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So your probably sitting in your office right now staring at an EEOC complaint or wrongful termination lawsuit from that employee you fired last month, or maybe your getting hit with a discrimination claim from someone who’s performance was terrible, or worse – your facing a class action wage and hour lawsuit that could bankrupt your company. Maybe that problem employee you finally let go is claiming retaliation. Maybe someone’s alleging sexual harassment that you never even heard about. Or maybe your getting dragged through the mud on social media by a disgruntled ex-employee. Look, we get it. Your ABSOLUTELY FURIOUS. And honestly? You should be! Because employment lawsuits in NYC can cost hundreds of thousands in defense costs alone according to EEOC enforcement statistics!
STOP everything and listen carefully – the first 48 hours after getting served are absolutely critical. Do NOT contact the employee directly, do NOT post anything on social media about it, do NOT discuss it with other employees, and for the love of God do NOT destroy any documents or emails! We see employers make these mistakes constantly and it destroys there defense before it even starts.
First thing – preserve everything immediately. Send a litigation hold notice to all managers and IT. Every email, text, Slack message, performance review, timesheet, security footage – everything related to that employee needs to be preserved NOW. Courts will crucify you for spoliation of evidence if anything goes missing. We’ve seen cases where deleted emails cost employers millions in sanctions.
Contact your insurance carrier immediately – most employers don’t realize there EPL (Employment Practices Liability) insurance has strict notice requirements. Miss the deadline to notify them? Your coverage could be denied and your paying everything out of pocket. That $2 million policy becomes worthless because you waited a week too long to call them.
Get legal counsel involved before you do ANYTHING else. Don’t try to “work it out” with the employee. Don’t have HR investigate internally first. Don’t wait to see if it’s “serious.” Every employment lawsuit is serious. The plaintiff’s attorney is already building there case while your sitting there hoping it goes away.
Let’s talk real numbers that’ll make you sick to your stomach. The average out-of-court settlement for employment claims in NYC ranges from $75,000 to $125,000 according to SHRM data. That’s for cases that never even see a courtroom! Cases that go to trial? Average verdicts are $200,000 to $500,000, with discrimination and harassment cases often hitting seven figures.
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Defense costs are astronomical – expect $150,000 to $350,000 in legal fees for a case that goes to trial. Discovery alone can cost $50,000-$100,000 with document review, depositions, expert witnesses. And these costs are usually NOT covered by insurance if you lose or if coverage is denied.
The hidden costs are even worse. Your spending 20-30 hours per week dealing with the lawsuit. Your HR team is paralyzed, afraid to discipline anyone. Other employees are gossiping and picking sides. Morale tanks. Productivity plummets. Good employees leave because they don’t want the drama. Recruitment becomes impossible when candidates Google your company and find lawsuit news.
Then there’s the reputational devastation. Employment lawsuits become public record. Media loves these stories, especialy if there’s salacious allegations. Your company name gets dragged through headlines. Clients get nervous. Vendors demand different payment terms. Banking relationships suffer. We’ve seen successful companies literally destroyed by the reputational damage from one employment lawsuit.
This is where things get really complicated and dangerous for employers. Different claims have different deadlines, and employees can forum shop between federal, state, and city agencies. For federal claims under Title VII, ADA, or ADEA, employees must file with the EEOC within 300 days in New York because we have a state agency.
But here’s the trap – New York State Human Rights Law claims have a THREE YEAR statute of limitations if filed in court, or one year if filed with the Division of Human Rights. NYC Human Rights Law claims? Also three years and they’re even more employee-friendly. So that employee you fired two years ago? They can still sue you today!
Wage and hour claims are even worse. FLSA claims have a two-year statute (three if willful), but New York Labor Law allows six years for unpaid wage claims! That means your facing potential liability for overtime violations going back to 2018. With liquidated damages doubling the amount owed, plus interest at 9% annually, these claims explode exponentially.
Retaliation claims have there own timelines that restart with each alleged retaliatory act. So even if the original discrimination was time-barred, if you gave them a bad reference last month, boom – fresh retaliation claim with a new statute of limitations period. It’s a litigation minefield designed to trap employers.
Yes, but it’s harder than you think and depends entirely on your documentation and witnesses. Judges and juries in NYC are notoriously employee-friendly. They see corporations as deep pockets and employees as victims. You need absolutely bulletproof documentation to overcome this bias.
The key is having contemporaneous documentation of performance issues. Not stuff created after the lawsuit – real-time emails, warnings, performance reviews showing problems BEFORE any complaints were made. We see employers constantly who “knew” someone was terrible but never documented it. That’s a losing case.
Witness credibility is everything. If your managers contradict each other in depositions, your toast. If they can’t explain policy violations consistently, you lose. If they made stupid comments in emails or texts, those become plaintiff’s exhibits. We’ve seen cases lost because one manager texted “let’s get rid of the old timers” – age discrimination case won right there.
But when employers have solid policies, consistent enforcement, documented progressive discipline, and credible witnesses? They can win. We’ve gotten summary judgment in discrimination cases, won trials in retaliation claims, defeated class actions. It takes disciplined HR practices and aggressive defense, but employers CAN prevail when they’ve done things right.
The damages in employment cases are designed to make employees whole PLUS punish bad employers. Back pay covers everything they lost from termination to trial – salary, bonuses, benefits, stock options, 401k matches. Front pay projects losses into the future if reinstatement isn’t feasible. In high-earning positions, this reaches millions.
Emotional distress damages are where things get crazy. Pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life – these are completely subjective and juries can award whatever they feel is appropriate. We’ve seen $500,000 emotional distress awards for harassment cases. No receipts needed, just testimony about how “devastated” they were.
Punitive damages are available for discrimination claims under NYC Human Rights Law with NO CAP. If the jury finds you acted with malice or reckless indifference, they can award whatever amount they think will “punish” you. We’ve seen punitive awards of 10x the compensatory damages. A $100,000 case becomes $1 million overnight.
Don’t forget attorneys’ fees. Under federal and state anti-discrimination laws, prevailing employees get there reasonable attorneys’ fees paid by the employer. At $500-$750 per hour for 2-3 years of litigation? That’s easily $300,000-$500,000 just in fees. Plus costs for experts, depositions, trial preparation. Even a “small” victory for the employee costs you huge.
This is the million-dollar question – literally. Settlement offers certainty but feels like your admitting guilt when your not. Fighting proves your innocence but risks catastrophic loss. Most employment cases (75-80%) settle because the risks of trial are too high for both sides.
Early settlement is almost always cheaper than fighting. That $50,000 nuisance settlement stings, but it’s better than $200,000 in defense costs plus risk of a million-dollar verdict. Insurance companies push settlement because they know the economics. They’d rather pay $75,000 today than risk $500,000 tomorrow.
But some cases you HAVE to fight. When the allegations are BS and settling would open floodgates to more claims. When the employee is clearly lying and you have proof. When it’s a matter of principle that affects your entire workforce. When settling would admission could trigger regulatory investigations or other lawsuits.
The decision depends on evidence strength, witness credibility, insurance coverage, business impact, and precedent risk. Can your managers survive aggressive cross-examination? Will discovery uncover other problems? What’s the jury pool like? Sometimes the smartest business decision is swallowing pride and writing a check, even when your right.
Prevention is infinitely cheaper than defense. Start with bulletproof policies and procedures. Your employee handbook needs clear policies on discrimination, harassment, retaliation, complaints. But policies are worthless without training – managers need to understand there obligations and how to document properly.
Documentation is your lifeline in employment litigation. Every performance issue, policy violation, coaching session needs to be documented contemporaneously. Not general statements like “attitude problems” but specific examples with dates, times, witnesses. “On March 15, John refused direct instruction to complete the Johnson report, stating ‘that’s not my job’ in front of three team members.”
Pay practices need to be airtight. Classify employees correctly as exempt/non-exempt based on actual duties, not titles. Track all hours worked accurately. Pay overtime properly. Provide meal and rest breaks per New York Labor Law. One wage and hour audit finding can trigger class actions costing millions.
Retaliation claims are the FASTEST growing area of employment litigation and there easier to prove than discrimination. Even if the underlying complaint was BS, if you took adverse action after someone complained, your facing viable retaliation claims. It’s the revenge lawsuit that often succeeds when the original claim fails.
The timing is everything in retaliation cases. Employee complains about discrimination then gets fired two weeks later? That temporal proximity alone creates presumption of retaliation. Burden shifts to you to prove legitimate non-retaliatory reason. Good luck convincing a jury the timing was “coincidental.”
“Adverse action” is broader than you think. It’s not just termination – it’s demotions, pay cuts, schedule changes, office relocations, exclusion from meetings, bad references, even “cold shoulder” treatment. We’ve seen retaliation cases based on moving someone’s desk or not inviting them to the holiday party. Anything that might dissuade a reasonable employee from complaining counts.
Protected activity is also interpreted broadly. They don’t need to file formal EEOC charges – verbal complaints to HR count. Refusing to participate in discrimination counts. Supporting another employee’s complaint counts. Even threatening to complain is protected! The law basically makes certain employees untouchable once they’ve engaged in any protected activity.
Class actions are employer nightmares that can destroy companies overnight. One employee’s wage and hour complaint becomes claims for hundreds of employees going back six years. Suddenly your facing $10 million in alleged unpaid overtime plus equal amount in liquidated damages plus attorneys’ fees. We’ve seen healthy companies forced into bankruptcy by class action employment suits.
The class certification battle is everything. If plaintiffs get a class certified, settlement pressure becomes enormous. Your facing potential liability for every employee in the class, discovery costs explode exponentially, and trial becomes Russian roulette with your company’s existence. Most employers settle immediately after class certification, regardless of merits.
Common class claims include unpaid overtime for misclassified employees, off-the-clock work, meal and rest break violations, improper tip pooling, systematic discrimination. With NYC’s employee-friendly laws and aggressive plaintiffs’ bar, these cases are increasing dramatically. One disgruntled employee plus an ambitious attorney equals potential catastrophe.
Defending class actions requires specialized expertise and deep pockets. Costs routinely exceed $1 million just through class certification. Document preservation alone for hundreds of employees over multiple years is staggering. And if you lose class certification? Settlement discussions start at seven figures minimum.
Employment law is a minefield of federal, state, and city laws that overlap and conflict. General business lawyers don’t understand the nuances that make or break these cases. You need attorneys who live and breathe employment defense, who know every judge’s tendencies, every opposing counsel’s tactics.
We know which arguments work with the agencies – EEOC, State Division of Human Rights, City Commission on Human Rights all have different standards and procedures. We know how to position cases for early dismissal, when to move for summary judgment, how to exclude damaging evidence. We’ve defended hundreds of NYC employers and know exactly what works and what doesn’t.
Speed matters in employment defense. Evidence disappears, witnesses forget, documents get lost. We immediately implement litigation holds, interview witnesses while memories are fresh, secure electronic evidence before it’s deleted. We know what discovery requests are coming and prepare responses proactively. While plaintiff’s counsel is planning there attack, we’re already three steps ahead.
Most importantly, we understand business reality. We know you need to keep operating while defending litigation. We structure defense to minimize disruption, handle sensitive situations discretely, coordinate with insurance carriers efficiently. We’re not just lawyers – we’re business advisors who happen to practice employment law. Your success is our success.
Call us RIGHT NOW at 212-300-5196
Employment claims have SHORT deadlines – don’t wait!
Available 24/7 because workplace crises don’t follow business hours!
Don’t let a vindictive ex-employee destroy everything you’ve built! Every day you wait gives them more advantage. They’re probably collecting evidence, talking to other employees, building there case. Meanwhile your sitting there hoping it’ll go away. It won’t. It’ll get worse. Much worse. The time to act is NOW before this spirals completely out of control. Call us immediately and let’s protect your business before it’s too late!
This is attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes. Every employment case is unique and requires individual analysis. This information is general and not specific legal advice for your situation.
Very diligent, organized associates; got my case dismissed. Hard working attorneys who can put up with your anxiousness. I was accused of robbing a gemstone dealer. Definitely A law group that lays out all possible options and best alternative routes. Recommended for sure.
- ROBIN, GUN CHARGES ROBIN
NJ CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEYS