Victims of employment discrimination in New York will be well pressed to file for Workers' Compensation concerning any related emotional distress starting on January 1, 2025 or they will be very limited in recovering emotional distress damages as part of their discrimination claim.

Specifically, Workers' Compensation Law 10(3)(b) has been amended, by A5745, to permit all "worker[s to] file[] claim[s] for mental injury premised upon extraordinary work-related stress incurred at work."

Previously, the availability of Workers' Compensation for "mental injury premised upon extraordinary work-related stress" only applied to emergency service workers (police, firefighter, emergency medical technician, paramedic, & emergency dispatcher), but now it applies across the board to all workers. Moreover, Worker's Compensation for such mental injuries was previously limited to "work-related emergency" and now it just must occur "at work." This amended law is very broad and clearly applies to all workers for work related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

That all said, a worker seeking to obtain Workers' Compensation benefits for such mental injuries still has the burden of demonstrating a causal relationship supported by a rational basis between his work and his documented PTSD diagnosis. To prove this connection, a worker should hire both Workers' Compensation counsel and Employment Discrimination counsel as the two claims are now wholly interrelated and a failure of one will hurt the other and vice-versa. 

On March 14, 2024, New York State's Court of Appeals rendered its decision on Syeed v. Bloomberg L.P., which holds that New York City and New York State Human Rights Laws apply to nonresidents who are not yet even employed by a company in the city or state, but who are proactively seeking an actual city or state based job opportunity. 

This decision expands the protections of NY's / NYC's discrimination laws to include individuals who were denied employment based on discrimination even if said individuals were not yet residents or employees in New York State or City.

If you'd like to read the case and learn more about the court's decision, click here. 

On 3/13/2023, S3255 passed the NYS Senate and was delivered to the Assembly. 

This Anti-Discrimination Bill is so important to school-children and governmental employees facing discrimination in the State of New York.

Currently, when suing many governmental defendants for discrimination, such as school districts, victims only have one year to bring their claims (except for sexual harassment claims) before the New York State Division of Human Rights. This bill would make the limitations period three years. 

The bill is particularly important to bridge the gap between suing the government and non-governmental actors. When suing a non-government actor for discrimination, a victim can bring a court case, rather than a claim before the New York State Division of Human Rights, under the New York State Human Rights Law, within three years of the wrongful acts of discrimination. 

However, discrimination court cases against the government are often subject to a notice of claim statute where the statute of limitations is effectively limited to ninety days. 

As a result, many victims of governmental discrimination are out of luck when brining claims because they did not act quickly enough. 

Often times, a claim against a school district for permitting harassment in school is an ongoing case where acts over years demonstrate the discrimination, but recent events only tell an incomplete story. 

This law will bring fairness to the state and protect victims of discrimination.  

We strongly support the passage of this Bill and hope that the Assembly passes it swiftly.

Starting on October 19, 2022, fines are going to be issued to any person who obstructs handicapped parking areas at a shopping center with one to four retail stores throughout New York State pursuant to S8822. 

That is not to say that this is all that can happen if landlords don't enforce and/or provide for handicapped parking at their shopping centers. Landlords who do not provide for access for the disabled can be sued under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and state specific laws like the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL). So, such landlords should actively enforce their handicapped parking by also towing violators. Nonetheless, individuals who obstruct such spaces can't be sued under the ADA, so, it's a welcome sign that such obstructors will, at least, be ticketed for their thoughtless infraction.