Every day, hundreds of thousands of New York City metro-area workers cross state lines as part of their daily commute, either as New Yorkers traveling to New Jersey (or another state) or out-of-state residents commuting to their jobs in the five boroughs. When you are one of these workers and you experience workplace discrimination, you may face many questions, not the least of which is: Can I sue in New York? Often, that answer is yes. To find out what options you have, talk to an experienced New York employment discrimination lawyer to learn more about your case.
A recent race discrimination case litigated here in New York County shows how broad New York’s anti-discrimination laws are in this regard.
The employee, J.H., was a man of Peruvian ancestry who worked as a senior maintenance supervisor for a major international airline. In the summer of 2020, the airline placed a new manager over him. Over the next three-plus years, the manager engaged in various forms of discrimination and retaliation, according to the lawsuit. The manager allegedly demoted J.H. while also expanding his responsibilities to include not just LaGuardia Airport but also Kennedy and Newark airports. According to the supervisor’s lawsuit, the manager did not demote or expand the territories of similarly situated white maintenance supervisors.
In 2021, the manager gave the supervisor a negative performance review — J.H.’s first in more than a decade with the airline — shortly after the supervisor took a multi-week absence due to surgery. In 2023, according to the lawsuit, the manager suspended the supervisor and “four other minority employees for allegedly violating company rules, even though white supervisors had also purportedly violated those rules and were not suspended.”
In November 2023, J.H. sued for discrimination and retaliation, alleging violations of the New York State Human Rights Law and the New York City Human Rights Law.
The employer attempted to seize upon the location of the supervisor’s work (namely, New Jersey) to argue that he could not pursue a claim under the NYSHRL and the NYCHRL. Specifically, the employer relied on evidence that it stopped assigning J.H. to work at LaGuardia and JFK in August 2021, more than two years before he filed the lawsuit.
That schedule change did not prevent the supervisor from proceeding, however. New York’s highest court has clearly stated that the purpose of the NYSHRL and the NYCHRL is to “protect ‘inhabitants’ and persons ‘within’” New York. The courts have established a concept called the “impact requirement” to determine whether a worker can pursue discrimination claims under New York law. That test requires a worker who suffers from discrimination to demonstrate that the discriminatory conduct they endured had at least some impact on them “within the respective New York geographic boundaries.”
J.H. met that requirement because he was, at all relevant times, a New York City resident. The allegedly discriminatory schedule changes affected him in New York because they required him to undertake a much longer work commute from his home in New York City to the Newark airport. Additionally, the supervisor still resided in New York City when the airline fired him. Receiving that termination while living in New York also met the required degree of “impact.”
If you are a New Yorker who has experienced workplace discrimination, even if you worked outside the city or the state, you may be entitled to seek justice under New York law and in New York courts. The knowledgeable New York City employment discrimination attorneys at Phillips & Associates PLLC can help you do exactly that. To learn more about your options under the law, contact us online or call (866) 229-9441 to schedule a free and confidential consultation today.