What Changed: New York Workplace Discrimination Law, 2018 to 2026

New York's workplace discrimination law was heavily amended between 2018 and 2026. The State's harassment test, its coverage of small employers, its damages and its agency filing period were all rewritten, New York City added protections of its own, and several federal rules moved as well.⁠^{[1][4][11][6]}

This page lists the changes in date order, by layer: federal law, the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL) and related State statutes, and the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL). Each row gives the date, what changed and, where one is stated, the rule that applied before. An exact day is given only where a statute, a bill's action history, a court or an agency states it; where a date would have to be counted out from a phrase such as "the 90th day after it becomes law," the month is given with the statute's own phrase, as with the staged effective dates of the 2019 State amendments.⁠^[12] Dates published by the NYC Commission on Human Rights are marked as the Commission's.⁠^[13]

2018: the first State sexual harassment package and New York City's amendments

Date	Layer	What changed	Before the change
April 12, 2018, (signed)	State	Part KK of chapter 57 of the Laws of 2018 enacted six sexual harassment measures, including the Labor Law § 201-g model policy and training duty, limits on nondisclosure terms, CPLR § 7515 on mandatory arbitration, and Executive Law § 296-d on non-employees.⁠[14][15]	As first enacted, § 296-d covered only sexual harassment of non-employees.⁠[16]
May 9, 2018	City	Local Law 98 of 2018, approved and effective immediately on this date: a claim of gender-based harassment can be brought against any employer, including one with fewer than four persons.⁠[17][18]	The general City rule excludes employers with fewer than four persons throughout the relevant period.⁠[19]
May 9, 2018	City	Local Law 100 of 2018, approved and effective immediately on this date: a claim of gender-based harassment may be filed with the NYC Commission on Human Rights within three years.⁠[20][18]	One year, which remains the Commission filing period for other claims.⁠[21]
July 2018	State	CPLR § 7515, enacted for sexual harassment claims, took effect on the 90th day after April 12, 2018. It voids mandatory arbitration clauses "except where inconsistent with federal law."⁠[14][22]	New provision. The State's own FAQ now says the section is largely preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act.⁠[23]
2018 (enacted)	City	Local Law 59 of 2018 made it an unlawful discriminatory practice for an employer to refuse or fail to engage in a cooperative dialogue within a reasonable time with a person who has requested an accommodation.⁠[24]	New provision.⁠[24]
April 1, 2019	City	Local Law 96 of 2018: employers with 15 or more employees must conduct annual interactive anti-sexual-harassment training for employees in New York City.⁠[25][18]	New provision.⁠[25]

2019 and 2020: the rewrite of the State Human Rights Law

Chapter 160 of the Laws of 2019 was signed on August 12, 2019, and took effect in stages: some sections immediately, others on the 60th day, the all-employer rule on the 180th day, and the sexual harassment filing period one year after enactment.⁠^[26][12] The sections that changed the employer definition, the harassment standard, non-employee protection, remedies, liberal construction and the filing period apply only to claims that accrued on or after each section's effective date.⁠^[27]

Date	Layer	What changed	Before the change
2019	State	"Gender identity or expression" was added to the NYSHRL by chapter 8 of the Laws of 2019.⁠[28]	Not listed by name.⁠[28]
June 3, 2019	Federal	Fort Bend County v. Davis: Title VII's requirement to file an EEOC charge is a mandatory claim-processing rule, not a limit on the court's jurisdiction.⁠[29]	The charge remains mandatory when the employer raises the point in time.⁠[29]
August 12, 2019	State	Executive Law § 300 now directs that the NYSHRL be construed liberally regardless of how comparably worded federal civil rights laws have been construed.⁠[26][30]	New wording added to § 300.⁠[26]
October 11, 2019	State	New § 296(1)(h): harassment is unlawful when it subjects a person to inferior terms, conditions or privileges of employment because of a protected category, regardless of whether it would be considered severe or pervasive. The employer has an affirmative defense for petty slights or trivial inconveniences.⁠[1][2]	State hostile work environment claims required conduct severe or pervasive enough to alter the conditions of employment. That test still governs State claims that accrued before October 11, 2019.⁠[3]
October 11, 2019	State	Punitive damages became available in employment discrimination cases against private employers.⁠[11]	The statute allowed punitive damages in housing cases only.⁠[11]
October 11, 2019	State	Attorney's fees were extended to all claims of employment discrimination, as a discretionary award.⁠[31]	Fees in employment cases were available only where sex was a basis of the discrimination.⁠[31]
October 11, 2019	State	§ 296-d was widened to every unlawful discriminatory practice against non-employees such as contractors and vendors.⁠[16]	Sexual harassment of non-employees only.⁠[16]
October 11, 2019	State	The limit on nondisclosure terms in settlements (General Obligations Law § 5-336) was widened to all discrimination claims; the date is the one the State's FAQ gives for these provisions.⁠[32][33]	As enacted in 2018 it covered sexual harassment claims only.⁠[32]
November 11, 2019, (Commission's date)	City	Local Law 129 of 2019 made retaliation for requesting a reasonable accommodation unlawful under the NYCHRL.⁠[34][13]	Clause added to the City retaliation provision.⁠[35]
January 11, 2020, (Commission's date)	City	Local Law 172 of 2019: the NYCHRL's employee protections apply to freelancers and independent contractors as well as interns.⁠[36][13]	The subdivision had been added by Local Law 9 of 2014 and was amended by this local law.⁠[37]
February 2020	State	The NYSHRL covers all employers within the state. The change took effect on the 180th day after August 12, 2019.⁠[4][5]	Employers with fewer than four employees were excluded, except for sexual harassment claims.⁠[4]
June 15, 2020	Federal	Bostock v. Clayton County: an employer who fires a person for being homosexual or transgender violates Title VII's ban on sex discrimination.⁠[38]	The Court did not decide questions about bathrooms, locker rooms or dress codes under Title VII.⁠[38]
August 2020	State	A three-year period to file complaints of sexual harassment in employment with the Division of Human Rights took effect one year after August 12, 2019.⁠[39]	One year.⁠[39]

The detail behind these rows is in the federal test New York abandoned, which employers are covered, punitive damages and fee-shifting in employment cases.

2021 and 2022: domestic workers, whistleblowers and two federal acts

Date	Layer	What changed	Before the change
December 31, 2021	State	Domestic workers became "employees" with the full employment protections of the NYSHRL, and § 296-b was repealed.⁠[40]	Domestic workers were excluded from the definition of employee and protected only by former § 296-b.⁠[40]
January 26, 2022	State	Labor Law § 740 as amended protects an employee who discloses a practice the employee reasonably believes violates a law, rule or regulation, or reasonably believes poses a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety.⁠[7][8] "Employee" now includes former employees and certain independent contractors.⁠[41]	The worker had to prove an actual violation, of a kind that creates a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety.⁠[42]
March 3, 2022	Federal	Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act: at the election of the person alleging the conduct, a pre-dispute arbitration agreement is not valid or enforceable for a sexual harassment or sexual assault dispute.⁠[43]	The Act applies to any dispute or claim that arises or accrues on or after March 3, 2022.⁠[44]
March 12, 2022, (Commission's date)	City	Local Law 88 of 2021: a person who employs one or more domestic workers is covered by the NYCHRL's employee protections regardless of the number of other employees.⁠[45][13]	The general four-person rule.⁠[19]
March 16, 2022	State	§ 296(7) states that retaliation may include disclosing an employee's personnel files because the employee engaged in protected activity.⁠[46][15]	Wording added to the retaliation subdivision.⁠[46]
May 24, 2022, (signed)	State	Adult Survivors Act: otherwise time-barred civil claims for certain sexual offenses against adults were revived and could be commenced not earlier than six months, and not later than one year and six months, after the section's effective date.⁠[47][15]	That period has ended.⁠[47]
December 7, 2022	Federal	Speak Out Act: a nondisclosure or nondisparagement clause agreed to before a sexual harassment or sexual assault dispute arises is not judicially enforceable.⁠[48] It applies to claims filed on or after December 7, 2022.⁠[49]	The Act does not reach clauses agreed to after the dispute arises.⁠[48]
December 23, 2022	State	"Citizenship or immigration status" was added to the NYSHRL's protected classes.⁠[50]	The Division of Human Rights says the national origin class was used before this change.⁠[51]

See New York's whistleblower law, can I be forced into arbitration? and civil deadlines for sexual assault.

2023: settlement terms, pregnancy, attendance points and height and weight

Date	Layer	What changed	Before the change
February 2023	State	Labor Law § 215 forbids retaliating against an employee for using any legally protected absence, and treats assessing a demerit, occurrence or point for it as retaliation. The amendment was signed on November 21, 2022, and took effect on the 90th day after.⁠[52]	New clause.⁠[52]
March 1, 2023	City	A two-year window opened for otherwise time-barred claims under the City's gender-motivated violence law. Local Law 21 of 2022 set it as not earlier than six months, and not later than two years and six months, after September 1, 2022, so it ran to March 1, 2025, and has closed.⁠[53]	See the 2026 entry for the later window.⁠[54]
June 27, 2023	Federal	The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act went into effect, on the EEOC's stated date. It covers employers with 15 or more employees.⁠[55]	New federal statute.⁠[55]
September 6, 2023	State	Labor Law § 201-d: an employer may not punish a person for refusing to attend an employer-sponsored meeting whose primary purpose is to communicate the employer's opinion on religious or political matters.⁠[56][15]	New paragraph.⁠[56]
November 17, 2023	State	General Obligations Law § 5-336 was amended to cover harassment and retaliation claims and to give the complainant "up to" 21 days to consider a confidentiality term.⁠[57][58] A release is unenforceable if the agreement requires the complainant to pay liquidated damages or forfeit consideration for breaching a nondisclosure or nondisparagement clause, or to state that no discrimination occurred.⁠[59]	A fixed 21 days.⁠[58] The seven-day revocation period was not changed.⁠[60]
November 2023	City	Local Law 61 of 2023 added height and weight to the characteristics protected in employment by the NYCHRL. It was approved on May 26, 2023, to take effect 180 days after it became law; the NYC Commission on Human Rights gives the effective date as November 26, 2023.⁠[61][13]	Not listed. The State statute does not list height or weight.⁠[62]

See NDAs and confidentiality in settlements, pregnancy, childbirth and lactation accommodations and protected characteristics.

2024: the three-year State agency deadline and two court rulings

Date	Layer	What changed	Before the change
February 15, 2024	State	A complaint to the Division of Human Rights must be filed within three years, for every type of claim arising on or after this date.⁠[6][63]	One year, except three years for workplace sexual harassment.⁠[64]
March 14, 2024	State and City	Syeed v. Bloomberg L.P.: both Human Rights Laws protect non-residents who are not yet employed in the state or city but who proactively sought an actual state- or city-based job opportunity.⁠[65]	Under Hoffman (2010), a non-resident has to plead and prove an impact within New York.⁠[66]
April 17, 2024	Federal	Muldrow v. City of St. Louis: an employee challenging a discriminatory transfer under Title VII has to show some harm to an identifiable term or condition of employment, not significant harm.⁠[67]	The decision concerns discrimination claims over job transfers; it does not restate the federal harassment test.⁠[67][68]
April 29, 2024	Federal	The EEOC issued its Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace, replacing its earlier harassment guidance documents.⁠[69]	Rescinded in 2026; see below.⁠[9]
May 11, 2024, (Commission's date)	City	Local Law 62 of 2024, which took effect immediately: a provision in an employment agreement that purports to shorten the time to file a City Human Rights Law complaint or lawsuit is unenforceable and void.⁠[70][71][13]	New provision. Outside the City law, a New York appellate court enforced a six-month clause in an employment application in March 2025.⁠[72]
June 19, 2024	State	Labor Law § 206-c: paid break time of thirty minutes to express breast milk, for up to three years after childbirth, with the start date as stated by the State Department of Labor.⁠[73]	New paid-break rule.⁠[73]
2024	City	Local Law 22 of 2024 lets a person alleging a violation of the City's Earned Safe and Sick Time Act bring a civil action in court within 2 years.⁠[74]	New right to sue.⁠[74]

See every deadline for a New York workplace claim, does New York law apply to remote workers? and agreements that shorten your time to sue.

2025: federal court rulings and two December amendments to the State law

Date	Layer	What changed	Before the change
January 1, 2025	State	Labor Law § 196-b: every employer must provide 20 hours of paid prenatal personal leave in any 52-week period.⁠[75]	New leave, in addition to sick leave.⁠[75]
March 25, 2025	Federal	Tudor v. Whitehall Central School District (Second Circuit): an employee may qualify for a reasonable accommodation under the ADA even if she can perform the essential functions of her job without it.⁠[76]	The court said ability to perform the essential functions is relevant to a failure-to-accommodate claim but not dispositive.⁠[76]
May 15, 2025	Federal	According to the EEOC, a federal court in Texas vacated parts of the 2024 harassment guidance nationwide.⁠[77]	The full guidance had been in place since April 29, 2024.⁠[69]
June 5, 2025	Federal	Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services: a Title VII plaintiff from a majority group does not have to show additional "background circumstances."⁠[78]	The standard for proving disparate treatment is the same for every plaintiff.⁠[78]
December 5, 2025	State	Chapter 600 of the Laws of 2025 added requesting a reasonable accommodation to the protected activity listed in § 296(7). It applies to actions filed on or after that date.⁠[79]	The Legislature declared the amendment to be a clarification of existing law.⁠[79]
December 19, 2025	State	New § 296(5-b), signed on this date and effective immediately: in an employment case an unlawful discriminatory practice may be established by a practice's discriminatory effect, even without discriminatory intent.⁠[80][15]	New subdivision.⁠[80]
December 2025	City	The NYC Commission on Human Rights published a new edition of its Legal Enforcement Guidance on Discrimination on the Basis of Disability.⁠[81]	The 2018 edition, which has been replaced.⁠[82]

2026: the EEOC rescission and New York City changes

Date	Layer	What changed	Before the change
January 22, 2026	Federal	The EEOC voted 2-1 to rescind its Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace in full.⁠[9]	Title VII and the Supreme Court decisions interpreting it remain in place.⁠[10]
January 29, 2026	City	Local Law 50 of 2026, repassed by the City Council on this date and effective immediately, created a civil cause of action for crimes of violence motivated by gender that occurred before January 9, 2022. Claims under it must be commenced not later than 18 months after the local law took effect; the law states no calendar end date.⁠[54][18]	The earlier window closed on March 1, 2025.⁠[53]
April 24, 2026, (notice updated)	City	The NYC Commission on Human Rights states that it no longer automatically cross-files employment discrimination claims with the EEOC.⁠[83]	The Commission advises a person who may want to pursue the same claim in federal court to file with the EEOC as well.⁠[83]
July 1, 2026	City	Local Law 86 of 2026 requires the Commission to establish a hotline for the public to report discriminatory harassment and unlawful discriminatory practices.⁠[84]	The local law renamed the chapter of title 8 that older sources cite for the gender-motivated violence law.⁠[85]

See the federal hostile work environment test, New York City's Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act and dual filing.

Which current rules are often confused with the changes?

These rules sit next to the amendments above. Each is stated as it stands in October 2026.

• The time to sue in court under the State law. It is three years under CPLR § 214(2), as the Court of Appeals held in 1983.⁠^[86]
• The time to sue in court under the City law. A civil action must be commenced within three years.⁠^[87]
• The general City agency period. A complaint to the NYC Commission on Human Rights must be filed within one year; only gender-based harassment claims have three.⁠^[21][20]
• The federal harassment test. Under Title VII, harassment is actionable only if it is sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the conditions of employment.⁠^[68]
• The federal charge period in New York. The EEOC's New York District Office states it as 300 days.⁠^[88]
• The federal damages caps. The combined cap on compensatory and punitive damages under Title VII runs from $50,000 to $300,000 by employer size.⁠^[89]
• The State list of protected classes since September 2025. The list in § 296(1)(a) and the harassment paragraph did not change between September 2025 and October 2026.⁠^[90]

Where do outdated statements still appear?

The following statements have been superseded; one of them appears in an official text.

• The Division of Human Rights' own Rules of Practice, 9 NYCRR § 465.3(e), in the copy published by Cornell's Legal Information Institute as of October 5, 2026, still say a complaint must be filed within one year. The statute says three years.⁠^[91][63]
• Pages citing Executive Law § 296-b for domestic workers are citing a repealed section.⁠^[40]
• Pages describing CPLR § 7515 as a working ban on forced arbitration omit that it applies "except where inconsistent with federal law" and that the State itself calls it largely preempted.⁠^[22][23]
• Pages citing the EEOC's 2024 harassment guidance as current policy predate its rescission on January 22, 2026.⁠^[9]
• Pages citing the City Commission's 2018 disability guidance are citing an edition that has been replaced.⁠^[82]
• Pages saying the Adult Survivors Act still lets people file old claims are out of date; the filing period it set has ended.⁠^[47]

The companion page, fifteen myths about workplace rights in New York, takes these one at a time.

Which version of the law applies to older events?

An amendment's effective date is only half the answer; each one also says which claims it reaches. The transition rules differ:

• The 2019 State amendments to the harassment standard, employer definition, remedies and liberal construction apply only to claims that accrued on or after each section's effective date.⁠^[27]
• The three-year Division of Human Rights filing period applies to unlawful discriminatory practice claims arising on or after February 15, 2024.⁠^[6]
• The 2023 settlement-agreement rules apply to agreements entered on or after November 17, 2023.⁠^[57]
• The federal arbitration Act applies to any dispute or claim that arises or accrues on or after March 3, 2022.⁠^[44]
• The December 2025 State amendment on accommodation requests applies to actions filed on or after its effective date, and the discriminatory-effect subdivision applies to cases of employment discrimination occurring on and after its effective date.⁠^[79][80]

A single dispute can therefore straddle two versions of a rule. For where each claim fits today, start with the three layers of workplace law and Title VII for New York workers.