Patricia DeSantis Belton
- Legal
Patricia DeSantis Belton focuses her practice on management-side labor and employment matters, including wage and hour violations, discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, and relations between management and unions.
Patricia is skilled in all areas of the litigation process and handles class action, collective action, representative action and single plaintiff cases. She aggressively defends wage and hour class actions and Private Attorney General Act (PAGA) representative actions by working to develop creative and effective defense and settlement strategies. She is also experienced with investigations and evidentiary hearings with administrative agencies including the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE), the Department of Fair Employment Housing (DFEH), the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Employment Development Department (EDD), and the Department of Consumer Affairs. Patricia is accomplished trial counsel before various administrative agencies.
Patricia studied traditional labor law at the Cornell School of Industrial and Labor Relations, and her traditional labor experience includes counseling related to issues including organizing/avoidance campaigns, work stoppages, reductions in force, and other related issues, as well as collective bargaining. She negotiates with unions including collective bargaining agreements, effects negotiations, and other mid-term agreements. She has successfully defended representative and decertification elections, unfair labor practices, grievances and arbitrations pending with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), Public Employment Relations Board (PERB), and labor arbitrators. She advises employers and trains their management teams in their efforts to remain union-free and avoid union expansion and defends against unionization campaigns and elections.
Patricia regularly helps clients manage litigation risk through advice related to personnel policies, employee handbooks, arbitration agreements, employment contracts, employee discipline and discharge, accommodations, protected leaves of absence, and labor relations. She investigates claims of harassment, discrimination and retaliation. Additionally, she lectures and consults in these areas and on other employment-related matters, including providing sexual harassment training.
Patricia is skilled in all areas of the litigation process and handles class action, collective action, representative action and single plaintiff cases. She aggressively defends wage and hour class actions and Private Attorney General Act (PAGA) representative actions by working to develop creative and effective defense and settlement strategies. She is also experienced with investigations and evidentiary hearings with administrative agencies including the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE), the Department of Fair Employment Housing (DFEH), the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Employment Development Department (EDD), and the Department of Consumer Affairs. Patricia is accomplished trial counsel before various administrative agencies.
Patricia studied traditional labor law at the Cornell School of Industrial and Labor Relations, and her traditional labor experience includes counseling related to issues including organizing/avoidance campaigns, work stoppages, reductions in force, and other related issues, as well as collective bargaining. She negotiates with unions including collective bargaining agreements, effects negotiations, and other mid-term agreements. She has successfully defended representative and decertification elections, unfair labor practices, grievances and arbitrations pending with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), Public Employment Relations Board (PERB), and labor arbitrators. She advises employers and trains their management teams in their efforts to remain union-free and avoid union expansion and defends against unionization campaigns and elections.
Patricia regularly helps clients manage litigation risk through advice related to personnel policies, employee handbooks, arbitration agreements, employment contracts, employee discipline and discharge, accommodations, protected leaves of absence, and labor relations. She investigates claims of harassment, discrimination and retaliation. Additionally, she lectures and consults in these areas and on other employment-related matters, including providing sexual harassment training.