Lichten & Liss-Riordan, P.C. The Labor, Employment & Class Action Specialists
Lichten & Liss-Riordan, P.C. The Labor, Employment & Class Action Specialists
Welcome to Lichten & Liss-Riordan, P.C.
The Labor, Employment & Class Action Specialists

Lichten & Liss-Riordan, P.C. is a plaintiffs’-side employment and union-side labor law firm, whose attorneys have achieved national recognition for their work representing employees and unions in wage and hour, discrimination, and other employment-related litigation. We have tried many cases before juries and judges in federal and state courts, and we pride ourselves on our innovative and creative approaches to advancing workers’ rights.

Our attorneys have brought and won pioneering class action and individual litigation on behalf of tipped employees, employees who have been denied wages and overtime, employees who have been wrongfully misclassified as independent contractors, and employees who have been victims of discrimination, retaliation, and other forms of wrongful misconduct by their employer.

Our attorneys also have a long and proud history of representing private and public sector unions in all aspects of labor law, including arbitration, collective bargaining, and representation of unions before the National Labor Relations Board, the Massachusetts Labor Relations Commission, the Massachusetts Civil Service Commission, and state and federal courts. We represent numerous labor unions, including more than 40 locals of the Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts, the Boston Police Superior Officers Federation, and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (which represents Verizon workers).

Lichten & Liss-Riordan is a law firm exclusively devoted to the representation of employees and labor unions. We do not represent corporations, large or small; our mission is to advocate for the rights and interests of working people.

Announcements

A federal court has skycapsruled that Coverall of North America misclassified its cleaning worker "franchisees" as independent contractors when they are really employees, granting our motion for summary judgment. We have sued a number of so-called "cleaning franchise" companies that have preyed on immigrant workers by charging thousands of dollars for low-paying jobs, which we allege the companies churn in order to make a profit. In its ruling, the court compared this enterprise to a "Ponzi scheme".
HawaiiThe Hawaii Supreme Court has ruled that waitstaff employees have standing to enforce a state law prohibiting hotels and restaurants from retaining any portion of a "service charge" added to food and beverage bills without disclosing this to the customer. We have filed the first cases ever brought in Hawaii to challenge this practice, which is a widespread deception throughout the hotel industry. We have argued that the total proceeds of any service charge must be distributed in full to waitstaff employees. This is an argument we have won in numerous cases throughout Massachusetts.

Read here about these and our many other successful tips cases.
In the first case of its kind in Massachusetts, king_arthur we have obtained a court ruling that strippers were misclassified as independent contractors. The judge certified the case as a class action and ruled that the dancers were illegally deprived of wages and tips due to their misclassification. Click here to read the court's decision against King Arthur's Lounge, and click here to read what the Boston Globe editorial page had to say.

We are now bringing cases against other strip clubs, challenging these practices, which are widespread throughout the adult entertainment industry.
A federal court has skycapscertified a national class of American Airlines skycaps for their claims that the airline improperly diverted their tip money by imposing a $2 per bag charge for curbside check-in. We won these claims at trial on behalf of nine Boston skycaps in 2008 (in a case that was affirmed by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court) and will now proceed on behalf of all American skycaps across the country who were affected by the $2 charge.


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