729 Boylston Street, Suite 2000
Boston, Massachusetts 02116
(617) 994-5800 | info@llrlaw.com
729 Boylston Street, Suite 2000
Boston, Massachusetts 02116
(617) 994-5800 | info@llrlaw.com
Harold Lichten is a founding partner of the firm and has been practicing labor and employment law for more than 35 years. His practice focuses on class action and individual litigation relating to the misclassification of employees as independent contractors, violations of the wage and hour laws, discrimination based on race, sex, and disability, and wrongful termination based on protected activity. He also represents labor unions including police, firefighters, steelworkers, and electrical workers.
Mr. Lichten is deeply committed to the field of civil rights and the protection of worker rights. He has successfully tried many jury trials, recently recovering nearly $2 million for a City Auditor who was unlawfully fired for testifying against his boss. Mr. Lichten has been lead or co-counsel in landmark employment cases around the country and has obtained significant jury verdicts for individuals who have been the victim of discrimination, retaliation, or whistleblowing, and he has argued and won appeals in the United States Court of Appeals for the First, Third, and Eleventh Circuits. In addition to his representation of classes of employees, individuals, and labor unions, Mr. Lichten has frequently taught courses in employment discrimination, misclassification of workers, and labor law for local, state, and national law organizations.
In 2003 and 2015, he was named Lawyer of the Year by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, and he has been voted a Massachusetts Super Lawyer in each of the last ten years. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and New York University School of Law.
Pace v. City of Lynn, Case No. 11-01360, slip op. (Essex Super. Ct., June 6, 2014) (whistleblower case involving city employee with a multi-million dollar verdict won for plaintiff)
Martins, et al. v. 3PD, Inc., 2013 WL 1320454 (D. Mass 2013) (won class certification and summary judgment that appliance delivery drivers were employees, not independent contractors)
Sam Hargrove, et al. v. Sleepy’s, et al., Case Nos. 12-2541/12-2542 (3rd Cir. 2013) (won reversal and remand of decision finding New Jersey truck drivers to be independent contractors, not employees of Sleepy’s)
Scantland, et al. v. Jeffry Knight, Inc., et al., 721 F.3d 1308 (11th Cir. 2013) (reversing trial court ruling that cable installers were properly classified as independent contractors)
Lopez, et al. v. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 463 Mass. 696 (2012) (Supreme Court of Massachusetts reversed lower court decision and held that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts may be held liable under state discrimination law for constructing discriminatory promotional exams)
Amero v. Townsend Oil Company, 2008 WL 5609064 (Mass. Super. 2008) (in one of the first decisions issued under the Massachusetts Independent Contractor statute, the court held as a matter of law that an oil delivery employee had been wrongfully misclassified as an independent contractor)
Welch v. Town of Stoughton, 542 F.3d 927 (1st Cir. 2008) (won appeal and jury verdict finding that the Town of Stoughton had violated the First Amendment and whistleblower rights of a sergeant in the Town’s police department)
Bradley et al. v. City of Lynn et al., 403 F.Supp.2d 161 (D.Mass. 2005) (a successful class action lawsuit which resulted in a finding that the entry-level civil service examination for fire fighters in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts discriminated against minority candidates)
Quinn v. City of Boston, 325 F.3d 18 (1st Cir. 2003) (striking down Boston’s 30-year-old hiring system for fire fighters as discriminatory)
Sprague v. United Airlines, Inc., 2002 WL 1803733 (D.Mass. 2002) (won an 18-day disability discrimination trial, proving that United Airlines unlawfully rejected an applicant for an airline mechanic position because he was deaf, resulting in judgment of more than $1 million)
Dahill v. Police Dept. of Boston, 434 Mass. 233 (2001) (establishing the legal definition of a disability in Massachusetts and won a jury trial verdict of close to $1 million for a police officer wrongfully denied hiring because of a disability)
Maine Human Rights Commission v. City of Auburn, 408 A.2d 1253 (Maine 1979) (landmark sex discrimination case requiring the hiring of the City’s first female police officer)
Mr. Lichten was named a 2003 and 2015 Lawyer of the Year by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.
Boston police lieutenant exam discriminated against minorities, judge says
The Boston Globe | July, 2017
Judge rules Boston police exam discriminated against minorities
The Boston Globe | November, 2015
Court suspends probation officer demotions
The Boston Globe | August, 2015
MCAD ruling supports black Worcester officers passed over for promotion
Telegram & Gazette | July, 2015
NJ’s Definition of ‘Employee’ Revives Sleepy’s Class Suit
New Jersey Law Journal | May, 2015
Fired official wins suit vs. city
The Boston Globe | June, 2014
Black police officials sue city
The Boston Globe | February, 2012
Police hit with bias decision; Two officers may be due ‘millions’
Worcester Telegram | November, 2011
Endo Sales Reps Win Conditional Cert. For OT Suit
Law 360 | June, 2011
Sebring men sue MasTec for OT pay
Tampa Bay Online | June, 2010
Contractors cry foul over benefit-excluding system
St. Petersburg Times | December, 2009
Independent contractor decision has lawyers wary
Mass Lawyers Weekly | December, 2008
Judge says firefighter tests biased and unfair
The Boston Globe | August, 2006
Organized labor of love
The Boston Globe | February, 2005
New York University School of Law, J.D., 1977
University of Pennsylvania, B.A., 1974
Member, National Employment Lawyers Association
Member, AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee
Member, State Bar of Massachusetts, since 1987
Member, State Bar of Maine, since 1978
Admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. District Court of Massachusetts, U.S. District Court of Maine, the U.S. Court of Appeals, First, Second, Third, Fourth, Sixth, Seventh, Ninth, Eleventh, and D.C. Circuits.
Labor unions, wage and hour class actions, wrongful termination, employment discrimination
Lichten & Liss-Riordan 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.
Lichten & Liss-Riordan attorneys have successfully argued many cases before trial and appellate courts, federal and state administrative agencies and at arbitration and have frequently achieved substantial verdicts for their clients. Our attorneys have won landmark cases in the labor and employment area and have had a number of million dollar plus verdicts and settlements in recent years.
Lichten & Liss-Riordan attorneys have successfully argued many cases before trial and appellate courts, federal and state administrative agencies and at arbitration and have frequently achieved substantial verdicts for their clients. Our attorneys have won landmark cases in the labor and employment area and have had a number of million dollar plus verdicts and settlements in recent years.