Federal, state, and city law in New York afford workers many essential protections. One of those is the right to speak out against discrimination or harassment in the workplace without fear of reprisal. These are called anti-retaliation laws, and a retaliation claim can be a vitally important part of your employment law case. If you believe you were punished for engaging in legally protected activity, you should talk to an experienced New York retaliation lawyer as soon as possible to discuss your situation.
Retaliation is a major problem in workplaces. According to the Center for Workplace Compliance, more than of all Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charges filed in fiscal year 2023 (and nearly half in fiscal year 2024) alleged retaliation.
Recently, a retaliation case came before the state trial court in Manhattan, and it provides a useful example of things you need to know about retaliation law. In the lawsuit, an employee at a private equity firm alleged that she was the victim of religious discrimination due to her Muslim faith. She alleged that she was on the receiving end of inappropriate comments and questions about topics like Gaza and the October 7, 2023, terrorist attacks on Israel.
The woman complained numerous times about perceived discrimination and followed up several times to inquire about the status of the investigation into her complaint. The last of those occurred on October 3, 2025. Although the employee had received several “superb” performance evaluations—including one in mid-September 2025—the employer demoted her less than one month after the October 3 inquiry.
Based on this case, let’s address some pertinent questions (and their answers) about retaliation law.
Question: Do I have to win my underlying claim to succeed on my retaliation claim?
Answer: No. The law protects your right to speak out against perceived discrimination or harassment, even if it ultimately falls short of a civil law violation. As long as your underlying action constitutes a good-faith claim, then your complaint is a protected activity, and you can win a retaliation lawsuit even while losing a discrimination/harassment claim, as long as your case sufficiently establishes all the elements of retaliation.
For example, in the Manhattan case above, the court ruled that the employee’s allegations fell short of establishing a viable discrimination case, but that the woman did have a viable retaliation claim based on everything she asserted in her complaint.
Question: What are the elements of retaliation?
Answer: A successful retaliation claim contains three crucial components.
One, you must have engaged in a protected activity. A wide array of actions can qualify as “protected” activities under the law. They can range from formal actions, such as filing a complaint with the EEOC or initiating a lawsuit in civil court, to informal steps, such as verbally complaining to a manager or your employer’s HR team about perceived discrimination or harassment.
Two, you must have endured an adverse employment action. It is important to recognize that your employer does not have to fire you for you to have a legitimate adverse employment action. Actions that can qualify as adverse in a retaliation case include termination, demotion, and suspension. However, less drastic punishments, such as a reduction in hours, a negative or lowered performance evaluation, or a transfer to a less desirable or prestigious role, can also be enough to qualify.
Three, you must show what the law calls a “causal connection” between the protected activity and the adverse action. One way to do this is to provide a direct link between the protected activity and the adverse action. Many employers will not create such an obvious paper trail, so many employees rely on what’s called “temporal proximity,” meaning closeness in time.
Question: How close (in terms of time) must my protected activity and the adverse employment action be?
Answer: When you are relying solely upon timing, judges generally require that the gap between the protected activity and the adverse action be very small. While courts analyze each situation on a case-by-case basis, a gap of more than three or four months is unlikely to be close enough to support a viable claim.
In the equity firm employee’s case, the gap between the protected activity and the adverse action was less than one month. In the vast majority of cases – including this one – that is a small enough gap to support a viable retaliation claim.
If you have been punished for reporting discrimination or harassment, you may have been the victim of illegal retaliation. You need a knowledgeable legal professional to review your circumstances and help you plot the best path forward. The experienced New York workplace retaliation attorneys at Phillips & Associates, PLLC are dedicated to helping employees harmed by retaliation, discrimination, or harassment. To find out more, contact us online or call (866) 229-9441 to set up a free and confidential consultation today. There are no attorney fees unless we recover compensation for you.