Discrimination and
Sexual Harassment Have Real Consequences.

Sexual harassment is not limited to any one gender; it is a violation of professional boundaries that can happen to men and women alike. The reality of these cases often involves an abuse of power dynamics, where a position of authority or influence is used to create an unwelcome and intimidating atmosphere. This can manifest through overt actions like unwanted touching or through a steady stream of sexual comments, "jokes," and innuendos that permeate the daily routine. When the workplace becomes defined by this behavior, it creates a hostile work environment that interferes with your ability to perform your duties.

Under the law in New York, supervisor liability is a central issue. An employer is generally held responsible for the environment they foster, particularly when a person in a leadership role is the one engaging in the harassment or failing to intervene when they know it is occurring. We look at how you are treated differently than your colleagues — whether you are being singled out for inappropriate attention or marginalized because you refuse to accept a toxic culture. The focus remains on the overall atmosphere of the office and whether management fulfilled its obligation to maintain a workplace free from sexual intimidation and the abuse of power.

Proving that you were let go for an illegal reason requires looking past the official explanation to find the real motive. The truth usually lies in a sudden and unexplained shift in how you were treated. Retaliation often follows a specific event — such as reporting sexual harassment, complaining about racist conduct, or disclosing a need for a disability accommodation — and it manifests in ways designed to make your position untenable before the final decision is made.

The shift is often felt in the day-to-day workflow. You might find yourself suddenly stripped of long-standing responsibilities or moved to a less desirable shift without a clear business justification shortly after voicing a concern about discrimination. In many cases, an employee with a history of strong performance suddenly receives a performance improvement plan or a series of written warnings for minor infractions that were previously ignored. Management might start documenting "attitude problems" or a "lack of cooperation" immediately after you report a protected issue. We look for these tactical changes to show that the "business restructuring" or "performance-based firing" was actually a direct response to your complaint.

Survivors of sexual assault and rape face a path that is as much about reclaiming their power as it is about seeking justice. Whether the assault occurred in a professional setting, through a stranger, or within a relationship, the difficulty of even discussing these events cannot be overstated. The decision to pursue a legal claim is a powerful act of taking back control while you are still surviving the immediate trauma of the event itself, and it requires a level of courage that should be met with absolute sensitivity.

In the context of employment, an assault represents a catastrophic failure of the workplace to protect its staff. These cases often involve an abuse of power, where a supervisor or colleague uses their position to commit an act of violence. In your personal life, whether the perpetrator was a stranger or someone you once trusted in a relationship, the law provides a way to hold them accountable for the physical and psychological harm you have suffered.

Pursuing a case is a deeply personal choice to demand what is owed to you. We focus on navigating the legal process with the utmost sensitivity to your privacy, recognizing that speaking out is an immense burden but also a means of taking back your agency. We work to determine if a third party, such as a business, landlord, or employer, failed to provide the security or oversight that could have prevented the assault. Seeking civil justice is about securing the compensation needed for the long-term impact on your life and livelihood, independent of any criminal proceedings. You are a person asserting your right to be whole again, and we handle the technical legal pursuit so that you can focus on the process of moving forward on your own terms.

Sex and gender discrimination are systemic issues that affect both women and men, occurring when decisions about hiring, firing, promotions, or assignments are based on gender rather than merit. We look for evidence of disparate treatment where individuals are held to different standards or excluded from opportunities because of their sex or gender identity. Fair pay is central to many of these cases — it is a violation of your rights to be paid less than a colleague of a different gender for substantially similar work.

Our approach covers the full spectrum of these cases, including pregnancy discrimination, bias against caregivers, and glass-ceiling limitations that prevent advancement. By focusing on the tangible ways you have been treated differently, we hold management accountable and work to secure the professional standing and compensation you have earned.

You are judged on the quality of your work, yet a decision was made based on the family you are building. Whether you were sidelined while pregnant, denied New York State Paid Family Leave (PFL), or let go just as you were preparing for a new chapter, this is an illegal penalty for your identity. The stress of facing these barriers is significant, and your life has been hard enough without having your livelihood taken away while navigating the demands of parenthood.

In New York City, your rights are among the strongest in the country. This includes everything from reasonable accommodations — like light duty or schedule changes — to protected time and private spaces for breastfeeding or expressing milk. We focus on the reality that your pregnancy was the true reason for your termination, and we hold employers accountable for ignoring the laws that protect both your career and your family.

In a city as diverse as New York, your background should be a source of strength rather than a target for exclusion. Often, discrimination doesn't arrive as a formal policy but hides behind a shift in office dynamics or "objective" evaluations that suddenly turn negative. We look past the corporate jargon to see if performance issues are being used as a pretext for bias. The reality is often found in the daily environment, such as being subjected to jokes that play on stereotypes or disparaging comments about your accent and where you are from. When you are held to a different standard than your colleagues or marginalized after expressing your identity, the workplace becomes a tool for prejudice rather than a place of business.

A workplace should be defined by your experience and the value you bring, yet older employees are frequently targeted during "restructurings" or "legitimate changes" that are actually calculated to reduce payroll costs. Navigating a job loss when you have decades of experience is an exhausting burden, and it is an insult to be told that your role is being eliminated while younger, less-expensive staff are retained.

In New York, these are among the most challenging cases to prove because bias is rarely overt. It is incredibly hard to determine if you have a viable case on your own because the evidence often lives in the data. We analyze the statistical patterns of a layoff to see if the impact fell disproportionately on employees over 40. We look for the "code words" that often mask discrimination in performance reviews, focusing on whether management used age-related tropes or if the "legitimate" business reason for your termination is actually a pretext for bias. We focus on the numbers and the documentation to determine if your career was discarded simply because of the date on your birth certificate.

The right to practice your faith is a fundamental protection that follows you into the workplace. This type of discrimination frequently manifests as a refusal to provide reasonable accommodations for religious holidays, Sabbath observance, or traditional dress and grooming. We focus on the patterns that suggest an employee was pushed out because of their faith, looking for signs of a hostile environment created by insensitive remarks or stereotypes regarding your beliefs. Whether the issue is a denied schedule change or an atmosphere where you are made to feel like an outsider because of your faith, your career should never be the price you pay for your religious identity.

The law is clear: you have a right to do your job with the support you need, and you have a right to take care of your health or your family without losing your career. Whether it was a refusal to provide a reasonable accommodation, a denial of Paid Family Leave (PFL), or retaliation for taking time off, these actions were a direct attempt to penalize you for being human. Managing a medical condition or a family crisis is already a full-time job; you shouldn't have to fight a legal battle just because your employer found your needs "inconvenient." We hold employers accountable for the decision to terminate you during your most vulnerable moments.

You provided your time and your labor under a specific agreement, but your paycheck tells a different story. In New York, being shortchanged isn't just a mistake; it is a choice to devalue the work you already did. We don't see missing overtime or being misclassified as a simple oversight — we see it as taking money that belongs to you. Because this is a violation of your rights, the law often requires your employer to pay double the amount you are owed in liquidated damages. We know how to find the missing money and make sure you get every dollar you earned.

A severance or separation agreement is rarely a simple parting gift. It is a legal contract designed to protect the company's interests, often at the expense of your future options. While many terminations are the result of legitimate business changes, we know that, all too often, you are being let go for other reasons that the company would rather not discuss. Being asked to sign away your rights while navigating a sudden job loss is a significant burden, and no one should have to make that decision without understanding what they are giving up. Daniel reviews these documents so you know exactly what the agreement asks of you, and where there is room to push, he looks for creative ways to negotiate a better number.

An employment agreement deserves the same attention, and most people give it far less. It arrives at the happiest moment of the relationship, when you are focused on the salary and the title, and it was drafted entirely by the company's lawyers to protect the company. The clauses that matter most are the ones that do nothing at all until the day you leave: restrictive covenants, arbitration provisions, what happens to your bonus or equity on the way out, and how the agreement defines cause. Daniel reads for those, so you understand what you are agreeing to now and what it will mean for you later.

These reviews are handled on an hourly basis or for an agreed flat rate. If the circumstances suggest a discrimination claim worth pursuing, a contingency arrangement can be discussed.

Beyond the workplace, we take on civil rights and serious personal injury matters where someone has been harmed by the misconduct or negligence of others. We secured an $8 million verdict against the City of New York in a police excessive-force case on behalf of a public school teacher, after the City's highest pretrial offer was only $150,000. When those entrusted with power abuse it, we hold them accountable.

Daniel won a New York Supreme Court verdict within a month of his admission to the bar in 1993, and has practiced for more than thirty years since. He knows how to navigate the system at every stage. When a matter calls for additional firepower, he draws on trusted co-counsel relationships with firms that have recovered hundreds of millions for their clients, ensuring your case has the resources and specific expertise needed to stand up to the largest insurers and institutions.