• People
  • Services & Industries
  • Insights
  • Innovation
  • Offices
  • My Binder
  • PDF

Cheryl Pinarchick

Regional Managing Partner


Boston

t:617.532.8215

f:617.532.5899

Email

Service Focus

  • Class and Collective Actions
  • Employee Defection and Trade Secrets
  • Employment Discrimination and Harassment
  • Litigation and Trials
  • Pay Equity
  • Wage and Hour

Industry Focus

  • Life Sciences
  • Sports
Find Other Professionals
Select from the following options for a referral to a resource with a different focus.
Services
or
Industries
Overview
Recent Experience
Insights
Credentials
Recognitions
Affiliations

Overview

Cheryl Pinarchick is the managing partner of the firm's Boston office and co-chair of the Pay Equity Practice Group.

Cheryl has extensive experience handling all aspects of employment litigation, including trials in state and federal court throughout the United States and in arbitrations. She has successfully defended employment actions alleging wrongful termination, employment discrimination and harassment, wage and hour violations, retaliation and other related claims. She has also successfully prosecuted and defended trade secret and non-competition agreements in numerous jurisdictions.

Cheryl has a sophisticated wage and hour practice and has obtained favorable outcomes for clients in wage and hour matters, including class and collective actions arising under the Fair Labor Standards Act and various state laws.

Cheryl routinely counsels U.S. and foreign-based companies on compliance with employment laws and litigation avoidance. Her clients include public and private companies in a variety of industries, including financial services, biotech, government relations and emerging technologies.

With the patchwork of state and local pay equity and pay transparency laws, Cheryl dedicates significant time to the legal issues surrounding pay equality and pay transparency, including counseling employers on best practices and legal compliance, conducting pay equity evaluations and representing employers in litigation involving pay equity issues.   She is a frequent presenter on pay equity and pay transparency both locally and nationally and has been quoted in several high-profile publications including Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, Bloomberg Law, Boston Business Journal, and ACC Docket. Cheryl has also appeared on CNN and Boston’s NBC News Station.

Recent Experience

Experience

  • Secured dismissal of five of Complainant’s nine causes of action and then obtained complete defense arbitration award and an award of fees on behalf of national telecommunications company on Complainant’s four remaining claims for wrongful termination, discrimination, retaliation and violation of the Massachusetts Domestic Violence and Abuse Leave Act.
  • Obtained complete defense award on behalf of national telecommunications company in arbitration alleging pregnancy discrimination and retaliation.
  • Obtained the dismissals of discrimination and retaliation claims in charges filed with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination against employers in various industries including healthcare, telecommunications, fitness, life sciences, retail and hospitality.
  • Obtained full defense verdict in a two-week jury trial for claims brought by a plaintiff seeking over $60 million in damages.
  • Obtained full defense verdict in a two-week bench trial for claims brought by a plaintiff seeking over $7 million in damages.
  • Directed and conducted pay equity evaluations for employers of various sizes across multiple industries, including higher education, life sciences, hospitality and retail.
  • Successfully represented international research and development company in connection with pay equity investigation by the Massachusetts Attorney General.
  • Successfully negotiated the resolution of claims alleging violations of state and federal WARN Acts on behalf of putative class.
  • Successfully negotiated resolution of claims alleging violations of state wage and hour violations on behalf of putative classes in numerous matters.
  • Served as court-appointed attorney to investigate potential claims against former officers and directors of company in highly contested proceedings in federal court.

Insights

  • Event

    07/11/23

    Money Matters: What Employers Need to Know About a Pay Equity Evaluation

    Cheryl Pinarchick, Marilynn Schuyler

    Read more 

  • News

    05/25/23

    Co-Chair of Pay Equity Practice Discusses States Race to List Salaries in Job Ads

    Cheryl Pinarchick

    Read more 

  • Insights

    03/16/23

    The Best of FP’s Insights: Pay Transparency and Pay Equity

    Cheryl L. Behymer, Kathleen McLeod Caminiti, Cheryl Pinarchick

    Read more 

  • News

    03/06/23

    Pay Transparency Laws Are Overlooking Bonus Income—for Now

    Cheryl Pinarchick

    Read more 

  • News

    02/02/23

    Pay Equity Co-Chair Discusses Pay Transparency Push in Massachusetts

    Cheryl Pinarchick

    Read more 

  • Event

    01/18/23

    The End of Non-Competes As We Know Them? An Action Plan for Employers

    Michael P. Elkon, Cheryl Pinarchick, David J. Walton

    Read more 

  • Insights

    10/31/22

    FP’s Workplace Law Forecast 2023

    Davis C. Bae, Phillip C. Bauknight, Cheryl L. Behymer, Steven M. Bernstein, Sheldon J. Blumling, Risa B. Boerner, Suzanne K. Bogdan, Kathleen McLeod Caminiti, Laurel K. Cornell, Myra K. Creighton, Jennifer B. Carroll, Michael P. Elkon, David W. Erb, Ilanit Fischler, Jason A. Geller, Rosemary S. Gousman, Susan M. Guerette, Usama Kahf, David R. Kresser, Emily N. Litzinger, Todd B. Logsdon, Todd A. Lyon, Jennifer Mendez, Richard R. Meneghello, Richard A. Millisor, Stephen C. Mitchell, Joshua D. Nadreau, Raymond W. Perez, Cheryl Pinarchick, John M. Polson, Todd B. Scherwin, Evan Shenkman, Adam F. Sloustcher, Kristin L. Smith, Shanon R. Stevenson, J. Hagood Tighe, A. Kevin Troutman, Travis Vance, Sheila M. Willis, Megan C. Winter, Colette F. Wolf, Robert Yonowitz

    Read more 

  • Event

    Tuesday, October 25, 2022 and Tuesday, November 1, 2022

    Pay Equity Virtual Summit Series 2022: Ensuring Compliance with Pay Equity Mandates and Defending Pay Equity Litigation

    Alba V. Aviles, Cheryl L. Behymer, Kathleen McLeod Caminiti, Melissa (Osipoff) Camire, Jessica D. Causgrove, Deepa K. Desai , Andrew Froman, Cheryl Pinarchick, Sarah Wieselthier, Sheila M. Willis

    Read more 

  • Insights

    07/20/22

    FP Forecast: July 2022 Edition

    Cheryl L. Behymer, Kathleen McLeod Caminiti, Richard A. Millisor, Alden J. Parker, Cheryl Pinarchick, Andria Lure Ryan, Todd B. Scherwin, Adam F. Sloustcher

    Read more 

  • Publication

    06/10/22

    Fisher Phillips Partners Provide Roadmap for Summer Hiring in Retail Industry

    Cheryl Pinarchick, Edward F. Harold

    Read more 

View All 

Credentials

Education

  • J.D., Syracuse University College of Law
  • B.A., magna cum laude, Temple University

Bar Admissions

  • Massachusetts
  • New Jersey

Court Admissions

  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts

Recognitions

  • Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America, 2022 – 2024
  • Recognized as Thomson Reuters Stand-out Lawyer, 2023

  • Named “Client Service All-Star” by BIT Consulting Group, 2018

  • National Association of Professional Women, Woman of the Year Circle, 2014
  • Top Women of Law, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, 2012
  • Temple University Athletics Hall of Fame, 2012
  • Robert Dushman Public Interest Award, 2011

Affiliations

Professional Activities

  • Member, American Bar Association
  • Member, Boston Bar Association
  • Member, Society for Human Resource Management
  • Member, National Association of Professional Women

Community Activities

  • Member of Advisory Board, former Trustee, Member of Executive Committee and Chair of Safety Committee, Thompson Island Outward Bound Education Center
  • Past President of Brown Rudnick Charitable Foundation 

We Also Recommend

Subscribe to Our Latest Insights 

©2023 Fisher & Phillips LLP. All Rights Reserved. Attorney Advertising.

  • Privacy
  • CCPA Privacy
  • Legal Notices
  • Client Payment Portal
  • My Binder