
Brendan is an experienced and creative litigator, advisor, and counselor to public, private, start-ups, and closely-held companies. Brendan also represents high-level executives in the negotiation of their employment agreements and compensation. Brendan dedicates a substantial portion of his practice to employment litigation, regularly practicing before state and federal courts, arbitrators and administrative agencies. Brendan focuses on wage and hour class and collective actions, restrictive covenant matters, False Claims Act cases, and shareholder disputes among the owners of closely-held companies. In addition, Brendan regularly litigates sexual harassment, disability, retaliation, and other employment discrimination and whistleblower suits.
Brendan has a wide range of experience in solving the labor and employment issues that employers face on a daily basis. Brendan regularly counsels employers on, among other things, employment and separation agreements, employee handbooks, restrictive covenants, providing reasonable accommodations to employees with disabilities, workplace safety, conducting internal investigations of employee complaints, and employee leaves of absence.
In addition to the firm’s Employment, Labor & Benefits group, Brendan is also a member of the Litigation and Construction groups. As a member of the firm’s Construction group, Brendan represents various contractors on OSHA and prevailing wage matters. Moreover, Brendan works closely with the firm’s Health Care and Corporate groups to advise and consult on corporate governance and transactional matters.
Brendan is a frequent lecturer on the ever-evolving federal and state employment laws, with a focus on presentations concerning wage and hour and restrictive covenant issues.
Prior to joining Mintz, Brendan worked as a litigation associate in the labor and employment practice group at a prominent law firm’s Boston office.
Experience
Litigation Experience
- Dismissed a nationwide FLSA collective action filed against a department store retailer in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts based on arbitration agreements that employees signed, pursuant to the United States Supreme Court’s “Epic Systems” decision
- Successfully settled a FLSA and Rule 23 putative wage and hour class action filed against a home health care company in the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island, which followed a beneficial ruling at the motion to dismiss stage
- Successfully settled a disability, sexual orientation, and overtime claim filed by a certified registered nurse anesthetist in the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island on the eve of summary judgment and following a multitude of depositions
- Successfully mediated a race discrimination claim at the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination on behalf of a Massachusetts general contractor
- Successfully mediated a former employee’s First Amendment and other constitutional claims on behalf of a Connecticut general contractor
- Successfully mediated a complex software contract dispute on behalf of a New Hampshire hospital and before suit was filed
- Secured partial summary judgment on a prevailing wage and independent contractor misclassification lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut, which led to a favorable settlement for a Connecticut paint contractor
- Defeated both FLSA conditional and Rule 23 class certification filed against a package delivery company in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
- Dismissed a putative Rule 23 class action for prevailing wage from the Massachusetts Superior Court’s Business Litigation Session on behalf of an electrical contractor
- Dismissed a putative Rule 23 class action for alleged Sunday premium pay from the Rhode Island Superior Court’s Business Calendar based on an argument that the applicable statute lacked a private cause of action
viewpoints
Supreme Court Clarifies the Meaning “Salary Basis” Under Federal Overtime Law
March 3, 2023 | Blog | By Brendan Lowd, Kathryn Droumbakis
The Massachusetts High Court Holds That Employers Are Now Automatically Liable For Treble Wage Damages for Any Untimely Paid Final Wages
April 15, 2022 | Blog | By Brendan Lowd, Danielle Dillon
Nurturing a Community-Based Approach to Food Access
January 18, 2022 | Article
Conference Recordings: Mintz's Annual Employment Law Summit
March 12, 2021 | Webinar | By Michael Arnold, David Barmak, Micha Mitch Danzig, Geri Haight, Andrew Matzkin, David Lagasse, Jennifer Rubin, Alexander Hecht, Danielle Bereznay, Delaney Busch, Corbin Carter, Emma Follansbee, Natalie C. Groot, Paul Huston, Brendan Lowd, Nicole Rivers, Richard Block
Part Eight of the COVID-19 Roadmap Series: Avoiding COVID-19 Wage & Hour and Labor Law Pitfalls
May 15, 2020 | Blog | By Delaney Busch, Brendan Lowd
Remember that wage and hour concerns, and how to properly address them, will often depend on whether a company is dealing with exempt employees (i.e., employees not entitled to overtime pay regardless of the number of hours worked in a day or week) or non-exempt employees (i.e., employees entitled to overtime pay if the employee works more than eight hours a day or forty hours in a week, depending on the state). This critical distinction will largely govern how employers should consider and plan for the issues described below.
Two Recent FLSA Decisions Bring Good News to Employers
January 14, 2019 | Blog | By Brendan Lowd
News & Press
Mintz Announces New Member Growth
December 16, 2022
Twenty-Eight Mintz Attorneys Named To Boston Magazine’s Top Lawyers List
November 22, 2022
Where in the World Is the Gig Economy Working?
March 12, 2019
Events & Speaking
Mastering Absence Management, "Compliance - Overview of Regulations"
New England Employee Benefits Council
Boston, MA
Recognition & Awards
- Best Lawyers in America "Ones to Watch": Litigation - Labor and Employment (2021; 2023); Labor and Employment Law - Management (2023)
- Boston Magazine Top Lawyers – Employment (2021-2022)
- Included on the Massachusetts Rising Stars: Employment & Labor List (2017-2022)
Involvement
- Member, Boston Bar Association
- Member, Massachusetts Bar Association
- Member, Rhode Island Bar Association
- Member, American Bar Association
- Volunteer, Boston Bar Association Bar Exam Coaching Program
- Volunteer Admissions Interviewer, Georgetown University Law Center