Samantha D. Hardy

Samantha D. Hardy is a partner in the Labor and Employment Practice Group in the firm's San Diego Office. She leads the firm's Retail, Fashion & Beauty Team, and is active on the Food and Beverage team.
 
Areas of Practice

Samantha practices labor and employment law, with a focus on defense of employers in all types of labor and employment matters, as well as on proactively advising employers to avoid litigation. Samantha has handled single plaintiff discrimination, retaliation, harassment, failure to accommodate, wrongful termination, and defamation cases, as well as other statutory, contract and tort-related claims, and has developed an expertise in California and national wage and hour issues. She has a significant amount of experience representing employers in class actions, both within California and nationwide, as well as representing employers before administrative agencies. Samantha regularly advises management on wage-and-hour issues, leave laws, workplace violence prevention, the disability accommodation process, and the discipline and termination processes. She also regularly reviews and prepares handbooks and other employment-related documents, as well as conducting large-scale audits to identify potential violations. Samantha has been active in influencing legislative changes of interest to her clients both inside and outside California.

Honors

Women of Influence in Law, San Diego Business Journal, 2022

San Diego Super Lawyer, 2015-2018

Legal 500 US, Employment Law Counseling, 2007

Articles

• Everything You Wanted to Know About Wage and Hour Class Action Lawsuits But Were Afraid to Ask
• Regular Rate of Pay: Avoiding Common Mistakes in Calculating Overtime Pay in California
• Federal Computer Employee Exemption: Are You in Compliance? 

Retail Law: Retail Trend Spotter

• "The Push for Pay Transparency: New Laws in 2023," February 13, 2023
• "Non-Compete No More? FTC Proposes Broad Ban of Non-Compete Agreements," February 10, 2023
• "Reminder to Employers with California Warehouse Employees," January 31, 2022

Speaking Engagements

• Ms. Hardy speaks frequently to various employers' groups on a variety of issues and is a frequent presenter of the firm's Breakfast With Your Labor Lawyer seminars.
• Speaker, "Now You See It, Now You Don't - Keeping Up with California's Ever-Changing Wage and Hour Laws," National Retail Federation HR and Employment Law Fall Meeting, New York, October 22, 2018
• Co-presenter, "The Impact of Recent Marijuana Laws on the Workplace: A "Joint" Presentation," 2013 Committee on Employment Law Spring Conference, Longboat Key, Florida, April 2013

Events

Memberships

Member, Federal Bar Association

Member, American Bar Association

Member, San Diego County Bar Association

Member, Wage and Hour Subcommittee, National Retail Federation

Digital Media