How we value and resolve employment cases

How do we evaluate a case?

We evaluate every case in the same order: liability, proof, then damages. Liability asks whether what happened to you actually violates a statute or a contract. Being treated badly at work is not by itself illegal. New York is an at-will state, and the conduct has to fall within a recognized claim, such as unpaid overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act and New York Labor Law, discrimination under Title VII or the state and city human rights laws, or a wrongful termination that retaliates against protected activity.

Proof is where most cases are won or lost. We look at what documents exist and who controls them: time records, pay stubs, schedules, performance reviews, texts, emails, HR complaints, and the identity of witnesses who saw the same conduct. In a wage-and-hour case, the employer’s own records are often the strongest evidence, and federal law puts the burden on the employer to keep them accurately. In a discrimination case, proof usually comes from timing, shifting explanations, and comparators outside your protected class who were treated better for the same conduct.

What determines what an employment case is worth?

Value is driven by measurable loss first. That typically means back pay for wages and benefits lost to date, and front pay where returning to the job is not realistic. On top of that, statutes add categories of recovery that can materially change the number: unpaid overtime claims can carry liquidated damages equal to 100% of the wages owed under New York Labor Law § 198(1-a), discrimination and harassment claims can support emotional distress damages, the New York City Human Rights Law allows punitive damages for willful or reckless conduct, and most of these statutes shift attorneys’ fees to the employer when you win.

Several other factors move the range: how long the violation continued, since the lookback differs by statute and New York Labor Law wage claims reach back six years; how many workers were affected, which is what turns an individual claim into a class or collective action; whether the employer can actually pay a judgment; and how much of the record was preserved before you left.

Why prior results never guarantee your outcome

Two cases with nearly identical facts can end very differently. Different employers make different decisions about settling, different judges rule differently on summary judgment, juries vary, evidence that existed in one case may have been deleted in another, and a missed filing deadline can end a strong claim outright. A published number reflects one set of facts, one defendant, and one procedural posture. It is not a prediction, and no lawyer can honestly promise you a result.

What we can do is tell you candidly what we think your case is worth pursuing, and what it is not. If you are weighing an offer to leave, have that document reviewed before you sign. See severance and employment contracts. For general questions about deadlines, evidence, and process, start with our frequently asked questions.