Shannon Liss-Riordan

Shannon Liss-Riordan (née Liss; born 1969) is an American labor attorney. She is best known for her class-action cases against companies such as Uber, FedEx, and Starbucks.[1] Liss-Riordan was a candidate in the 2020 United States Senate election in Massachusetts, running in the Democratic Primary for a seat currently held by Senator Ed Markey.[2]

Shannon Liss-Riordan
Born1969
Alma materHarvard College (B.A.)
Harvard Law School (JD)
OccupationLabor attorney

Early life and education

Shannon Liss grew up in Meyerland, Texas.[3] She graduated with a bachelor's degree from Harvard College in 1990, after which she went to work for New York Congresswoman Bella Abzug.[4] An activist during the early 1990s and the feminist movement, Liss-Riordan co-founded the Third Wave Direct Action Coalition with writer Rebecca Walker[5][6] to "mobilize young women." [7] She was coordinator of a seminar at Hunter College in 1992, which featured lawyer Anita Hill and other feminist leaders.[8]

While a first-year student at Harvard Law School, in 1994 Liss organized an auction that featured a copy of the Constitution signed by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and a copy of the Roe v. Wade decision signed by Justice Harry Blackmun and other items.[9] She also wrote a column in the law school newspaper.[10] In 1996,[1] Liss graduated from Harvard Law School.[11]

Career

In 2009, Liss-Riordan co-founded the firm Lichten & Liss-Riordan, where she has filed suits against a number of tech companies in the "gig economy",[12] including FedEx,[13] Lyft, Uber[14] and Amazon.[15] Other suits were filed against GrubHub, Doordash, Square, Inc., Caviar, PostMates, Shyp, Washio, Handy, Homejoy, and InstaCart.[16][17] Many of these cases involved the question of whether the companies improperly classified their workers as independent contractors.[18][19] She has also filed labor suits alleging tips, fees, or wages were improperly taken from workers at restaurants,[20][21][22] strip clubs,[23][24] American Airlines,[25][26] and Starbucks.[27][28]

In 2015, the Wall Street Journal called her "one of the most influential—and controversial—figures in Silicon Valley."[11] Politico included her in 2016 on the "Politico 50" which is list of the people who are "transforming American politics."[29]

Liss-Riordan is best known for leading a class action case on behalf of Massachusetts and California drivers against ride-sharing company Uber, filed in 2013 and known as O'Connor v. Uber.[30][31] The case argued that Uber drivers were misclassified as independent contractors, which the company had done to avoid giving the drivers employer-sponsored benefits and insurance. In 2016, Liss-Riordan advocated for a controversial settlement estimated totaling up to $100 million; when nine different attorneys representing drivers argued against the deal, Liss-Riordan filed to reduce her firm's fee by $10 million for the proposed settlement.[32] About thirty drivers filed objections to the settlement or sought to remove Liss-Riordan as the leader of the class action lawsuits.[33] A final settlement for $20 million in 2019 covered 13,600 drivers, after an appeals court ruling reduced the class from the 385,000 drivers covered by Liss-Riordan's original filing.[34] She later defended her choice to settle the case, after some drivers were dissatisfied with still being classified as independent contractors.[35]

2020 U.S. Senate campaign
Main article: 2020 United States Senate election in Massachusetts

On May 20, 2019, Liss-Riordan announced that she was running for the United States Senate for Massachusetts as a Democrat in the 2020 election.[36] She told journalist Jim Braude that she was inspired by Representative Ayanna Pressley's win against an incumbent congressman.[37] Liss-Riordan reported raising $1.1 million by the Federal Election Commission deadline on June 30, 2019, which included a $1 million personal loan from Liss-Riordan and $145,481 in individual contributions.[38] On January 17, 2020, she withdrew from the race.[39]

References
  1. Levintova, Hannah (December 30, 2015). "Meet 'Sledgehammer Shannon,' the lawyer who is Uber's worst nightmare". Mother Jones. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  2. "Boston Labor Lawyer Shannon Liss-Riordan Launches U.S. Senate Bid Against Markey". WBUR. May 20, 2019. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  3. Kapp, Diana (May 18, 2016). "Uber's Worst Nightmare". San Francisco Magazine. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
  4. Martino, Alyssa (July 15, 2013). "The Worker's Champion". CommonWealth Magazine. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  5. Seigal, Jessica (August 3, 1992). "In Your Face". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 4, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Women on Move for Votes". Daily News. July 1, 1992. Retrieved August 4, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. Bazeley, Alex (April 21, 2016). "Third-Wave Feminism". Washington Square News. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
  8. Sutton, Larry (March 9, 1992). "Anita Hill to Address Feminists on Sexual Harassment". Daily News. Retrieved August 4, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "In Brief". The Transcript. March 18, 1994. Retrieved August 4, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. Deborah Snyder, "Simpson Book Is a 'Must Read' at Harvard," Tampa Bay (Florida) Times, October 27, 1994
  11. Silverman, Lauren Weber and Rachel Emma. "Meet the Boston Lawyer Who's Putting Uber on Trial". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
  12. Poletti, Therese. "The lawyer looking to kill the 'gig economy'". MarketWatch. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  13. "FedEx workers' claim allowed to proceed". Reuters. March 5, 2007. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
  14. Carson, Biz (September 24, 2015). "The Lawyer Who Took on Uber Is Going After More Startups". Inc.com. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
  15. "Amazon delivery drivers sue company over job status". The Seattle Times. October 5, 2016. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
  16. "Labor Lawsuits Filed Against Homejoy, Postmates, Try Caviar". Time. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
  17. Johnston, Katie (December 23, 2012). "Lawyer fights for low-wage workers' rights - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  18. Dawson, Gloria (December 29, 2015). "Meet the Lawyer Challenging the Food-Delivery Industry". Eater. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  19. "FedEx Misclassified Drivers As Contractors, Judge Rules - Law360". www.law360.com. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
  20. "Harvard Club of Boston Sued by Waitstaff". Harvard Magazine. November 23, 2011. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
  21. Lewis, Diane E. (July 27, 2006). "Steak House May Be Liabe for $2.5m". Boston Globe. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
  22. Johnston, Katie (January 17, 2014). "Workers sue TGI Fridays for wage violations - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
  23. White, Jeremy B. "Strip clubs and Big Tech find common cause in California labor fight". Politico PRO. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
  24. Fox, Emily Jane (March 21, 2013). "Strippers vs. club owners in fight over labor rights". CNNMoney. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
  25. Saltzman, Jonathan (February 5, 2010). "Skycaps across US join suit over tips". Boston.com. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
  26. Johnston, Katie (March 7, 2014). "Skycap who was fired after lawsuit awarded nearly $1m". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
  27. "Grande tips payoff for Starbucks baristas". Boston Herald. October 10, 2013. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
  28. "Starbucks Baristas Tip Fight Intensifies". ABC News. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
  29. "#40: Shannon Liss-Riordan – The POLITICO 50". POLITICO Magazine. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  30. Carson, Biz. "This lawyer fought for FedEx drivers and strippers. Now she's standing up for Uber drivers". Business Insider. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
  31. Alba, Davey (August 7, 2015). "Uber's Desperate Fight to Avoid a Massive Class Action Suit". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
  32. "Under Pressure, Lawyer For Uber Drivers Slashes Her Fees". NPR.org. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
  33. Adams, Dan (May 23, 2016). "Attorney for Uber drivers slams critics of $100 million settlement - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com.
  34. Conger, Kate (March 12, 2019). "Uber Settles Drivers' Lawsuit for $20 Million". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  35. Bhuiyan, Johana (April 30, 2016). "Why the Uber drivers' lawyer settled their fight to become employees". Vox. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
  36. "Boston Labor Lawyer Shannon Liss-Riordan Launches U.S. Senate Bid Against Markey". www.wbur.org. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  37. "Shannon Liss-Riordan On Her Challenge To Sen. Ed Markey". News. May 24, 2019. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
  38. "LISS-RIORDAN, SHANNON MS. - Candidate overview". FEC.gov. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  39. https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/01/17/metro/labor-lawyer-shannon-liss-riordan-drops-out-us-senate-primary/
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