Richard S. Loftus (“Rich”) is an experienced litigator who has successfully represented businesses and employers in state, federal, and administrative proceedings and defended those victories on appeal. Rich focuses his practice on defending employers from single plaintiff and class action wage and hour matters, employment discrimination cases, and in litigating noncompetition and commercial disputes between businesses.
Rich also serves as a trusted advisor to clients from a wide range of industries on subjects such as wage and hour compliance, COVID-19 pandemic issues, anti-discrimination laws at both the federal and state level, employment contracts, restrictive covenants and noncompetition agreements, Family and Medical Leave and the Massachusetts Sick Leave law, and other employment-related issues. Rich also helps guide employers through difficult situations regarding their employees, and helps craft employer policies to enable them to minimize issues in the future.
He is particularly passionate about helping his clients avoid the significant penalties that accompany failure to comply with wage and hour laws, and is a frequent author and presenter on that subject.
Prior to joining the HRW Team, Rich was a labor & employment and litigation attorney at a Boston law firm. In that position, Rich’s work included representation of both employers and employees as well as companies seeking to protect their intellectual property. Prior to that, Rich worked in both the Boston and Manchester, NH offices of a regional law firm, where he focused on employment, commercial, and construction litigation. In his first job after law school, Rich clerked for Justice Andre Gelinas of the Massachusetts Appeals Court, where he assisted the Justice in researching and writing opinions of the Court.