Matthew Thomson is a partner at Lichten & Liss-Riordan, P.C. and has proudly represented workers since he joined the firm in 2013.  His practice focuses mainly on class actions relating to the misclassification of employees as independent contractors and violations of wage and hour laws.  Matt also represents employees in gender, age, and handicap discrimination cases and wrongful termination and whistleblower cases.

Matt has represented employees from a number of industries, including delivery drivers, bread distributors, cable and satellite installation technicians, couriers, exotic dancers, waitstaff employees, automobile detailers, carnival workers, and movers.  These lawsuits have resulted in workers across the country recovering tens of millions of dollars in unpaid wages.  Matt has obtained class certification and summary judgment on behalf of workers in state and federal courts, and he has drafted winning appellate briefs in both federal and state courts.  Matt has also tried cases in state and federal courts as well as in arbitration.

Matt was recently part of the team of lawyers that obtained the first holding under California law that exotic dancers were “employees” of the club at which they worked pursuant to the California Supreme Court’s Dynamex decision.

In 2014, Matt and his colleagues obtained a jury verdict of close to $1 million for a municipal employee asserting whistleblower claims against his employer.

Matt has been named a “Rising Star” by Massachusetts Super Lawyers every year from 2015 to 2020. In 2015, he and his colleagues received the “Zealous Advocate Award” from Centro de Los Derechos Del Migrante for their efforts representing migrant workers in the carnival industry.

Prior to joining Lichten & Liss-Riordan, Matt gained extensive knowledge of civil litigation by serving as a law clerk to the Superior Courts of Massachusetts and Maine.

Representative Cases and Decisions

Gregory v. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Suff. Cty. C.A. No. 19-2728 (Mass. Super. Ct.) (co-lead counsel in lawsuit successfully challenging discriminatory use of juvenile court records to disqualify daycare workers from employment)

Carrow v. FedEx Ground Package Sys., Inc., 2019 WL 7184548 (D.N.J. Dec. 26, 2019) (decision granting class certification to New Jersey FedEx drivers asserting claims that they were misclassified as independent contractors)

Camp v. Bimbo Bakeries USA, Inc., 2019 WL 1472586, at *4 (D.N.H. Apr. 3, 2019) (decision dismissing defendant’s counterclaims and permitting conditional certification of FLSA collective action)

Johnson v. VCG-IS, LLC, No. 30-2015-00802813, slip op. (Cal. Super. Ct. Sept. 5, 2018) (first decision under California’s “ABC” employment test to hold that exotic dancers are employees as a matter of law)

Vargas v. Spirit Delivery & Distribution Servs., Inc., 245 F.Supp.3d 268 (D. Mass. 2017) (decision denying defendant’s motion for summary judgment and granting class certification)

Saunders v. Getchell Agency, 2015 WL 1292594 (D. Me. Mar. 23, 2015) (decision granting class certification to group of caretakers asserting state law overtime claims)

Garcia v. E.J. Amusements, 98 F. Supp. 3d 277 (D. Mass. 2015) (decision granting class certification to group of migrant carnival workers)

Pace v. City of Lynn, Essex Cty. No. 11-1360 (Mass. Super. Ct.) (trial that resulted in $962,000 verdict for city employee under Massachusetts whistleblower statute)

In the News

Education

Northeastern University School of Law, J.D., 2011
Bowdoin College, B.A., 2006

Bar and Court Admissions

Member, State Bar of Massachusetts, 2011

Admitted to practice before the U.S. District of Massachusetts, U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

Thomas Fowler represents employees in wage and hour class action litigation, discrimination claims, whistleblower claims, and labor disputes. He has represented employees from a wide variety of backgrounds, including delivery drivers, cable and satellite installers, municipal employees, and firefighters.

Thomas has practiced employment and labor law since graduating from law school. Passionate about justice in the workplace, he began his commitment to workers’ rights during his time at Denison University as a volunteer union organizer for the SEIU International in a campaign to help the college’s dining hall workers form a union. Thomas continued to dedicate himself to the cause of workers’ rights in law school, where he focused on employment and labor. Thomas was an active member of Boston University’s Housing, Employment, Family, and Disability Law Clinic, representing workers in discrimination and Family Medical Leave Act claims.

Prior to joining the firm, Thomas worked in the Employment Unit of Greater Boston Legal Services as a Boston University Public Interest Fellow. At Greater Boston Legal Services, Thomas worked on unemployment insurance cases, as well as wage and hour cases on behalf of those who could not afford legal representation. His work ranged from representing individual clients to focusing on systemic issues through legislative advocacy and class actions. During his time at Greater Boston Legal Services, Thomas also volunteered as an organizer for the UAW in a campaign to organize adjunct professors.

Education

Boston University Law School, J.D., magna cum laude, 2013
Denison University, B.A., magna cum laude, 2010

Bar and Court Admissions

Member, State Bar of New York, 2014
Member, State Bar of Massachusetts, 2013

Admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, and the U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth, Seventh, and Ninth Circuits.