A former White & Case practice assistant sued the firm in Manhattan Supreme Court on Friday, alleging she was fired for revealing the firm's effort to discipline her for discussing her salary with coworkers, in a double breach of New York state law.

Kristen Blanda is seeking damages and attorney fees from the international law firm, where she worked for less than five months, from Feb. 10 to June 21. Her complaint alleges violation of state law prohibiting employers from silencing salary discussions, as well as retaliation.

Two days prior to her firing, the suit says, Blanda met with two of the firm's human resources personnel, who reprimanded her for sharing her salary information with her coworkers.

In her lawsuit, Blanda said New York law allowed her to talk about her salary with her coworkers in the absence of a written policy in place prohibiting those discussions. However, Charles Busuttil, the firm's human resources manager, allegedly told Blanda on June 19 that she was not permitted to discuss her salary and delivered a reprimand.

Later that day, according to the complaint, Busuttil told Blanda she was not allowed to talk about her reprimand. But by then, Blanda alleges, she had already complained about her situation to a coworker, "specifically voicing her frustration that she should not have been reprimanded for sharing information about her salary with her coworkers, as plaintiff knew that she was permitted to do so under New York law."

White & Case "never, at any time, presented plaintiff with any written policy defining or limiting the circumstances under which defendant's employees are permitted to discuss their wages / salaries with one another," Blanda wrote in her eight-page complaint.

Section 194(4) of the New York Labor Law says "no employer shall prohibit an employee from inquiring about, discussing, or disclosing the wages of such employee or another employee." That same provision does allow an employer to set limits on when and how employees can talk about their salaries through a written policy.

White & Case declined to comment on the case through a spokesperson.

According to the complaint, Busuttil found out Blanda complained about her reprimand and "abruptly emailed and texted her" while Blanda was on an approved vacation. When she called him in response, Busuttil allegedly said she was going to be fired for talking about their conversation.

As a practice assistant, Blanda said she helped the firm's lawyers prepare documents, book travel and "[provide] support for legal work on an as-needed basis."

Blanda is represented by Michael Minkoff, Alexander Coleman and Michael Borrelli of Borrelli & Associates. They did not respond to a request for comment.