Brooklyn Employment Law Attorneys

Brooklyn workers frequently face wage theft (especially in restaurants, retail, and construction), workplace discrimination based on race, national origin, and gender, sexual harassment in the hospitality industry, retaliation for reporting unsafe conditions, and misclassification of employees as independent contractors. Brooklyn's rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods have also seen an increase in construction worker safety violations and wage disputes. All Brooklyn workers are protected by the NYCHRL, NYSHRL, and federal employment laws.

Tip theft is illegal under both New York Labor Law and the federal FLSA. Your employer cannot keep your tips, require you to share tips with managers or owners, make illegal deductions from your wages, or pay below the tipped minimum wage without meeting the tip credit requirements. Brooklyn restaurant workers who experience tip theft can recover stolen tips, liquidated damages (double the amount owed), prejudgment interest, and attorney fees. Contact our attorneys for a free case evaluation.

Brooklyn workers can file with the NYC Commission on Human Rights (which has an office in Downtown Brooklyn), the NYSDHR Brooklyn Regional Office, the EEOC, or the New York State Department of Labor for wage claims. Lawsuits can be filed in Kings County Supreme Court or federal court in the Eastern District of New York (also located in Downtown Brooklyn). Our attorneys will advise on the best venue for your specific claim.

Brooklyn construction workers have extensive protections. New York Labor Law Section 240 (the Scaffold Law) provides strict liability for gravity-related injuries on construction sites. You are entitled to fair wages, overtime pay, and proper safety equipment. Employers cannot retaliate against you for reporting safety violations to OSHA or the NYC Department of Buildings. If you are being paid off the books, misclassified, or denied overtime, you may be owed significant back wages and penalties.

No. Under the NYCHRL, employers cannot discriminate against workers based on immigration status or citizenship. This includes hiring, firing, pay, and working conditions. Employers also cannot threaten to report workers to immigration authorities as retaliation for asserting workplace rights. Undocumented workers in Brooklyn are protected by wage and hour laws and anti-discrimination statutes. You have the right to file complaints and seek legal remedies regardless of your immigration status.

Our Brooklyn employment attorneys work on contingency — you pay nothing unless we win. There are no consultation fees, retainer charges, or upfront costs. We handle wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, and wage theft cases throughout Brooklyn at no cost to you unless we recover compensation on your behalf.