EMB-140 flight crew received LG LEVER DISAGREE EICAS warning on departure. They run the procedures; declare an emergency and returned to an uneventful landing.

Narrative

Upon gear retraction on takeoff; we got 'Landing Gear Lever Disagreement EICAS' warning. I cycled gear down; got 3 green with no messages. I cycled the gear up; and got 'Landing Gear Lever Disagreement.' Both instances were associated with right main landing gear 'in transit' indication in red. We followed the AOM checklist; put gear down; and returned for landing. During this period; the pilot flying was switched from the First Officer to the Captain. ATC was notified of our difficulty; and an emergency was declared. I also briefed the Flight Attendant and informed the passengers of our problem. I instructed the Flight Attendant that we would handle this as an emergency landing; but only evacuate if the aircraft was obviously damaged. To be certain gear was down; we also completed the manual gear extension procedure. We began one approach; but I realized we were overweight for landing. So I executed a go-around; then flew with gear and flaps down while we burned fuel. I estimated that a considerable period of time would be required to get the weight down to maximum structural landing weight; and given that it was night; the weather was relatively rough (light to occasional moderate turbulence; with low clouds and precipitation); the gear and flaps were creating considerable noise; and the unease that even the suggestion of a maintenance issue can cause in the minds of our passengers; I considered that for the psychological well-being of the passengers it was best that we get on the ground as quickly as possible consistent with safety. Because we had performed the manual landing gear extension procedure; I was very confident the gear was down and locked; and we had no reason to think that it was not: cockpit noises were consistent with the gear down; there was no other indication of gear asymmetry; such as abnormal handling characteristics; and the 'Landing Gear Lever Disagreement' indication went away when the gear was extended. All cockpit indications were that the gear was down. Therefore; I made the command decision that the best course of action was to land as soon as possible in ZZZ; the nearest suitable airport; as per the AOM checklist. The next day; I was informed that the sensors were inoperative and replaced.