he/him

Justin Swartz

Partner

I’ve led many dozens of successful class actions against major corporations. Collectively, those cases have transferred hundreds of millions of dollars of wages from big companies back to the workers who earned them.

Some of these cases also forced companies and entire industries to significantly change the way they treat their workers.

I’m proud of the firm we’ve built, and the strength, resources and expertise we bring to bear for workers. We don’t hesitate to take on cases that matter, big and small, and we aggressively pursue justice with every tool available to us, including our technology, litigation operations, e-discovery, and economics and data analysis teams.

All of this helps us match power with power and achieve great results for our clients.

I also serve as the general counsel of Outten & Golden, a job that’s very important to me. By protecting the firm, I also protect our employees, and their ability to contribute to our fight for workers, and against corporate abuse.

Notable Matters

Secured more than $30 million for misclassified workers in a wide range of industries, including bank workers, financial advisors, retail employees, call center workers, insurance and healthcare workers, and many others.
Secured $3.5 million for workers at a major New York City supermarket, who were not properly paid overtime.
Secured tens of millions of dollars for restaurant and fast-food workers who were not properly paid at major restaurants and chains across the U.S.
Represented hundreds of Ground Zero cleaning workers who risked their health and were not paid overtime and other wages they had earned.
Represented employees of Mike Bloomberg’s 2020 presidential campaign, who allege they were improperly terminated and not paid overtime.

Credentials

B.A., University of Richmond
J.D., DePaul University School of Law
Admitted to practice law in New York and Illinois
Admitted to the U.S. District Court for the Southern, Eastern and Western Districts of New York; and the Northern District of Illinois
Former Board Member, National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA), New York Chapter
Former Co-Chair, NELA National Wage and Hour Committee
Former Co-Chair American Bar Association Equal Employment Opportunity, and Ethics and Professional Responsibility Committees
Former Member, New York City Bar Association; and the Association’s Committees on Civil Rights, and Labor and Employment Law
Co-Chair, New York State Trial Lawyers Employment Law Committee

My Story

In my second year of law school, I was offered interviews with several “white shoe” law firms. I attended one or two of them and then cancelled the rest. I knew that representing corporate America wouldn’t feel right. I knew back then that I wanted to be a counterweight to the immense power that corporations have, which they use to their employees’ detriment.

I’m glad that I made that decision so many years ago.

I’ve devoted my career to punishing companies that violate employment laws and abuse their power. The bottom line is corporations aren’t people, and they don’t have feelings. The only way to hold them accountable, and to change their practices, is to make them pay.

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