Dorothy S. Liu

With more than 20 years of experience representing employers in the private and public sectors, Dorothy co-chairs Hanson Bridgett’s Employment Class Action Practice Group and regularly defends complex class actions for clients. Dorothy also served as Commissioner on the San Francisco Ethics Commission from 2011 to 2013, having been appointed by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in April 2011.

An integral part of Dorothy’s practice involves working with clients to develop practices and policies aimed at averting class, collective, and PAGA actions, and to advise clients effectively on risk management and class action avoidance strategies. She represents employers in a wide variety of industries, including the manufacturing industry, construction and building materials industries, transportation industry, federal defense contractors, education and scientific research communities, hospitality industry, and the healthcare and senior care industries, including medical centers, assisted living facilities and skilled nursing centers. Dorothy’s practice includes defending her clients against background check class actions, meal and rest break class actions, representative actions brought under the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) that seek multiple penalties, and wage-and-hour class actions and collective actions involving off-the-clock claims, overtime pay, bonus pay, regular rates of pay, reimbursement claims and misclassification claims brought under California’s Labor Code, PAGA and the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.

In addition, Dorothy regularly defends employers in single-plaintiff and multi-plaintiff lawsuits against claims of whistleblower retaliation, wrongful discharge, equal pay claims, employment discrimination, sexual harassment, disability accommodation, and discriminatory retaliation. She frequently advises employers on workplace investigations, managing leaves of absence and disability accommodations, handling employee discipline and terminations, and wage and hour compliance under state and federal law. She handles litigation for her clients in state and federal courts throughout California, as well as in arbitration proceedings and before administrative agencies.

Prior to joining Hanson Bridgett, Dorothy served for two years as Law Clerk to The Honorable Walter E. Webster, Jr. at the Washington State Court of Appeals.