Preparing for a Consultation With an Employment Lawyer in New York

For a first meeting with an employment lawyer, bring three things: a short written timeline with exact dates, the documents you already have, and a list of questions about the process and the fee. What you say is protected: under New York's Rules of Professional Conduct, a lawyer may not use or reveal information learned from a prospective client, even if you never hire that lawyer, except as the rules would permit for a former client.⁠^[1] The rest of this page is a practical checklist, with the legal rules that explain why each item matters.

Why do exact dates matter so much?

Federal, New York State and New York City law each set their own filing periods, and which of them are still open is one of the first questions in any consultation. The main ones are below; the full list is in the New York employment claim deadlines table.

Layer and route	Time to file
Federal: Title VII or ADA charge at the EEOC	300 days from the alleged harm, as stated by the EEOC's New York District Office; then a lawsuit within 90 days after the EEOC's notice of right to sue.⁠[2][3][11][12]
New York State: complaint to the Division of Human Rights	Three years after the alleged unlawful discriminatory practice.⁠[5]
New York State: court action under the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL)	Three years.⁠[8]
New York City: complaint to the NYC Commission on Human Rights	One year; three years for a claim of gender-based harassment.⁠[4]
New York City: court action under the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL)	Three years after the alleged unlawful discriminatory practice.⁠[13]
New York State: lawsuit against a school district, board of education or BOCES	Written verified claim within three months after the claim accrued; lawsuit within one year.⁠[6][7]

Several of these periods can run on the same facts at the same time, which is why the date of each event matters and not only the last day of work.

What should the timeline include?

Write it before the meeting, in date order, on one or two pages. This is practical advice, not a legal form.

• Your start date, job titles, work location, and whether you work in New York City, elsewhere in the State, or remotely.
• Each incident: the date, what was said or done, who did it, and who saw or heard it.
• Each time you complained or asked for something, such as an accommodation or leave: the date, to whom, whether it was in writing, and what answer you got.
• Each change to your job afterwards: discipline, a poor review, a schedule or pay change, a transfer, a termination.
• Anything you have already filed anywhere, with dates and reference numbers.
• Names of co-workers who had similar experiences or who witnessed events. Leave contacting them to a later conversation with the lawyer.

Where you work and who employs you are not side details. The City law reaches conduct with the required connection to New York City, and under State law a claim against a school district follows a much shorter timetable than a claim against a private employer.⁠^[14][6][7] See the three layers of workplace law and notice of claim rules for public employees.

Which documents should you bring?

Bring copies of what you already have in your own possession. Do not delete, alter or tidy anything first, and do not go looking through files you are not allowed to see. Whether a document that belongs to the employer can be used is a question to put to the lawyer, not something to settle on your own.

Document	Why a lawyer asks for it
Offer letter, employment contract, job application, handbook acknowledgment	These can contain an arbitration clause or a shortened filing period. Under the Federal Arbitration Act, a written agreement to arbitrate is enforceable except on grounds that would revoke any contract or under the 2022 carve-out for sexual harassment and sexual assault disputes, and a New York appellate court has enforced a written six-month limitations clause.⁠[15][16] See arbitration agreements in New York employment.
Union contract, if you are represented	A collective-bargaining agreement that clearly and unmistakably requires arbitration of federal age-discrimination claims is enforceable under federal law.⁠[17]
Termination letter and unemployment notice	Under New York State law an employer must give a terminated employee written notice of the exact date of termination and of the date benefits are canceled, within five working days, and a written notice of the right to file for unemployment benefits.⁠[18][19]
Pay stubs and benefit statements	Under New York State law, employers furnish a wage statement with every payment of wages.⁠[20] Pay records are the starting point for any lost-pay figure.
Severance or settlement offer, with the date you received it	A release of federal age claims by a worker 40 or older carries a consideration period of at least 21 days, or at least 45 days in a group program, and a revocation period of at least 7 days.⁠[21] See how long to review a severance agreement.
Your own emails, texts, performance reviews, written complaints and the replies	These date the events and show what the employer was told.
Agency paperwork: anything from the EEOC, the Division of Human Rights or the NYC Commission on Human Rights	A federal lawsuit has to be brought within 90 days after the EEOC's notice of right to sue, so the notice and the date you received it are critical.⁠[11][22]
Medical notes and accommodation requests, if the matter involves a disability or leave	Under the NYSHRL, mental anguish may be proved by medical testimony where available, although treatment is not a precondition to recovery.⁠[23]
Job-search records, if you have lost the job	Under federal Title VII, back pay is reduced by interim earnings or amounts earnable with reasonable diligence.⁠[24]

The guide to documenting workplace harassment covers evidence in more depth.

What should you preserve, and what about recordings?

Keep everything as it is. In the New York State courts, a party can be sanctioned for destroying evidence it had an obligation to preserve, where the evidence was destroyed with a culpable state of mind and was relevant to the claim or defense.⁠^[25] That rule applies to whoever controls the evidence, so it is a reason for an employee not to delete texts, posts or voicemails as much as it is a rule for employers.

Tell the lawyer about any recordings before you play them. Under New York State criminal law, the eavesdropping offense covers recording a conversation without the consent of at least one party by a person who is not present at it.⁠^[26] Federal law does not make it unlawful for a party to a communication to intercept it, unless the purpose is to commit a criminal or tortious act.⁠^[27] The details are in recording conversations at work.

What questions are worth asking?

These are neutral questions for any lawyer. The answers will differ from one office to the next.

1. Which laws might apply to my facts: federal, State, City, or more than one?
2. Which filing dates are you counting from, and which is the earliest?
3. Where would you start, with an agency or in court, and what does that choice close off? Background is in the forum comparison.
4. Who would do the day-to-day work, and how will I be kept informed?
5. How is the fee computed, what expenses are separate, and which expenses would I owe if nothing is recovered?
6. What happens to the fee arrangement if I decide to stop or to change lawyers?
7. What should I do, and avoid doing, at work in the meantime?

The fee questions track what the State rules already entitle a client to know. A lawyer hired on a contingent fee must give the client a writing stating how the fee is determined, the expenses to be deducted, and any expenses the client owes regardless of the result.⁠^[28] An attorney who charges a fee must also give a written letter of engagement explaining the scope of services and the fees, expenses and billing practices, unless the fee is expected to be less than $3,000.⁠^[29] See how employment lawyers charge.

What does the lawyer decide, and what do you decide?

The Statement of Client's Rights that New York attorneys post says a client is entitled to have the client's legitimate objectives respected, including whether or not to settle, to be kept informed, to refuse a fee arrangement the client finds unsatisfactory, and to end the relationship at any time.⁠^[10] Nothing in those rights obliges a person to retain the lawyer they consult.

If cost is the obstacle, the State Division of Human Rights takes reports without charge and without an attorney, and several legal aid and referral services exist.⁠^[30] See free and low-cost legal help and whether you need a lawyer at all.

What people commonly get wrong

• "I have three years, so there is no rush." Three years is the period for a State Division complaint and for a court action under the State or City Human Rights Law; the federal charge period in New York is 300 days, and the City Commission's period is one year except for gender-based harassment.⁠^{[5][8][13][2][4]}
• "I filled in the online form, so I have filed." The City Commission says its limitations period does not stop until a verified complaint is signed, notarized, and mailed or personally delivered.⁠^[31]