The Boston Regional Solicitor's Office

The Boston Regional Solicitor's Office is responsible for civil trial litigation and legal advice and support for the U.S. Department of Labor for matters arising in the following states:

• Connecticut
• Maine
• Massachusetts
• New Hampshire
• Rhode island
• Vermont

The Boston Regional Solicitor's Office employs approximately 28 attorneys and 5 legal support staff.

WHAT WE DO:

The Boston Regional Solicitor's Office:

• recommends and prosecutes litigation in administrative law courts and U.S. District and Bankruptcy Courts throughout New England;
• provides legal and strategic advice and assistance to DOL worker protection agencies in support of their enforcement priorities;
• works cooperatively with state and local governments and with worker advocacy organizations to achieve common worker protection goals; and
• assists United States Attorney's offices and state and local prosecutors in the prosecution of criminal cases arising from DOL agency civil investigations

Boston Regional Solicitor's Office attorneys may be called upon to handle matters in any of the Department of DOLs program areas. Most work performed in this region arises out of investigative activity by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (including Whistleblower), the Wage and Hour Division, the Employee Benefits Security Administration, and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. Among the industries we often deal with are construction, restaurants, temporary staffing agencies, insurance companies, and financial services companies. We frequently handle cases involving:

• workers misclassified as independent contractors or otherwise harmed by predatory employment practices
• workers exposed to hazardous conditions in their workplaces
• retaliation against workers who complaint about suspected violations of their rights as well as workers who cooperate with DOL investigations
• service providers to pension and welfare plans

OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

OSH Act Enforcement

Obtaining a decision from a Massachusetts state licensing board to revoke a contractor’s construction supervisor’s license for repeated violations of the OSH Act and failing to pay OSHA penalties.

https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/osha/osha20240108

Enforcing a contempt order issued by the U. S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit to a Massachusetts roofing company after the company failed to honor a settlement agreement with OSHA in which the company pledged to pay its outstanding OSHA penalties and implement specific safety improvements.

https://www.osha.gov/news/newsreleases/region1/02092023
https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/osha/osha20221109

Obtaining a trial decision against a New Hampshire general contractor who claimed he was not an employer, including $162,000 in penalties for which the employer was held personally liable, as well as attorneys’ fees as a sanction for failing to comply with his discovery obligations.

https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/sol/sol20231130

Obtaining a trial decision against a Maine roofing contractor for willful fall protection violations, including $1.57 million in penalties for which the employer was held personally liable.

https://www.osha.gov/news/newsreleases/region1/06282023

Obtaining a trial decision against a Massachusetts behavioral hospital and its parent company for their failure to sufficiently protect employees at a Massachusetts behavioral health facility from workplace violence, including attorneys’ fees in both the administrative proceeding and in a U.S. District Court subpoena enforcement action for failing to preserve relevant video and comply with discovery obligations.

https://www.osha.gov/news/newsreleases/region1/04252023
https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/sol/sol20211221

Supporting the federal criminal prosecution and conviction of the owner of a Connecticut construction company who made false statements concerning OSHA’s investigation of one of the company’s work sites.

https://www.justice.gov/usao-ct/pr/contractor-pleads-guilty-lying-osha-investigators

Helping to negotiate favorable resolutions of citations issued by OSHA in inspections conducted after one or more employees were killed, suffered severe injury, or were at risk of same, including:

• A fatal trench collapse in Connecticut:
  https://www.osha.gov/news/newsreleases/region1/01302023
  https://www.osha.gov/news/newsreleases/brief/03172023
• Fall hazards at a New Hampshire worksite;
  https://www.osha.gov/news/newsreleases/region1/02272023
• An electrical arc flash/blast fatality in Massachusetts; and
  https://www.osha.gov/news/newsreleases/region1/01122023
• Hazardous chemical exposures at a Connecticut testing facility.
  https://www.osha.gov/news/newsreleases/region1/09162022

Whistleblower Enforcement

Obtaining a $650,000 jury verdict in U.S. District Court against a Massachusetts construction company and its chief executive officer that retaliated against an employee after he reported an injury by initiating a law enforcement investigation and facilitating his detention by immigration authorities.

https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/sol/sol20220622

Obtaining a consent judgment requiring a Connecticut manufacturing company to pay $160,000 in back wages, interest, emotional and exemplary damages to two employees who were fired after filing OSHA complaints.

https://www.osha.gov/news/newsreleases/region1/01282019

Wage and Hour Enforcement

Securing a consent judgment requiring an east coast restaurant chain to pay $11.4 million in back wages and liquidated damages to more than a thousand employees.

https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/whd/whd20231109

Successfully intervening in a private FLSA lawsuit in Vermont and obtaining dismissal of the employer’s countersuit against the plaintiff workers.

https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/whd/whd20231212
https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/sol/sol20230321

Securing a consent preliminary injunction against a New Hampshire home healthcare business and its president prohibiting them from retaliating against employees and interfering with the Department’s investigation, as well as a consent judgment requiring the company and president to pay $950,000 in back wages and liquidated damages, and $50,000 in punitive damages related to the retaliation claim.

https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/WHD/WHD20221102-2
https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/whd/whd20230711-1

Securing a consent judgment requiring three Newport, Rhode Island restaurants to pay $554,000 in back wages and liquidated damages to 125 employees.

https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/whd/whd20231019-0

Securing a consent judgment requiring six Connecticut restaurants and their owners to pay $858,000 to 105 employees.

https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/whd/whd20230725-1

Securing a consent judgment requiring a Boston-area restaurant and its owner to pay punitive damages and prohibit them from retaliating against employees.

https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/whd/whd20230306

Obtaining $133,000 in overtime back wages for Maine correctional officers working under a federal contract.

https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/whd/whd20231024

Employee Retirement and Income Security Act Enforcement

Securing a consent judgment requiring a Connecticut nursing home operator and its principal to restore almost $4 million to the company’s health and retirement plans.

https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/ebsa/ebsa20200728

Negotiating a settlement with a Maine welding equipment supplier and its owners that required the company to pay $6.3 million to participants in its employee stock ownership plan after the company owners manipulated the valuation of the shares in the plan to the detriment of the participants and beneficiaries.

https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/ebsa/ebsa20221219

Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs Enforcement

Assisting OFCCP obtain a conciliation agreement requiring the University of Connecticut to pay $249,539 to resolve alleged pay discrimination against seven female employees, as well as ensuring that all employees are afforded equal employment opportunities.

https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/ofccp/ofccp20201019

Assisting OFCCP obtain a conciliation agreement requiring a Rhode Island law firm to pay $150,000 in lost bonuses and interest to resolve alleged pay discrimination against 22 female associates, as well as ensuring that all employees are afforded equal employment opportunities.

https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/ofccp/ofccp20201001

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AGENCIES SUPPORTED:

• Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
• Wage and Hour Division (WHD)
• Office of Federal Contract Compliance (OFCCP)
• Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA)

LAW AND PARALEGAL STUDENT INTERN PROGRAM:

The Boston Regional Solicitor's Office operates a vigorous law and paralegal student intern program year-round, offering students exposure to the full range of activities the office engages in. Several of our former interns have gone on to become participants in the Department's Honors Program.

CONTACT INFORMATION: