In fairness to companies like Samsung, if everyone is doing it, to stand on principle is to risk being trounced by those who don't.
Err, wait, I didn't get the subtle astroturfing joke, did I?
Regarding unsubstantiated, they have been openly accused and even found guilty in multiple courts across different countries. It's an ongoing case and you may disagree with the rulings, in which case "unsubstantiated" is not the word you're looking for.
As for being unfair to hard working employees, that is definitely true. Unfortunately for those employees, their executives' actions have brought their hard work into question. Any comments regarding a company are generally a reflection on the company's leadership, not any individual employee.
But yeah, Samsung ripped them off hard. It really isn't even about Apple. Sure the hipsters got upset when someone had a phone that looked like their iPhones but Samsung as a company has a long history of completely ripping off all their designs. Apple was just the hottest at the time so they are who got copied.
I can come up with dozens upon dozens more examples throughout history of Samsung blatantly copying designs but I won't because who cares? Do a search of "samsung copies x" and you will find thousands of pages showing examples.
The only time Samsung doesn't copy well is when they're implementing the "and paste" variety on their phones. As a consumer I don't care but as a designer I do vaguely resent their lack of design innovation. Or even treading water.
(someone will now please link to the blog that shows the dozens of Samsung ripoffs over the years as I cannot find it in my bookmarks)
More common for big businesses who pay big bucks to get some exposure and then some marketing company pitches them unreal stats to get a sale, then commences to bending the rules and committing outright fraud to keep the paychecks coming in.