Benjamin Steffans graduated from Boston College Law School in 2006 and began his career at Butzel Long in Detroit representing employers in employment law disputes. In 2012, he switched sides, moving to a Massachusetts firm where he represented employees. In 2017, he founded Steffans Legal with an exclusive focus on employment law. That arc, from employer defense to employee advocacy to founding his own firm, is the professional foundation for a practice that has recovered well over $3 million for clients and is now spread across six office locations throughout Massachusetts.
Overview
Steffans Legal, operating as The Employment Law Firm, is a Massachusetts employment law practice founded in 2017 with offices in Fall River, Pittsfield, Springfield, Worcester, Lowell, and Cape Cod/Hyannis. The firm primarily represents employees in employment law matters, though it also offers employer defense services. It handles matters ranging from unpaid wage claims and wrongful termination to discrimination, harassment, and non-compete agreement review.
Benjamin Steffans holds bar admissions in Massachusetts, New York, and Michigan, giving the firm the ability to handle multi-state employment matters. Michael Rivkin, the firm’s employment attorney, earned his JD from Boston College Law School and spent eight years at Cohen Kinne Valicenti & Cook, where he secured millions in settlement funds for Massachusetts workers, particularly in sexual harassment cases. He holds a Martindale-Hubbell Client Champion Premium rating, which has been continuous since 2020.
The firm represented plaintiffs in the Cresco Labs unpaid wages class action. Free initial consultations are offered.
Practice Areas
Employment law is the firm’s only practice area, and it operates across the full spectrum of disputes employees and employers face.
Unpaid wages and wage recovery is a primary focus. The firm handles unpaid overtime claims under federal and Massachusetts wage laws, which have different and sometimes overlapping requirements. It also handles disputes over unpaid bonuses and commissions, withheld tips and service charges, and misclassification of workers as independent contractors when they should be treated as employees, which is a significant wage theft issue in many industries. Vacation pay violations and meal and rest break issues are also addressed.
Workplace discrimination claims cover age, race, gender, and disability discrimination. Both federal anti-discrimination statutes and Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 151B apply to employment discrimination in Massachusetts, and the firm handles claims under both frameworks.
Sexual harassment and workplace harassment cases are a specific focus, particularly for Michael Rivkin, who has secured millions in sexual harassment settlements for Massachusetts workers.
Workplace retaliation and FMLA retaliation cover situations where an employee faced adverse action from an employer after engaging in protected activity, such as complaining about discrimination, requesting protected leave, or filing a workers’ compensation claim.
Medical and sick leave violations address situations where employers have failed to comply with their obligations under applicable leave laws, including the Massachusetts Earned Sick Time law and federal FMLA.
Non-compete and non-solicitation agreement review is offered for employees who are weighing a job change and want to understand the enforceability of restrictions their current employer has imposed. Massachusetts law on non-compete agreements changed significantly with the Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement Act in 2018.
Severance agreement review covers situations where an employee has been offered a severance package and wants legal review of what rights they are waiving and whether the offer is reasonable.
Employer defense services are also offered, making the firm one that represents both sides, though its primary identity is employee-facing.
Attorney Profiles
Benjamin Knox Steffans is the founder and principal attorney. He earned his BS in History and Latin with highest honors from Michigan State University in 2003 and his JD from Boston College Law School in 2006. He began his legal career at Butzel Long in Detroit, representing employers in employment law. In 2012, he transitioned to plaintiff-side employment representation at Cohen Kinne Valicenti & Cook LLP in Massachusetts. He founded Steffans Legal in 2017. He is admitted to the Massachusetts, New York, and Michigan bars. Outside of law, he co-founded Detroit City Football Club in 2011, a professional soccer club in Detroit.
Michael A. Rivkin is an employment attorney with the firm. He earned his JD from Boston College Law School and served as a judicial intern for U.S. Federal District Court Judge Arthur D. Spatt in the Eastern District of New York. He previously worked as a litigation associate at a national Boston law firm before spending eight years at Cohen Kinne Valicenti & Cook. He has secured millions of dollars in settlement funds for Massachusetts workers, with a particular track record in sexual harassment cases. He holds a Martindale-Hubbell Client Champion Premium rating, which has been maintained continuously since 2020. He is admitted to the Massachusetts bar.
Location and Service Area
The firm serves all of Massachusetts from six office locations:
Fall River: 57 North Main Street, Fall River, MA 02720. Phone: (508) 556-9959.
Pittsfield: phone (413) 418-4176.
Springfield, Worcester, Lowell, and Cape Cod/Hyannis offices are also active.
The firm serves the entire state of Massachusetts and, given Benjamin Steffans’s New York and Michigan bar admissions, can handle employment matters in those states as well.
Client Focus
Steffans Legal’s primary client base is workers who believe they have been underpaid, discriminated against, harassed, or wrongfully terminated. The multi-location structure across Massachusetts reflects a deliberate effort to make the firm accessible to workers throughout the state, not just in the Boston metro area.
Free initial consultations are offered at 100% no charge. Contact can be made by phone at (508) 556-9959 (Fall River) or (413) 418-4176 (Pittsfield/primary), or through the website contact and scheduling form at www.steffanslegal.com/
Language capabilities at the firm are not publicly specified.
FAQ
Does the firm represent both employees and employers?
Primarily employees. The firm represents workers in the majority of its matters and built its identity around employee advocacy. Employer defense services are also offered, but they are not the firm’s primary focus.
Is there a fee for the initial consultation?
No. Steffans Legal offers free initial consultations.
Can the firm handle class action cases?
Yes. The firm represented plaintiffs in the Cresco Labs unpaid wages class action, which demonstrates active class action capability.
What types of wage claims does the firm handle?
The firm handles unpaid overtime, unpaid bonuses and commissions, withheld tips and service charges, vacation pay violations, and worker misclassification as independent contractors. Massachusetts has its own wage laws that are often more protective than federal law, and the firm works with both.
What is the Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement Act and does it affect my non-compete?
Massachusetts significantly revised its non-compete law in 2018, imposing new requirements on non-compete agreements for Massachusetts employers. Whether a specific agreement is enforceable depends on when it was signed and whether it meets the current legal requirements. The firm reviews non-compete agreements for employees who want to understand their obligations.
Closing
Steffans Legal built its six-office Massachusetts footprint from a single attorney’s transition from employer defense to employee advocacy in 2012 and the founding of an independent firm in 2017. The firm’s class action experience, its combined recovery record exceeding $3 million, and the presence of two Boston College Law graduates with complementary backgrounds give it both breadth across Massachusetts and depth in the specific wage, harassment, and discrimination claims that most employment cases involve.