Are you being sexually harassed at work in Queens?
At Bloom Fudali, we are trial-tested workplace sexual harassment lawyers committed to thorough preparation in every matter.
If you were sexually harassed at a Queens workplace and your employer ignored your report or punished you for making it, you may have claims for both the harassment and the employer’s response. Our Queens, NY workplace sexual harassment lawyer can examine how the company handled your complaint, file the claim in the agency or court that fits it, and negotiate settlement terms on your behalf.
Bloom Fudali has handled sexual harassment cases for employees since the firm opened in 2010. Ask for a free consultation to discuss what happened and what you hope to achieve.
Workplace Sexual Harassment Lawyer Queens, NY
Workplace sexual harassment is unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature, or treatment based on sex or gender, that affects a person’s job. It includes demands for sexual favors in exchange for job benefits, as well as comments, messages, and touching that make work harder to do. The person responsible can be a supervisor, a coworker, or a client or customer. A single awkward remark or an invitation that was declined once is usually not enough to support a claim. The law looks at whether an employee was treated worse because of sex or gender and how the employer responded once it knew.
Queens had 51,188 private employer establishments with 616,045 employees in 2023. Our Queens workplace sexual harassment attorneys represent employees of small businesses and large companies alike, because New York City’s protections against gender-based harassment apply regardless of how many people an employer has.
Types of Workplace Sexual Harassment Cases We Handle in Queens
Who committed the harassment affects how responsibility is assigned to the employer. Our Queens workplace sexual harassment lawyers handle cases involving the following conduct.
- Quid pro quo harassment. A manager links a raise, a schedule, a promotion, or continued employment to a sexual relationship. We gather the messages and the employment decisions that followed a refusal.
- Harassment by supervisors and executives. City law generally holds an employer responsible for harassment by its managers and supervisors. These cases often involve people with authority over hiring, pay, and assignments.
- Harassment by coworkers. When the harasser is a peer, the claim usually depends on what the employer did after a report or after managers saw the conduct.
- Harassment by clients, customers, and vendors. An employer that keeps assigning an employee to a client who harasses her may be liable for failing to protect the employee.
- Sexual messages, images, and comments. Explicit texts, posts in group chats, and comments about an employee’s body are common evidence. Conduct outside work hours can still count when it comes from someone at work.
- Interns, contractors, and consultants. New York law extends harassment protections beyond regular employees to interns and to many people who work in a company’s workplace under contract.
- Retaliation after a complaint. A demotion, reduced hours, or termination after a harassment report can support a separate claim, even if the harassment claim itself is disputed.
- Hostile work environments. Repeated sexual comments or gender-based treatment can change the conditions of a job over time. These claims focus on the pattern of conduct and whether it altered the terms of the job.
- Workplace sexual assault. Harassment sometimes escalates to unwanted physical contact. Assault claims have different filing deadlines from harassment claims.
Why Choose Bloom Fudali as My Workplace Sexual Harassment Lawyer in Queens, NY?
Harassment Cases in Media and Government
Our founder, Lisa Bloom, has represented women who reported sexual harassment by prominent men at work. She represented three women on a pro bono basis in matters involving Bill O’Reilly and developed the strategy that led to his exit from Fox News. She also represented a congressional staffer whose allegations led to the resignation of Representative John Conyers. Before founding Bloom Fudali in 2010, Lisa spent nine years representing victims full time at another firm.
Trial and Arbitration Experience
Arick Fudali has co-led jury trials and arbitrations with Lisa in sexual harassment cases. Some cases are decided by an arbitrator rather than a jury, and Arick has presented cases in both settings. He earned his law degree from the University of Florida.
The firm’s results include millions of dollars recovered for employees and survivors:
- An $11 million jury verdict in a sexual harassment case
- $10.1 million in an employment matter
- $1.5 million in a sexual harassment and civil rights case
Bloom Fudali accepts workplace sexual harassment cases on contingency.
What Is Important to Understand About a Workplace Sexual Harassment Case?
What Is The Workplace Sexual Harassment Case Timeline?
Each agency and court sets its own filing period. Choosing one forum can prevent the same claim from being heard in another, so our Queens workplace sexual harassment lawyers identify the right forum before any deadline approaches.
| Where the claim is filed | Filing period |
| U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission | Within 300 days of the most recent incident |
| NYC Commission on Human Rights | Within three years for gender-based harassment, under the City Commission process |
| NYS Division of Human Rights | Within three years of the most recent incident, through a state discrimination report |
| State court, City or State Human Rights Law | Within the three-year limit for statutory claims |
| Federal court, Title VII | Within 90 days after the EEOC issues a Notice of Right to Sue |
Federal cases arising in Queens are filed in the Eastern District of New York, and state cases are filed in Queens County Supreme Court. Most matters begin with an agency charge or a demand letter to the employer. Investigations and discovery can take a year or more, and many cases resolve in mediation before a hearing or trial.
Damages, Liability, and Compensation for Workplace Sexual Harassment Cases
An employer can be responsible for harassment by a manager or supervisor, and for harassment by coworkers when it knew about the conduct and failed to take prompt corrective action. A Queens, NY workplace sexual harassment attorney looks closely at what the employer was told, when, and by whom.
Compensation can include back pay for wages lost after a demotion or termination, front pay when returning to the job is not realistic, and damages for emotional distress. Under the state Human Rights Law, punitive damages are available against private employers, and a court may award attorney’s fees. The City Commission can award emotional distress damages without a set limit and impose civil penalties of up to $250,000 for willful violations. Penalties are paid to the city rather than to the employee.
What Are Important Aspects of a Workplace Sexual Harassment Case?
The steps an employee takes while still employed can affect the evidence available later. A workplace sexual harassment attorney in Queens, NY reviews these points early in a case.
- Internal reports: Employers in New York must maintain a prevention policy that includes a way to file a complaint. A written report creates a dated record, although many employees delay reporting harassment and still recover.
- Copies of evidence: Save your own messages and notes outside work systems. Do not take confidential company documents without legal advice.
- Resigning: Leaving a job can limit the damages available. A forced resignation is treated as a firing only when conditions became intolerable.
- Settlement terms: New York limits confidentiality terms in harassment settlements, and an employee has time to consider them before signing.
- Avoidable errors: Deleting messages, posting about the case, and signing a severance release without review are common mistakes that can weaken a claim.
What Should You Bring to Your Workplace Sexual Harassment Consultation?
Records from your job help show who was involved and how the employer responded.
- Communications: Texts, emails, chat messages, or social media contact from the person who harassed you.
- Employment records: Your offer letter, pay stubs, performance reviews, and any notice of discipline or termination.
- Reports: Any complaint you made to a manager or HR, and the employer’s written response.
- Agreements: An employment contract, arbitration agreement, or severance offer you received.
- Witnesses: Names of coworkers who saw the conduct or heard about it from you at the time.
Our Queens workplace sexual harassment attorneys keep what you share in the consultation confidential. We review these materials with you and explain which agency or court fits the claim.
Reach Out to Bloom Fudali to Schedule a Consultation
Contact us to learn whether the conduct at your job supports a sexual harassment claim and which filing deadline applies. Our Queens workplace sexual harassment lawyer can determine whether your employer, a supervisor, or both may be held responsible. You do not need to have reported the harassment at work before contacting us. Bloom Fudali can begin with whatever messages or records you already have.