Samantha Abeysekera

Samantha Abeysekera advises and litigates on behalf of management in a diverse array of industries, including financial services, market research, real estate, aviation, and technology start-ups. Both her litigation and advice-and-counseling work focuses on employment discrimination, harassment, restrictive covenants, and employment/separation agreements, as well as wage and hour matters involving exempt/non-exempt status, the calculation of hours worked, overtime pay, and other issues under the Fair Labor Standards Act and state wage and hour laws.

Samantha regularly defends employers before federal and state courts, administrative agencies including the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Department of Labor, mediators, and arbitrators. In addition, she has defended employment actions filed by registered representatives before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

As part of her counseling practice, Samantha conducts management and employment training on equal employment, anti-harassment, and wage and hour matters. Clients rely on her day-to-day advice on workplace issues such as employment contracts, employee handbooks, hirings, terminations, reductions-in-force, leave management, disability and religious accommodation, and employee compensation.

Education :

• J.D., George Washington University Law School, 2002, with honors
• B.A., Wesleyan University, 1997, with honors

Bar Admissions : New York; New Jersey

Court Admissions :

• U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
• U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York
• U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
• U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey

Professional Experience :

• Law Clerk to the Honorable Thomas P. Olivieri, Superior Court of New Jersey, Chancery Division, 2002-2003