Rachel Patta Howard is an associate in the Labor and Employment Practice Group in the firm's Century City office.
Ms. Howard’s practice focuses on representing employers in all aspects of labor and employment litigation in defense of complaints for class action and single-plaintiff matters in both court and arbitration. She has successfully litigated and favorably resolved cases involving allegations of discrimination, retaliation, harassment, failure to accommodate, wrongful termination, trade secret misappropriation, and defamation, as well as wage and hour cases, including representative and class actions. She has experience with all aspects of civil litigation defense from case inception through trial. Specifically, in 2017, Ms. Howard obtained a complete defense jury verdict in a single plaintiff lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, involving allegations of discrimination, whistleblower retaliation, and wrongful termination. She has also obtained summary judgment for her clients in both state and federal courts, and has successfully defeated motions for class certification relating to wage and hour claims. Ms. Howard also has experience representing employers before administrative agencies, and responding to complaints filed with those agencies alleging violations of federal and state employment laws.
Additionally, Ms. Howard advises and counsels clients on day-to-day employment issues including internal investigations, discipline and terminations, leaves of absence, the interactive process, reasonable accommodations, personnel policies, and other wage and hour compliance issues. She also has experience drafting employment agreements, severance agreements and employment policies, including employee handbooks.
Ms. Howard has experience representing employers in a variety of industries including financial services, banking, retail, healthcare, manufacturing, and entertainment.