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Sarah Hamill

Sarah guides clients through labor and employment strategies that will keep them in compliance with the law—and make them the best employers possible. She practices from San Diego as a member of our virtual office, The Link.

Sarah’s true passion is educating clients, helping them develop compliance plans, and enabling them to effect positive change for their employees. She sees herself as just as much of a teacher as she is an attorney: her goal is to help clients understand employment laws and their implications so that they can implement best practices and do the right thing for their employees. She’s known not only for her intelligence, legal acumen, and work ethic, but also for her kindness and her gift for explaining complex legal concepts. First drawn to law and to her practice area by her interest in economic development, Sarah understands how important clients’ businesses are to them, to their workers, and to their communities, and she values the opportunity to help clients ensure that their organizations are excellent places to work.

At the beginning of her career, Sarah devoted two years to clerkships in the district courts and worked at a boutique appellate firm. While she no longer litigates, her early experience means that she is extremely well-versed in civil procedure and understands the nuances of litigation well. Her background gives her an inside perspective on where employment practices can go wrong and what proactive steps clients can take to stay out of court. She has previously defended clients in a variety of employment matters, including allegations of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation; wage and hour violations; and wrongful termination.

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In previous legal updates, our team analyzed the recent executive order entitled Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity, which encourages, but does not mandate, that private employers end certain Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) practices that the order considers “illegal.” Despite the executive branch’s shift in its approach to DEI, the underlying legal framework for private employers has not changed. The same is true for the recent executive order on gender identity entitled “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.” While this order introduces significant changes for federal agencies and federal contractors, private employers remain largely unaffected at this time.

U.S. Supreme Court, in Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana

On January 15, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a rare unanimous decision in EMD Sales Inc. v. Carrera, addressing the standard of proof employers must meet to establish that an employee is exempt from the minimum wage and overtime requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The Court held employers need only prove employees meet an FLSA exemption by a preponderance of the evidence (more likely true than not), rejecting the Fourth Circuit’s use of the higher “clear-and-convincing-evidence” standard. This ruling carries significant implications for employers in the context of employee classification and defending against unpaid overtime claims.

High winds and drought conditions have fueled severe wildfires, devastating communities around Los Angeles, California. The fires have destroyed thousands of homes and businesses, while firefighters are working tirelessly to gain control. On January 8, 2025, President Biden approved a “Major Disaster Declaration” for California.

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employers must provide overtime pay to employees at one and one-half times an employee’s regular pay rate for every hour the employee works beyond 40 hours in a workweek, unless the employee falls within a specified exemption. Under current U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) regulations, exempt employees include executive, administrative, professional, and computer employees who perform certain duties, and earn at least $684 per week ($35,568 annually). Highly compensated employees who perform office or nonmanual work and are paid a total annual compensation of $107,432 are also exempt.