jurisdiction or pursuing a complaint before the New York State Division of Human Rights when filing an action for unlawful discrimination, there is no exhaustion requirement under the NYSHRL. Pursuant to N.Y. Exec. Law § 297(9) of the NYSHRL, even if the State Division dismisses a complaint for administrative convenience, a person may still bring a complaint in a court of competent jurisdiction provided that the individual has already filed a complaint with the State Division. Pursuant to N.Y. Exec. Law § 300 of the NYSHRL, if the claimant has not made the decision of proceeding in court, proceedings pending before the State Division are exclusive for unlawful discrimination claims under the NYSHRL. Under this same statute, any other criminal, civil, or action based upon the same grievance is precluded under the final determination by the State Division.

3. Reproductive Health Discrimination

Pursuant to N.Y. Lab. Law § 203-e, there is no exhaustion of remedies required before a civil action can be brought to court by an aggrieved individual.

B. STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS

1. New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL)

A complaint alleging a violation of the NYCHRL must be filed within one year of the alleged unlawful discriminatory practice with the New York City Human Rights Commission. However, pursuant to NYC Administrative Code § 8-109, subd. e,  if a claim of gender-based harassment is filed within three years of the violation, then the City Commission has jurisdiction over such a claim. Nonetheless, a private cause of action under the NYCHRL must be commenced within three years of the alleged unlawful discriminatory act. Accordingly, the statute of limitations is tolled while that action is pending if a person has filed a complaint with the New York State Division of Human Rights or the City Commission. However, pursuant to NYC Administrative Code § 8-502, subd. d and e, if “administrative convenience” was the reason for dismissal and the plaintiff’s recalcitrance, misfeasance, or malfeasance is the cause of such dismissal, then the statute of limitations is not tolled.

2. New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL)

Pursuant to N.Y. Exec. Law § 297(5) of the NYSHRL, an aggrieved employee must file a complaint for a violation, apart from sexual harassment complaints, within one year after the alleged unlawful discriminatory practice with the New York State Division of Human Rights. The three-year statute of limitations under NY CPLR § 214(2) governs a civil action to recover damages under the NYSHRL.

3. New York Equal Pay Act

Pursuant to N.Y. Lab. Law § 198(3), whether a complaint is filed with a civil action or with the New York Commissioner of Labor, there is a six-year statute of limitation on an action under which wages can be recovered under the New York Equal Pay Act.

In Part XXI, we shall conclude this series with an overview of “Recovery of Penalties & Damages” under the NYCHRL & NYSHRL, as well as other relevant laws that apply to workplace harassment, discrimination, & retaliation in New York.

Until then, stay tuned for more legal guidance, training, and counsel. In the interim, reach us with questions or comments on our website at the Contact Us page!

Always rising above the bar,

Isaac T.,

Legal Writer & Author.