You deserve to be recognized for your hard work. When an employer neglects or outright refuses to pay you for the hours you have worked, you will most likely turn to filing a labor violation claim to seek proper recourse. You may have questions about how you should go about doing this and how long you have. Contact our experienced Buffalo employment attorneys today to schedule a free consultation.
Filing a Labor Violation Claim | Statute of Limitations
Oftentimes, when people come in to see us or contact us via a phone call – and literally hundreds of lawyers refer claims to me – the question is, “How long do I have to bring a claim?” What they’re referring to is what lawyers refer to as the employment statute of limitations. How long do you have to bring a claim? There are two different routes that those claims may take. On the federal side, the laws apply if you work for an employer with at least 15 employees. The state side also has laws that apply to discrimination and most termination type issues.
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Filing a Labor Violation Claim | Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
On the Federal Court side, you must first go through the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission – what’s commonly referred to as the EEOC. In New York State, an EEOC claim must be filed within 300 days. I don’t know why they chose a limit of 300 days as opposed to a year, but that’s what they did. There are two ways to bring a state claim. The first goes through the New York State Division of Human Rights, and those claims must be filed within a year. The other approach is to go straight to court.
You can’t go straight to court on the federal side, but on the state side, you have that option, and the statute of limitations for claims of racial discrimination, reverse discrimination, or gender discrimination is three years. That is the three-year statute of limitations of the New York Executive Law, otherwise known as the Human Rights Law.
Contact an Experienced Buffalo Employment Lawyer Today
The experienced Buffalo employment attorneys at Chiacchia & Fleming, LLP have extensive experience in aggressively representing the rights of employees in all kinds of workplace disputes. Contact us today to schedule a consultation. Let our experience work for you.