Gillian Santos

With her deep understanding of the complex technical and business realities affecting labor/employee-management relations and regulations, Gillian Santos provides employers with strategic advice in evaluating and navigating vulnerabilities when workplace issues arise in unionized and nonunionized environments.

Gillian’s extensive experience in traditional labor includes successfully representing both employers and unions in litigation matters before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) and various state labor relations boards. She advises companies and nonprofits on contract enforcement, union organizing campaigns and messaging, union elections and decertifications, unfair labor practice charges, unit determinations and work stoppages. She regularly appears before arbitrators, mediators, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and other government agencies and negotiates collective bargaining agreements. Through carefully executed strategies, Gillian assists clients in navigating and avoiding unfair labor practice charges, strikes and potential strikes, while advising high-profile clients on media relations strategy related to these matters.

Gillian has also achieved significant success for clients in proceedings before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and state-equivalent agencies in matters involving discrimination, retaliation and harassment. She regularly advises management on similar matters, conducts settlement negotiations and provides additional guidance on other issues and areas of employment law, including handbooks, policies and procedures, Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act, family and medical leave, reasonable accommodations, internal investigations and wrongful termination. Whether addressing these issues individually or collectively, Gillian assists clients in mitigating business and legal risks by focusing on strengthening both their existing compliance frameworks and employee-management relations.

Previously, Gillian was Associate General Counsel to the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) International, where she represented leadership and management in various governance, constitutional and labor and employment law matters. Before AFSCME, Gillian was an Assistant Counsel at the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), for which she litigated labor and employment matters against the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.