overview
Beth Myers specializes in employment law, representing individuals in every aspect of employment relationships with a particular concentration on litigation in state and federal court in cases involving discrimination, sexual harassment and retaliation, wage and hour laws, contracts, and common law.
In discrimination matters, Beth handles cases based on race, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, and religion. She also represents clients with matters involving sexual harassment and failure to pay wages, as well as instances in which clients who complained about discrimination or failure to pay wages or who have taken or requested a medical leave or reasonable accommodation for a disability were subjected to retaliation. Additionally, she reviews and negotiates employment agreements, including initial employment contracts, non-competition agreements, and severance agreements.
education
Northeastern University School of Law, J.D.
New York University, B.A., Psychology
admissions
Massachusetts
U.S. District Court of Massachusetts
honors & awards
Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Top Woman of Law (2023)
The National Law Journal Employment & Discrimination Law Trailblazer (2023)
Boston Magazine’s Top Lawyers List, Labor and Employment (2022-2023)
Lawdragon’s 500 Leading Plaintiff Employment Lawyers (2020-2023)
Recognized as a Women in Law Award Winner by Lawyer Monthly (2018-present)
Massachusetts Super Lawyers (2023)
Massachusetts Rising Stars (2013-2022)
Selected as a Top Female Attorney in Massachusetts (2016-2017)
Boston Magazine Top Women Attorneys in Massachusetts (2016-2017)
National Law Journal and Connecticut Law Tribune’s Boston Rising Star (2015)
community involvement
GLAD – GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders
- Board of Directors
City of Medford School District Race and Equity Task Force
- Member
experience
In her litigation practice, Beth represents employees in cases arising under state and federal anti-discrimination and wage laws, such as:
- Discrimination based on race, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, and religion
- Sexual harassment
- Retaliation for complaining of discrimination/sexual harassment
- Retaliation for taking protected leave under the FMLA
- Failure to pay wages
- Retaliation for complaining of violation of the Wage Act
Beth reviews and negotiates employment agreements, including:
- Severance agreements
- Non-competition agreements
- Initial employment contracts
Notable Jury Verdicts & Judgments
- In August 2018, as lead counsel Beth won a jury trial in Plymouth County Superior Court on behalf of their clients who had been sexually harassed and retaliated against by their former employer. The jury awarded a combined verdict of $290,000. Ebone et al. v. BMI Surplus, Inc., et als. (Plymouth Superior Court, August 2018.
- Beth was lead counsel in a March 2018 sex discrimination and retaliation jury trial, in which she secured a $2M verdict for her client Judy Racow, a female police officer in Winthrop, MA. In 2019, Beth ultimately settled the case and a subsequent retaliation case brought by Racow for more than $3M. Racow v. Town of Winthrop (Suffolk Superior Court, 2018).
- Beth tried case at the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, in which the Town of Winthrop’s first female police officer was discriminated against and denied promotion to the rank of Sergeant for more fourteen years in retaliation for her earlier complaints of sex discrimination. The MCAD ordered the Town to promote Officer Dalrymple to the rank of Sergeant retroactive to 2002, awarded her lost wages and emotional distress damages, and assessed the maximum civil penalty against the town for multiple violations of the anti-discrimination laws. Dalrymple v. Town of Winthrop (MCAD, 2014).
- Beth assisted in the 2011 trial of a discrimination and retaliation case, in which the jury awarded $506,000 to a female Assistant Chief Probation Officer, finding that her employer, the Office of the Commissioner of Probation retaliated against her for complaining of discrimination. Helen Brown et al. v. Office of the Commissioner of Probation et al. (Suffolk Superior Court, 2011).
- Beth helped to obtain a judgment awarding $600,000 to a former Vice President of W.R. Grace & Company in a disability discrimination case. Locke v. W.R. Grace & Company-Conn., et al., Middlesex Superior Court (2012).
Successful Appeals
- Beth successfully argued at the Massachusetts Appeals Court in a case, in which the Trial Court had denied her client’s petition for the award of attorneys’ fees. The Appeals Court reversed the lower court’s decision, and subsequently the matter was resolved privately. Esler v. Sylvia-Reardon and Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass. App. Ct. Nov. 26, 2018).
- Beth assisted with a successful appeal at the Supreme Judicial Court against the State Police, expanding the definition of discrimination claims. In Yee v. Massachusetts State Police, 481 Mass. 290 (2019), the highest-ranking Asian American officer in the State Police sued, because he was repeatedly ignored and passed over for a transfer that would have given him substantially more earning potential. The Trial Court dismissed the case, asserting that Lt. Yee had not shown that he suffered an adverse action necessary to obtain relief. Beth and her colleagues convinced the Supreme Judicial Court that their client had suffered real harm and deserved to be heard.
- Beth briefed the appeal which overturned a Superior Court ruling that set aside a $1.2 million jury verdict awarded to a nurse who Massachusetts General Hospital retaliated against for taking time off under the Family and Medical Leave Act. As a result of the appeal, the court reinstated the jury’s award of $567,500 in back pay damages. Esler v. Sylvia-Reardon and Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass. App. Ct. 2015).
memberships
Massachusetts Chapter of the National Employment Lawyers Association
- Immediate Past-President (2018-2020)
- Vice President (2016-2018)
- Co-chair of the organization’s Programming Committee (2014-2016)
- Secretary (2011-2014)
Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers, Inc.
- Immediate Past-President
- Member, Board of Directors
Supreme Judicial Court’s Standing Committee on Lawyer Well-Being
- Member
American Bar Association and Massachusetts LGBTQ Bar Association
- Mentor
articles
articles
“Boston Strikes $3.3M Deal in Firefighter’s Sex Assault Case,” Law360, January 2021. Click here to read the full article.
“Lateral Transfer Denial Could Be ‘Adverse Action” Under 151B,” Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, February 2019. Click to read the full article.
“Jury Awards Winthrop Female Police Officer Over $2 Million in Discrimination Lawsuit,” The Boston Globe, March 2018. Click to read the full article.
interviews
“Burns & Levinson Adds Employment Partner in Boston,” Law360, January 2021
quotes
“SJC Refines Guidance on Vacations, Medical Leave,” Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, June 2019. Click here for the full article.
“Supreme Court Hands Down Rare ADA Win to Workers in 1st Circuit Case,” Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, January 2019. Click here for the full article.
“Mass. Businesses Grapple With Uncertainty As Partial Ban on Noncompetes Take Effect,” WBUR, October 2018. Click here to read her thoughts.
“Workplace Bullying Remains in the Shadows,” The Boston Globe, December 2017. Click here to read the article.
“Sexual Harassment Claims Could Take Years to Resolve,” Worcester Telegram, December 2017. Click here to read the article.
speaking engagements
“The Impact of Recent U.S. Supreme Court Decisions on DEI Efforts, LGBTQ + Rights and Religious Accommodation”, Panelist, Northeastern School of Law‘s Annual Labor and Employment Program, December 2023
“Ways to Toll the Statute of Limitations in Employment Cases,” Chair, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Inc. (MCLE│New England) Panel, October 2023
“COVID-19’s Everlasting Impact in the Workplace: Vaccine Mandates, Returning to the Office, Managing Remote Work, Reasonable Accommodations & Interjurisdictional Employers,” Panelist, Massachusetts Bar Association 43rd Annual Labor & Employment Spring Conference, 2022
“Substance Abuse, Alcoholism, and Mental Health Issues in the Workplace: Considerations with Respect to Accommodations and Employee Well-Being,” Panelist, The Boston Bar Association, June 2021
“Potential Perils And Pitfalls Of Running A Family Business: From A Plaintiff’s Employment Lawyer’s Perspective,” Presenter, Family Firm Institute’s New England Chapter Virtual Event, May 2021
“Putting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion into Practice in the Workplace,” Panelist, Boston Bar Association’s Employment Law Conference, November 2020
“Winning Employment Trials from the Plaintiff Attorney’s Perspective,” Panelist, MCLE’s Employment Law Symposium, Spring 2020
“#MeToo in the Workplace,” Guest Speaker, Northeastern University School of Law’s 2019 Women in the Law Conference, May 2019
“Trying Sexual Harassment and Sex Discrimination Cases in the Wake of the #MeToo Movement,” Panelist, Northeastern University’s School of Law annual Labor & Employment, November 2018
“Sexual Harassment Litigation in the Wage of the #Metoo Movement,” Panelist, Women in eDiscovery, April 2018
“Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation Discrimination in the Workplace: A Practical Guide,” Contributor, Bloomberg BNA, 2015
“Winning Jury Instructions,” Presenter, National Employment Lawyers Association Annual Convention, June 2014
Panelist, Massachusetts Bar Association’s Annual Employment & Labor Conference, April 2014