Does New York Law Apply If You Work Remotely or Live Out of State?

It depends on where you live, where you do the work, and where the harm was felt. A person who does not live in New York has to plead and prove that the alleged discriminatory conduct had an impact within New York State to sue under the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL), and within New York City to sue under the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL).⁠^[1][2] Working for a company that is based in New York is not enough.⁠^[5]

The rule comes from two decisions of the New York Court of Appeals, the state's highest court: Hoffman v. Parade Publications (2010) and Syeed v. Bloomberg L.P. (2024).⁠^[1][7] Federal law is a separate question, covered at the end of this page.

What is the "impact" test?

In Hoffman the Court of Appeals held that non-residents of the city and state must plead and prove that the alleged discriminatory conduct had an impact within those boundaries.⁠^[1] The Court later described Hoffman as setting out two ways a non-resident can meet the test: (1) working in New York, or (2) establishing that the challenged conduct had some impact on the plaintiff within the relevant New York boundaries.⁠^[9]

The test is applied separately to each law, with its own map. For the NYSHRL the boundary is New York State; for the NYCHRL it is New York City.⁠^[1][2] In Hoffman the Court treated a failure to meet the test as a lack of subject matter jurisdiction, and the claims were dismissed.⁠^[5]

Who is covered because of where they work?

People who work in New York are covered whether or not they live there. The Court of Appeals said the impact requirement does not shut out all non-residents; it extends the NYCHRL's protection to non-residents who work in the city.⁠^[4] For the State law, the Court said those who work in New York fall within the class of persons who may bring discrimination claims, and that the impact requirement permits those who work in the state to invoke the NYSHRL.⁠^[3]

Being inside the geographic reach is only the first step. The employer still has to be one the statute covers: the NYSHRL defines "employer" to include all employers within the state, and the NYCHRL generally does not apply to an employer with fewer than four persons in its employ throughout the relevant period.⁠^[10][11] See which employers are covered.

Is it enough that the company is headquartered in New York?

No. Hoffman is the Court of Appeals decision on the point. The plaintiff was a Georgia resident who worked at the employer's Atlanta office and serviced no New York accounts.⁠^[5] He argued that he attended quarterly meetings in New York City, that his group was managed from the New York City office, and that the decision to terminate him was made and carried out there.⁠^[5] The Court of Appeals held that, at most, he had pleaded a tangential connection to the city and state, and that his age discrimination claims under both Human Rights Laws were properly dismissed.⁠^[5]

The Court rejected a rule that would have let a non-resident sue simply because the termination decision was made in New York City. It said the place of the decision may be a factor to consider, but that a City Human Rights Law claim should not depend solely on something as arbitrary as where the termination decision was made.⁠^[6]

What did Syeed v. Bloomberg change in 2024?

Hoffman was a termination case. Syeed raised a different situation: a non-resident who is turned down for a job in New York.⁠^[12] The plaintiff in Syeed worked as a reporter in the Washington, D.C. bureau of a company with global headquarters in New York City, and alleged that she applied for positions at the New York bureau.⁠^[13] A federal appeals court asked the Court of Appeals whether a non-resident not yet employed in New York satisfies the impact requirement by pleading and later proving that an employer deprived her of a New York City- or State-based job opportunity on discriminatory grounds.⁠^[13]

On March 14, 2024, the Court of Appeals answered yes. It held that the NYSHRL and the NYCHRL each protect non-residents who are not yet employed in the city or state but who proactively sought an actual city- or state-based job opportunity.⁠^[7] The Court reasoned that a failure to hire or promote is different from a termination case like Hoffman: the Hoffman plaintiff was a Georgia resident who wished to keep his Georgia job, while a non-resident who takes affirmative steps to obtain an actual New York-based job seeks to become an inhabitant or person within New York.⁠^[12] In the Court's words, the prospective employee "personally feels the impact of a discriminatory refusal to promote or hire in New York City or State, because that is where the person wished to work."⁠^[12]

What do the cases say about fully remote work?

Syeed carries a footnote that matters for remote workers: the Court said it understood a "New York City- or State-based job opportunity" to mean a position that requires the employee to be physically present in New York, and that its analysis was limited to that scenario.⁠^[8] The opinion therefore does not decide how the impact test applies to a job performed remotely from outside New York.⁠^[8] The plaintiff in Syeed also conceded that Hoffman's impact test governed, so the Court was not asked to revisit it.⁠^[8]

What exists beyond the two decisions is a New York State agency statement, not a court ruling. The State's FAQ on workplace sexual harassment tells workers: "If you live in another state, and work entirely or mostly remotely, then your worksite is in your home state, and you are not covered by the Human Rights Law for harassment or discrimination you experience while you are not in New York."⁠^[14] The same FAQ says such a person is covered by the Human Rights Law for harassment experienced while physically present in New York, such as when attending a meeting or training there, and that a person who lives in another state but travels to New York State for all or many workdays is covered.⁠^[15]

For people who are covered, working from home does not take conduct outside the law. New York State's model sexual harassment prevention policy states that sexual harassment can occur when employees are working remotely from home, including on virtual meeting platforms and in messaging apps.⁠^[16] That subject is covered in harassment by text, chat, email and video call.

How do the common situations sort out?

Situation	New York State Human Rights Law	New York City Human Rights Law
You live outside New York and work in New York City	Those who work in New York may bring State-law discrimination claims.⁠[3]	Non-residents who work in the city are protected.⁠[4]
You live and work outside New York; the employer is headquartered in New York City and made the decision there	A non-resident has to plead and prove an impact in New York; the claim in Hoffman was dismissed.⁠[1][5]	Not enough that the decision was made at a New York City office; an impact within the city is required.⁠[2]
You live outside New York and were denied a job or promotion that requires physical presence in New York	Protected if you proactively sought an actual State-based job opportunity.⁠[7][8]	Protected if you proactively sought an actual City-based job opportunity.⁠[17][8]
You live outside New York and work entirely or mostly remotely for a New York employer	Not decided in Syeed; the State's FAQ (an agency statement, not a court ruling) says you are not covered for harassment or discrimination experienced while not in New York, and are covered for harassment experienced while physically present in New York.⁠[8][14][15]	Not decided in Syeed; a non-resident has to show an impact within the city.⁠[8][2]
You are a New York State resident and the act happened outside the state	The law applies to an act committed outside the state against a resident if it would be an unlawful discriminatory practice within the state.⁠[18]	The City law's impact requirement is stated for people who do not live in New York City.⁠[2]

The table reports what the two decisions, the statute and the State's FAQ say. It does not predict how a court will treat a particular hybrid or remote arrangement; Syeed's analysis was limited to positions that require physical presence in New York.⁠^[8]

What about New York residents?

The impact requirement in Hoffman was announced for non-residents.⁠^[1] For residents of New York State, a separate section of the NYSHRL, Executive Law § 298-a, applies the law to an act committed outside the state against a resident of the state, if the act would be an unlawful discriminatory practice had it been committed in New York.⁠^[18] Residence in the state is not the same as residence in the city: under Hoffman a person who does not live in New York City has to show an impact within the city to use the NYCHRL.⁠^[2]

Does federal law depend on location?

The federal statutes define coverage by the size of the employer. Title VII covers an employer that has 15 or more employees for each working day in 20 or more calendar weeks of the current or preceding calendar year, and for employment in a foreign country its definition of "employee" includes a U.S. citizen.⁠^[19][20] The employment title of the Americans with Disabilities Act uses the same 15-employee threshold.⁠^[21] Whether the State and City laws reach a worker is a separate question from whether a federal statute covers the employer. The federal standards, caps and procedures are described in Title VII for New York workers.

Location does affect the federal filing period. A Title VII charge is due within 180 days, or within 300 days where the person has first started proceedings with a state or local agency that has authority to grant relief.⁠^[22] The EEOC's New York District Office states that the period is 300 days in New York.⁠^[23] A person who works in another state should check the period that applies there; this guide covers New York only.

What should you write down if location may be an issue?

Geographic reach turns on facts that are easy to record while they are fresh and hard to rebuild later. These are practical notes, not legal tests:

• Where you live, and the address of each place you actually performed work, including a home office.
• Which days or weeks you were physically in New York State or New York City, and what you were doing there.
• Where the job was posted as being based, and whether in-person attendance was expected.
• Where you were when each incident happened, and where the other people involved were.
• For a job or promotion you sought, what you did to pursue it and where the position would have been located.

Keep the offer letter, job posting, remote-work agreement and any attendance policy. How to organize a record is covered in building a record: notes, messages and documents.

Where to go next

If you work in New York, the next question is which of the three layers fits your facts: see the three layers of workplace law, the State Human Rights Law, explained and the City Human Rights Law, explained. The choice of agency or court is covered in choosing where to file, and the filing periods are in every deadline for a New York workplace claim. If remote work is something you are asking for because of a health condition, see remote work and schedule changes as accommodations.