Being out at work, or not, is your choice. Being treated fairly is your right.

Who you are, or who your employer assumes you are, has nothing to do with how well you do your job. When an employer holds your actual or perceived sexual orientation against you, that is illegal. It makes no difference whether your employer's assumption is correct: treating you unequally based on a mistaken belief about your orientation is just as unlawful as acting on an accurate one. Dudani Law represents lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer employees, and anyone targeted because of a perceived orientation, in holding employers accountable. We understand how personal these cases are, and we handle every one with discretion and our client's best interests first.

What our clients typically experience

Many of the people we represent felt the shift the moment a manager learned, or assumed, who they are: the cooler treatment, the lost opportunities, the comments tolerated by people who should have stopped them. These cases are deeply personal, and we handle them with discretion, whether the proof is in writing or in the timing.

How to Recognize Sexual Orientation Discrimination

Sexual orientation discrimination occurs when an employee is treated differently because of their actual or perceived orientation, whether gay, lesbian, bisexual, heterosexual, or asexual. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Harassment or hostility from supervisors or coworkers about your sexual orientation
• Slurs, "jokes," or demeaning remarks about gay, lesbian, or bisexual people
• Being denied a promotion or assignment solely because of your orientation
• A supervisor or manager treating you differently after learning, or assuming, your orientation
• Coded comments such as "he's too effeminate for this role" or "she isn't feminine enough"
• Being told not to bring a same-sex partner to a work event when opposite-sex partners are welcome
• Being misgendered or deadnamed by a supervisor who knows your gender identity
• Restricted bathroom access or refusal to honor pronouns for transgender or nonbinary employees

Types of LGBTQ+ Discrimination

Claims under federal, New York, and New Jersey law take several recognized forms:

• Sexual orientation discrimination in hiring, pay, promotion, or termination
• Gender identity discrimination against transgender and nonbinary employees
• Gender expression discrimination, including punishing nonconformity with stereotypes
• Perceived-orientation discrimination, based on what an employer assumes about you
• Associational discrimination, based on your partner, family, or community
• Anti-LGBTQ+ harassment and hostile work environment
• Misgendering and deadnaming that management practices or tolerates
• Denial of equal benefits for same-sex spouses and partners
• Denial of access to facilities consistent with gender identity
• Retaliation after coming out, transitioning, or reporting discrimination

Signs You May Have a Claim

• Your performance ratings dropped after a supervisor learned, or assumed, your orientation or gender identity
• You were excluded from client events, dinners, or projects after disclosing your partner or coming out
• A manager began treating you differently after you transitioned, married a same-sex partner, or asked to use correct pronouns
• You faced a sudden reorganization or restructuring shortly after a coming-out moment
• You were passed over for a promotion in favor of a less qualified colleague after disclosure
• Coworkers tell you what was said about you behind closed doors

Obvious Discrimination and the Kind That Hides

Some sexual orientation discrimination is easy to spot. If an employer says it declined to promote someone, or assign them a particular duty, because of that person's orientation, or puts something like that in writing or in an email, the discriminatory intent is plain. Taunts, lewd comments, and offensive remarks about an employee's actual or perceived orientation are discrimination, and they provide direct evidence that you were treated differently because of who you are.

A great deal of discrimination is far more subtle. An employer with prejudiced views might quietly keep an LGBTQ+ employee away from clients or the public, pass them over for an assignment, or discourage them from bringing a partner to a company event. In those cases, the proof is circumstantial, for example, evidence that the adverse action came shortly after the employer learned of the employee's orientation. We know how to build both kinds of cases.

You Are Protected at Every Level

Federal Law: Title VII and Bostock

In Bostock v. Clayton County (2020), the U.S. Supreme Court held that discriminating against a worker for being gay, lesbian, or transgender is a form of sex discrimination already prohibited by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII, enforced by the EEOC, applies to employers with at least 15 employees.

New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL)

The NYSHRL has banned sexual orientation discrimination since the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act (SONDA) took effect in 2003, and it has covered gender identity and expression since the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA) became law in 2019. As of February 2020, the state law applies to employers of every size, and damages are uncapped.

New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL)

The NYCHRL provides some of the broadest protections in the country and applies to employers with four or more employees. Under the NYCHRL's "treated less well" standard, an employee need only show that their orientation or gender identity played some role in being treated less well than others at work. Damages are uncapped.

New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD)

The NJLAD prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and applies to nearly all employers in the state. Damages are uncapped.

Harassment and a Hostile Work Environment

Persistent taunts, comments, or hostility directed at your sexual orientation or gender identity can amount to an unlawful hostile work environment. Under New York's current standard, the conduct does not have to be "severe or pervasive" to be illegal. It crosses the line once it rises above petty slights and trivial inconveniences. Despite real progress toward equal rights for LGBTQ+ people, many workers still face this kind of mistreatment, and many stay silent because the experience is painful and humiliating. You do not have to. We are here to help you take action.

What to Do If You Believe You Are Being Discriminated Against

• Document everything. A private log on a personal device of dates, times, places, what was said, and who else was present.
• Save the proof. Texts, emails, chat messages, voicemails, schedules, performance reviews. Forward what you can to a personal account.
• Watch for shifts after disclosure. Reviews, assignments, or schedules that change after you came out, transitioned, or asked for pronoun respect are powerful evidence.
• Do not sign a severance before a lawyer reviews it. Severance agreements waive your right to sue.
• Move on deadlines. Title VII: 300 days at the EEOC. NYSHRL: three years. NJLAD: two years to sue.

How to Document

• Contemporaneous notes on a personal device, with dates, times, exact words, witnesses
• Texts, emails, chat logs, voicemails, and images
• Performance reviews before and after disclosure or coming out
• Schedule and assignment records that show pattern shifts
• Names of coworkers who witnessed conduct or heard about it
• Any anti-discrimination, EEO, or anti-harassment policy you were given

Retaliation Is Illegal Too

You cannot be punished for standing up for yourself, whether that means reporting discrimination, supporting a coworker's complaint, requesting an accommodation, or otherwise asserting your protected rights. Retaliation is a separate violation of the law, and in many cases it is easier to prove than the underlying discrimination because the timing tells the story.

What You May Be Owed

• Back pay for wages and benefits lost from the time of the discrimination through the resolution of your case
• Front pay where returning to the job is not realistic, to compensate for future lost earnings
• Emotional distress damages for the psychological harm the discrimination caused (uncapped under the NYSHRL, NYCHRL, and NJLAD; capped under Title VII)
• Punitive damages where the employer's conduct was especially egregious (uncapped under the NYCHRL and NJLAD)
• Attorneys' fees a court can order the employer to pay

Why Clients Choose Dudani Law

• Individualized attention. You are a person, not a case number, and we treat you that way from start to finish.
• Deep investigation. We research thoroughly and gather the evidence needed to build a compelling case for you.
• Compassionate guidance. We handle sensitive cases with empathy and discretion at every stage.
• Command of the law. We know the federal, New York, and New Jersey protections against sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination inside and out.
• No fee unless we win. We represent clients on a contingency basis.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to be "out" to be protected?

No. Federal, state, and local law protect employees from discrimination based on actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity. You are protected whether or not you have disclosed your sexual orientation or gender identity at work, and an employer's assumptions about your identity cannot be the basis for how you are treated.

What if my employer was wrong about my orientation?

It does not matter. Discrimination based on a perceived orientation is just as unlawful as discrimination based on an accurate one. The question is whether you were treated less well because of your employer's view of your orientation, not whether that view was correct.

Are transgender and nonbinary employees protected?

Yes. After Bostock, gender identity is covered under Title VII. The NYSHRL has protected gender identity and expression since GENDA in 2019, the NYCHRL provides some of the broadest protection in the country, and the NJLAD has expressly protected gender identity and expression for years. Misgendering, deadnaming, denying access to facilities consistent with gender identity, and refusing to honor pronouns can all be unlawful.

Do I have to report to HR before I can sue?

No. Under New York law you are not required to use an internal complaint procedure before holding your employer accountable, and the old defense that you failed to use HR has been eliminated under the NYSHRL. An internal complaint can still help create a record, but there is often value in speaking with a lawyer first.

How long do I have to act?

Title VII charges with the EEOC are generally due within 300 days. NYSHRL and NYCHRL claims are generally three years. The NJLAD allows two years to sue. Deadlines are strict, so it is best to speak with a lawyer as soon as possible.