Dorina Cela

In advocating for employees, Dorina's driving force is her strong passion and commitment to fighting for fairness and equality in the workplace.

After obtaining her B.A. with a double major in political science and psychology from Hunter College, Dorina decided to attend law school motivated by her ingrained desire to dedicate her work to advocating for human rights. Dorina obtained her law degree from Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, where she earned awards for her study of international human rights law and pro bono legal services.

Since beginning her work as an employee rights advocate with Phillips & Associates in 2014, Dorina has zealously and tirelessly represented clients who have been subjected to discrimination in the workplace in state and federal courts, mediations, arbitrations, and administrative agencies.

Dorina is fluent in Albanian. She is admitted to the New York Bar, Federal Courts for the Southern, Eastern, Western, and Northern Districts of New York and is a member of the National Employment Lawyers' Association/New York and the New York City Bar Association.

Dorina utilizes the rights given to employees by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the New York State and New York City Civil Rights Laws to pursue legal action against employers for unlawful conduct. The Civil Rights Act and other state and local laws prohibit unequal treatment based on an individual’s race, ethnicity, gender, and other personal characteristics. Discrimination and harassment are two major categories of unlawful employer behavior. Discrimination occurs when an employer treats an employee or group of employees differently because of a protected personal trait. It may manifest through hiring, firing, demoting, providing benefits, or other employment decisions. Essentially, if an employer makes a decision based on a protected personal characteristic, it may have engaged in unlawful discrimination.

Employers may be liable for sexual harassment if they allow or create a hostile work environment, which is formed by behavior that either unreasonably interferes with the victim’s ability to do his or her job or creates an intimidating, offensive, or hostile environment in the office. Another legally recognized form of sexual harassment is referred to as “quid pro quo” harassment, or behavior intended to elicit certain conduct from employees, such as going on a date with a supervisor, in exchange for a particular benefit, such as a raise or promotion. Sexual harassment is technically a form of gender discrimination, and employees affected by it may be able to receive a wide range of remedies, ranging from compensatory damages and backpay to potential reinstatement.