Lipsitz Green Scime Cambria LLP
Employment discrimination, harassment, and labor matters
Free ConsultationOften contingency📍 Buffalo
New York gives workers some of the strongest protections in the country, and that matters if you are dealing with discrimination or a firing in Buffalo. The New York State Human Rights Act (Executive Law §296) bans workplace discrimination, harassment, and retaliation, and after the 2019 amendments it reaches nearly every employer and lets you file within three years. You can take a complaint to the New York State Division of Human Rights or to the EEOC, which generally has a 300-day window. Federal cases are heard at the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York on Niagara Square. Most Buffalo employment lawyers handle discrimination and wrongful-termination claims on contingency, or charge $250–$450 an hour to review a severance package or advise on a workplace problem.
Updated May 2, 2026
Employment discrimination, harassment, and labor matters
Discrimination, retaliation, and whistleblower claims
Discrimination, harassment, and wrongful termination for employees
Workplace discrimination and retaliation across Western New York
Want the full editorial breakdown with attorney credentials and client detail? Read Top 10 Employment Lawyers in Buffalo.
Tell us briefly what is going on. We route one confidential request to the best-fit Buffalo firm in our directory.
New York is technically an at-will state, but its anti-discrimination law is broad enough that the at-will rule has real limits. The New York State Human Rights Act protects against discrimination and harassment based on age, race, sex, disability, religion, sexual orientation, pregnancy, family status, and more. The 2019 reforms lowered the bar for proving harassment and extended the filing deadline to three years, so workers in Buffalo have more time and more leverage than they did a few years ago.
Where you file shapes the case. You can bring a Human Rights Act claim to the New York State Division of Human Rights or directly in state Supreme Court in Erie County; federal claims under Title VII and the ADA go through the EEOC first, generally within 300 days, and are litigated at the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York in downtown Buffalo. Unpaid-wage, overtime, and final-paycheck disputes fall under the New York Labor Law, which can award liquidated damages on top of what you are owed.
Most Buffalo employment lawyers who represent employees take discrimination and retaliation cases on contingency, so you pay out of any recovery rather than up front. Severance review, contract negotiation, and general workplace advice usually run $250–$450 an hour. Because New York's deadlines and procedures differ by claim, the first consultation is mostly about identifying which law fits your facts and which deadline is closest.