Senior Counsel, Labor & Employment

Overview

This Senior Counsel, Labor & Employment role serves as a lead legal expert and strategic advisor to Human Resources, senior business leadership, and operational teams. The position focuses on providing proactive, day-to-day legal counsel to mitigate organizational risk, ensure compliance with U.S. federal, state, and local employment laws, and support a high-performance workplace.

The role involves oversight of employment litigation, administrative charges, and labor-related matters, with an emphasis on proactive advisory work—building scalable, compliant policies and providing real-time, practical guidance aligned with business objectives.

Responsibilities

• Manage and develop the defense strategy for employment-related litigation, including class actions, single-plaintiff lawsuits, and administrative charges.
• Direct and manage a large, active docket of employment-related litigation, including class actions, collective actions, and single-plaintiff lawsuits involving discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wage and hour, and wrongful termination.
• Develop and execute comprehensive defense strategies from inception through resolution, including early case assessments, settlement vs. trial strategy, and discovery management.
• Conduct Early Dispute Resolution by evaluating pre-litigation demands and internal escalations, negotiating strategic resolutions to minimize financial exposure and operational disruption.
• Serve as the primary legal partner to HR and business leaders on day-to-day employment matters, including recruiting, hiring, performance management, accommodations, discipline, terminations, and organizational restructurings/RIFs.
• Balance legal risks with business goals, using risk-calibrated, compliant solutions to achieve business objectives.
• Provide expert guidance on FLSA classifications, state-specific wage and hour laws, pay transparency requirements, pay equity initiatives, and compensation practices.
• Advise on complex disability, religious, and leave of absence issues involving the ADA, FMLA, Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), and various state-level paid leave programs.
• Provide legal oversight, strategy, and guidance on sensitive internal investigations involving allegations of harassment, discrimination, retaliation, fraud, or other policy violations.
• Advise on and review workplace policies, employee handbooks, and employment-related agreements, including executive offer letters, separation agreements, and confidentiality/restrictive covenant agreements.

Requirements

• Juris Doctor (JD) from an accredited law school.
• Active member in good standing of at least one U.S. State Bar (with the ability to register as in-house counsel if relocating).
• Minimum of 8–10 years of dedicated experience practicing labor and employment law.
• Proven experience managing employment law issues across multiple U.S. jurisdictions, with deep understanding of state-specific variations (e.g., California, Illinois, New York).
• A combination of rigorous training at a major law firm and subsequent in-house corporate legal experience.
• Comprehensive, up-to-date knowledge of U.S. federal and state employment laws (Title VII, ADEA, ADA, FMLA, FLSA, NLRA, etc.).
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with demonstrated ability to translate complex legal concepts into clear, actionable, business-friendly advice.
• Strong interpersonal skills and professional maturity to advise, influence, and build trust with senior executives and stakeholders.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience providing legal support within the automotive, manufacturing, supply chain, or industrial sectors.
• Experience advising on employment matters related to corporate mergers, acquisitions, integrations, or major business transformations.

Compensation & Benefits

Compensation is described as excellent, along with a comprehensive benefits package that includes:

• Generous PTO
• Retirement, savings, and stock investment plans
• Incentive compensation
• Immediate medical, dental, vision, and prescription drug coverage
• Flexible family care days, paid parental leave, new parent ramp-up programs, subsidized back-up child care
• Family building benefits including adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement, fertility treatments
• Vehicle discount program for employees and family members and management leases
• Tuition assistance
• Established and active employee resource groups
• Paid time off for individual and team community service
• A generous schedule of paid holidays, including the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day
• Paid time off and the option to purchase additional vacation time

This position is a leadership level 4.

Location

Remote position requiring one to two weeks of business travel per month.

Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States. Verification of employment eligibility will be required at the time of hire.

Equal Opportunity

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, age, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status, or protected veteran status.