Adam J. Shafran

Overview

Adam is a partner at Rudolph Friedmann LLP. He is an experienced employment attorney who has counseled and litigated all aspects of the employment relationship. Prior to joining the firm, he was a partner at Ellis & Shafran, a boutique employment firm in Dedham, Massachusetts. For the past five years, Adam was selected to the Massachusetts Super Lawyers Rising Star list for employment litigation, an award recognizing the top 2.5% of attorneys under the age of 40 in Massachusetts.

Adam has recovered millions of dollars in unpaid wages for his clients and has represented employees in unpaid wage claims arising from minimum wage violations, overtime violations, prevailing wage violations, tip act violations, unpaid commissions, unpaid bonuses and related wage violations. He has also represented hundreds of individuals who have been misclassified by their employers as independent contractors. Through Adam’s representation, these individuals have recovered large sums of money owed to them as a result of the often-significant expenses they were forced to bear due to their misclassification.

Adam also represents employees who have been victims of employment discrimination. He has successfully litigated and negotiated the resolution of unlawful employment decisions, including demotions, reprimands, negative performance reviews and terminations.

Adam serves as trusted counsel to executives and other employees on all aspects related to the formation of the employment agreement and separation from employment. He routinely negotiates employment agreements, severance agreements, non-competition, non-solicitation, confidentiality and other employment-related agreements.

Experience

• Obtained a $23 million class action settlement on behalf of approximately 1,000 Pepperidge Farm distributors in Massachusetts, California and Illinois based on allegations of independent contractor misclassification.
• Obtained a $7 million class action settlement for prevailing wage violations on behalf of over 1,000 Waste Management employees in Mullally et al v. Waste Management of Massachusetts, Inc.
• Obtained a $6.5 million class action settlement for prevailing wage violations on behalf of over 700 Allied Waste/Republic Services employees in Swiderski v. Allied Waste Services of Massachusetts, LLC; the case was the largest employment settlement in Massachusetts in 2015 as reported by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.
• Obtained a $5.25 million class action settlement for 250+ employees for prevailing and overtime wage violations action against a regional environmental maintenance company.
• Obtained a $1.15 million class action settlement for travel time violations on behalf of over 100 employees in Domenech v. National Water Main Cleaning Co.
• Obtained a $450,000 settlement against a construction firm for prevailing wage violations.
• Obtained a $250,000 settlement against a national non-profit for wrongful termination in violation of public policy.
• Obtained a $225,000 settlement against a major national bank for race discrimination.
• Negotiated a wage and hour settlement on behalf of 28 clients against their former Texas-based employer in a bankruptcy proceeding in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas; recovered over $10,000 on average per employee, each of whom alleged that the company unlawfully withheld wages due to them.

Accolades

• Best Lawyers in America, Litigation – Labor and Employment (2023-2025)
• Massachusetts Super Lawyers, 2024
• Rising Star, Massachusetts Super Lawyers, 2014 – 2022

Associations & Memberships

• Massachusetts Bar Association, Member

Publications & Events

• DOJ Action Is A Cautionary Tale On Employer No-Poach Pacts
• An Epic Decision: Supreme Court Upholds Class Action Waivers in Arbitration Agreements
• New Massachusetts Employee Leave Laws on the Horizon
• Employers Phone Home – Out of State Employer Sued in Massachusetts
• It Pays to Eat – The Massachusetts Meal Break Law
• An Interest in Interest: Adam Shafran and Jonathon Friedmann Appear Before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
• Class Action Waivers: To Waive or Not to Waive?
• New Overtime Regulations – Is Your Company Ready?
• Amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and How They May Affect Your Business
• Internships and the Massachusetts Minimum Wage Law
• Massachusetts Finalizes Earned Sick Time Regulations
• Let Them Eat Lunch – Massachusetts Meal Break Law
• New Year – New Massachusetts Minimum Wage Rates
• Employer Overtime Policies in Light of Fair Labor Standards Act Changes
• A Primer on the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
• Employees-at-Will: When Can They Not Be Fired At The Employer’s Will?
• Wage Wars – The Rising Tide of Massachusetts Wage & Hour Litigation
• New Developments in Employment Law, Associated Builders and Contractors of Massachusetts, June 12, 2018
• Do This, Not That: Navigating Complex Legal Employment Issues in the Construction Industry, Associated Builders and Contractors of Massachusetts, November 8, 2017
• Do This, Not That: Navigating Complex Legal Employment Issues in the Food and Beverage Industry, The Massachusetts Restaurant Association, February 15, 2017