How the two fit together
Harassment based on a protected characteristic such as race, sex, religion, disability, age, or national origin is generally treated as a form of discrimination. Federal law, New York State law, and New York City law all reach this conduct, and the state and city laws are broader in several ways. Since New York State amended its law in 2019, a worker does not have to show that harassment was severe or pervasive, and the bar is generally lower than under federal law. Discrimination can also take the form of decisions about hiring, pay, promotion, assignments, or termination, without any harassing words at all.
Records that help make the picture clear
Keep the messages, emails, and posts you received or that were sent about you, and note where screenshots came from. Save copies of your reviews, pay records, and any complaint you made to a manager or to human resources, along with the response. Ask your lawyer how to put together a timeline, and work on it with that lawyer, since a private note written on your own is not automatically protected. Avoid forwarding company documents to a personal account; keep what is yours and ask about the rest. If you complained internally and then things changed for you, that sequence can be a separate retaliation issue.
Choosing a path
A matter like this can go to the federal EEOC, the New York State Division of Human Rights, the New York City Commission on Human Rights, or straight to court under state or city law, and those choices affect one another. Each path has its own filing deadline, and some are shorter than people assume. In a first consultation we look at the timeline, the size and location of the employer, whether you signed an arbitration agreement, and which law gives you the most room. We also talk about whether you are still working there and how to protect your position while the matter moves forward.
