Debra Reilly received her J.D. in 1989 from the University of San Diego School of Law, where she was an Editor for the San Diego Law Review in 1988-89; she authored a law review article titled, “Reversal of a RICO Predicate Offense on Appeal: Should the RICO Count Be Vacated?”, which is published in Volume 27, Issue 1, of the San Diego Law Review.  She was also a Finalist in a University of San Diego School of Law Moot Court competition. Ms. Reilly also has a Bachelor of Science from Brigham Young University and a Master of Professional Studies—Human Resources and Employee Relations, with a concentration in Employment Law and Labor Law, from Pennsylvania State University.

After graduating from law school in 1989, Ms. Reilly worked as an Extern Law Clerk for Justice David R. Thompson of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals before joining the Orange County-based law firm Murtaugh Miller Meyer & Nelson LLP from 1990 to 1999, where she became a partner practicing employment law on behalf of employers and management, which included the performance of many workplace investigations.

In 1999, Ms. Reilly moved to San Diego to serve for one year as the Research Attorney to United States District Judge Larry A. Burns of the United States District Court, Southern District of California. In that capacity, she researched and drafted proposed judicial opinions and court orders and conducted discovery conferences with counsel of record on court cases involving the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Civil Rights Act of 1871 (42 U.S.C. § 1983), Copyright/Patent Infringement, Social Security Appeals, Federal Tort Claims Act, and Writs of Habeas Corpus.

Ms. Reilly then joined a Mission Viejo law firm as a partner for three years heading up the firm’s employment law department before eventually opening her own employment law practice in 2002. In Ms. Reilly’s representation of public entities, corporations, management, and employees, she has handled all facets of employment litigation, including trial work. She has handled numerous administrative proceedings before the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, the California Labor Commission’s Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, the Employment Development Department, and the City of Santa Ana Personnel Board.

Ms. Reilly has been conducting internal workplace investigations since 1994 throughout California and now does it full-time. Throughout her legal career, she has conducted over 1000 investigations for numerous municipalities, counties, water and sanitation districts, vector control districts, fire departments, police departments, public and private universities, community college districts, public and private school districts (elementary and secondary), transportation authorities, the United States Postal Service (holding a “sensitive” security clearance by the Postal Inspector’s Office), and many private sector employers (including several Fortune 500 companies). Given Ms. Reilly’s experience in conducting police and fire department investigations, she is well versed in providing the appropriate pre-interview notices and admonitions pursuant to the Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights Act, the Firefighters Procedural Bill of Rights Act, and Lybarger/Garrity Admonitions.

Types of Investigations Handled By Debra Reilly

• Waste and abuse in government contracts
  
• Violation of contract procurement policies; contract splitting to avoid threshold of Board scrutiny; violation of competitive bidding laws (Public Contract Code)
• Misuse and abuse of public funds, gift of public funds, credit card misuse
• Misuse of public vehicle, travel expense abuse, expense reimbursement fraud
• Employee violations of Penal Code 424 (misappropriation of public funds), Penal Code 72 (presenting false claim to Public Board or Officer), Government Code 8314 (private person’s use of public resources)
• Violations of code of ethics, violation of conflict of interest policies
• Unauthorized, improper use of public property, equipment, or funds for private purposes; improper use of authority for personal gain
• Bribery or the receiving of or the giving of other unlawful gifts or gratuities Falsification of time cards
• Counterfeiting of tennis passes to a high-level tennis tournament
• Wage & Hour investigations
• Harassment, Discrimination, Retaliation based on FEHA, Title VII, ADA, Rehabilitation Act, ADEA, California Code of Regulations “Title V” (sex, race, color, age, ethnicity, pregnancy, disability, religion/creed, national origin, marital status, etc.)
• Sexual assault/battery
• First Amendment/freedom of expression issues
• Reasonable Accommodation of Disabilities / Failure to Engage in Interactive Process
• California Whistleblower Statute (Calif. Labor Code 1102.5)

Testimony

Ms. Reilly has testified in deposition, arbitration, and jury trials concerning the findings of her own internal investigations, all of which have been upheld by the triers of fact (arbitrators and juries). She has qualified and testified as an expert witness concerning “standard practices” in conducting internal investigations involving employee misconduct, harassment, discrimination, and retaliation, as well as appropriate billing practices of investigators.

Publications, Presentations, Professional Memberships

Ms. Reilly has published numerous articles on employment law and internal workplace investigations. She has presented numerous educational seminars and webinars sponsored by the State Bar of California, the Association of Workplace Investigators, the Orange County Bar Association, the San Diego County Bar Association, the Society of Human Resources Management San Diego (“SHRM-San Diego”), the San Diego Employers Association Roundtable, and HRTrainingCenter.com, on how to conduct thorough workplace investigations.

Ms. Reilly is a current or past member of the California State Bar (Labor and Employment Law section), the San Diego County Bar Association (Labor and Employment Law section), the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, the Society of Human Resources Management (“SHRM”), the San Diego Chapter of the Society of Human Resources Management, the Association of Title IX Administrators, Orange County Bar Association (Labor and Employment Law section), and North County Personnel Association of San Diego.

Ms. Reilly is a founding Board Member of the Association of Workplace Investigators (“AWI”), where she served on the Board for six years, and she served as the Chair of its Publications Committee and Editor-in-Chief of The AWI Journal from 2009 through March 2013. From March 2013 until December 2021, she was the Vice-Chair of the AWI Publications Committee, and she continues to be an Editor and a continuing author of publications within The AWI Journal. She served as the Vice-Chair of the Webinars/Seminars Committee of AWI from November 2014 to December 2015, and she was a member of the Guiding Principles Committee of AWI from June 2014 to December 2015.

Since January 2010, Ms. Reilly has been certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (“SPHR”) by the Human Resources Certification Institute. She also received a Certificate of Attendance (40 hours) from the National Training Institute of the Association of Workplace Investigators in June 2012. She was a full-time faculty member at the weeklong National Training Institute of the Association of Workplace Investigators in February 2015 in Sonoma, CA, where she presented modules on Public Sector Investigations and Making Credibility Determinations.

Julia Reilly obtained her J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law. She graduated cum laude with a concentration in Employment and Labor Law. She obtained the Association of Workplace Investigators Certificate Holder (“AWI-CH”) designation, which demonstrates the core knowledge and skills necessary to perform impartial workplace investigations successfully. She is also certified as a Professional in Human Resources by the Society of Human Resource Management (“SHRM-CP”).

During law school, she was a member of and published in the San Diego Law Review and on the board of the Employment and Labor Law Society. She was a Legal Extern for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, where she engaged in extensive legal research, conducted cause reviews to determine whether there was reasonable cause to believe discrimination occurred, and assisted with investigations by interviewing potential class members. She also worked part-time as an Employee Relations Specialist at a Fortune 500 company where she gained experience conducting internal workplace investigations and recommending and issuing employee discipline. 

Ms. Reilly’s law school achievements include receiving the Law Faculty Achievement Scholarship, the Employment and Labor Law Society Social Justice in the Workplace Scholarship, the Mike White Excellence in Litigation Scholarship, and a CALI Academic Excellence Award/Highest Grade in Class for Legal Writing and Research I.

Ms. Reilly obtained a Bachelor of Science in Sociology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and graduated with high honors (top 6%). As an undergraduate, she interned for UCSB’s CARE office where she developed expertise on relationship violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

Chloe Casciola has more than ten years of experience working in the public sector, giving her a depth of knowledge and expertise in law enforcement, local government agencies, California state agencies, and federal government agencies. Prior to joining Reilly Workplace Investigations, she served as a Police Officer with the San Diego Police Department for five years, where she worked in patrol and investigations. As an area station investigator, she submitted over 400 cases for prosecution to the District Attorney and City Attorney, presenting key evidence and testimony in court. Ms. Casciola also worked on the Cold Case Team in the San Diego Police Department’s Sex Crimes Unit.

Ms. Casciola obtained her J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law. While attending USD, she was honored with the CALI Award for Academic Excellence for Administrative Law in addition to receiving the Pro Bono Service Recognition Award. She gained legal experience while interning for the Chula Vista City Attorney’s Office, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation Enforcement Division, and the California Office of the Attorney General.

As an undergraduate, Ms. Casciola attended California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a minor in Psychology. While obtaining her Bachelor’s degree, she worked as a Victim and Witness Advocate for the San Luis Obispo District Attorney’s Office and as an Administrative Coordinator for the University Police Department.