Why I love what I do...

"I love partnering with my clients to strategize on how we can achieve their business objectives while complying with myriad California employment laws. When a client gets sued, I love being the one they call because they know I will get them the best result possible and will protect their business interests as if they were my own."

Professional Experience

Tracy S. Todd is a Partner at Villarreal Hutner PC. Tracy's substantial litigation experience includes defending Fortune 10, Fortune 100, and other national employers in numerous wage and hour class actions involving claims of misclassification under the administrative, commissioned salesperson, and motor carrier exemptions, failure to properly calculate the overtime rate of pay, improper deductions, failure to provide meal and rest periods, failure to issue compliant paycheck information, waiting time penalties, and unfair business practices. Tracy regularly advises employers on a variety of wage and hour matters, including conducting FLSA audits and drafting commission plans, vacation, leave and pay policies.

Tracy also has successfully defended employers against claims of discrimination based on race, national origin, gender, disability, medical condition, marital status, age, and sexual orientation. In addition, Tracy has obtained outstanding results defending employers against claims of harassment, wrongful termination, retaliation, breach of contract, failure to provide family leave, unfair business practices, fraud, and defamation.

In addition to wage and hour issues, Tracy regularly advises employers with respect to the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, state and federal leave laws, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and the California Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act. Tracy is frequently invited to speak about federal and California wage and hour laws on various professional panels.

Professional Qualifications and Activities

Prior to joining Villarreal Hutner PC, Tracy advised and defended large, national employers for almost a decade at Heller Ehrman and for two years at Jackson Lewis. Tracy also was in-house counsel for DHL Airways, Inc.

Tracy is admitted to practice in all California Courts. She is a member of the State Bar of California and the San Francisco Bar Association. Tracy served two terms as President of the Board of Directors of the San Francisco Court Appointed Special Advocate program.

Before Law School...

As a Spanish-speaker, Tracy worked as a flight attendant for American Airlines on its Caribbean routes. She has flown into more hurricanes - including Hurricane Hugo - than anyone she knows.