Sep 25, 2026 · LawyerUnc editorial · New York · Employment · YMYL

New York's three years is not the federal charge

A Human Rights Law claim can be three years. An EEOC charge is often 300 days. Filing with the Division of Human Rights can also close the courthouse door. Unfair is still not illegal.

Last checked Sep 25, 2026 · LawyerUnc editorial. Educational only, not legal advice.

Being walked out of a New York job feels like a case. Most of the time it is not. Private employment here is at-will unless a contract, a union, or a statute says otherwise. Mean is not a statute. Unfair is not illegal.

When the firing is tied to a protected trait, people hear 'three years' and relax. That number is the New York State Human Rights Law. A lawsuit under it is generally three years. A complaint at the Division of Human Rights is also three years, but only for acts on or after February 15, 2024. That is S3255, signed November 17, 2023, amending Executive Law § 297(5). Sexual harassment complaints at the Division were already three years. Older, non-harassment acts were a one-year Division window. For those, the Division door is already shut.

The federal clock did not move. An EEOC charge for Title VII, the ADEA, or the ADA is often due in 300 days, because New York is a deferral state. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5. Three years at the state Division is not 300 days at the EEOC. People miss the federal charge because the state number sounds longer.

There is a second trap inside the state number. Executive Law § 297(9) gives a court claim unless you already filed a complaint with the Division. Filing there can close the lawsuit on the same facts. The Division and the courthouse are not two free tries. The statute has its own exceptions. This page is not the place to pick a door.

Wages are a third clock. Unpaid wages under the New York Labor Law are often six years (Labor Law § 198). Federal overtime is generally two years, three if willful. Do not mix a paycheck claim with a discrimination charge, and do not mix either with workers' compensation if you were physically hurt on the job.

This is a map of the published clocks, not a ruling on your boss, and not legal advice. Last checked 25 September 2026 against Executive Law §§ 297(5) and 297(9), S3255 (2023), the Division of Human Rights deadline page, and 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5.