Senior Counsel, Labor and Employment

Position Description 

A Senior Counsel, Labor and Employment is responsible for providing legal guidance on labor and employment matters, ensuring compliance with labor laws, and mitigating legal risks for the organization. Key responsibilities include advising on employee relations, workplace policies, discrimination and harassment claims, wage and hour compliance, and labor disputes. This role also involves handling litigation, conducting internal investigations, and supporting HR and business leaders with strategic employment-related decisions. Strong expertise in employment law, negotiation, and risk management is essential.   We anticipate this role to be approximately 70% employment law; and 30% general corporate and transactional in-house assignments.

Key Position Responsibilities

• Provide practical, responsive employment legal advice and guidance to the Company, and more specifically, to the business unit management and HR teams, on the full array of employment and human resources matters, including policies and procedures, wage and hour compliance, leave of absence and accommodations, risk assessment related to terminations and compliance investigations, and OSHA investigations.
• Draft, update, review, analyze and negotiate all North American employment-related agreements including consulting, hiring, terminations, compensation and severance plans, incentive, non-compete and confidentiality agreements.
• Within North America, provide business unit management, and regional Human Resources leaders with advice, counseling and advocacy regarding discrimination, harassment, and retaliation claims.
• Occasionally respond to EEOC or state agency charges, investigate and respond to attorney demand letters (i.e., restrictive covenant matters or discrimination/harassment/retaliation, etc.).
• Work with external litigation counsel on employment litigation matters
• Assist with the development and implementation of compliance processes and policies
• Assist with policy creation and implementation, and creation and delivery of training programs
• Advise business unit management in North America on employment compliance and risk management in order to accomplish business objectives without undue risk.
• Proactively identify and monitor new and emerging employment-related legal issues and work with General Counsel’s and HR’s office to effectuate needed changes to business and employment practices
• Learn the business to diagnose legal problems in the employment context, and present positive, creative solutions and alternatives for management.
• Establish a working relationship with business unit leaders, and HR employees at all levels, in order to encourage and continue the proactive use of your services.
• Perform special assignments or projects as assigned by the General Counsel or the CHRO.

KEY RELATIONSHIPS:

• Internal: Human Resources, Business Unit Leaders, Director of Risk Management
• External: External counsel and federal, state, and local regulatory authorities.

Skills

• Understands the practical approach necessary to work in an “in-house” environment, balancing black letter law with business needs.
• Communicates and operates candidly and with transparency to effectively engage and influence diverse teams in a highly collaborative, decentralized environment.
• Take a proactive, energetic, and enthusiastic approach to all tasks, and shows the confidence to work with talented and demanding business unit executives.
• Exceptional written and oral communication skills.
• Translate complex legal issues into business terms that are easily understandable to the non-Legal teams.
• Experience and confidence to push for change and, when appropriate, to challenge the status quo in a way that will be heard and respected.
• Operate with maturity, stature and strong interpersonal skills.
• Demonstrated judgment, personal integrity, and interpersonal skills.
• Self-motivated, tactical, innovative, strategic, detail-oriented and able to provide high quality and timely work product with an understanding of the issues and business-focused strategies.
• Able to manage multiple projects, to stay calm and focused and work successfully in a fast-paced environment under time constraints.
• Operate with excellent interpersonal skills, with an ability to inspire trust and confidence with stakeholders at all levels.
• Strong ability to work as a team player who can effectively collaborate with colleagues from all stakeholders, but specifically with the North American business unit teams.

Requirements

• Juris Doctor (JD) degree with from a nationally recognized law school
• Admission to, and in good standing with, a U.S. state bar association.
• Minimum of 4-5 years’ experience focused on employment law.
• Must demonstrate knowledge and experience handling Federal Labor Law issues related to, but not limited to, FMLA, FLSA, ADA, Equal Pay Act, OSHA, Title VII of Civil Rights Act, etc.)
• Demonstrated experience handling California Labor Laws issues (wage, overtime, meal breaks, rest breaks, sick leave, etc.) preferred.
• General transactional experience, i.e., ability to review and negotiate contracts
• Experience in both law firm(s) and in-house is strongly preferred.