Senior Labor & Employment Counsel, USA

Overview

This organization is seeking a Senior Labor & Employment Counsel for its US organization, supporting the Motion, Electrification & Automation Business and part of the Legal and Integrity function.

The role is open to remote candidates located within the United States, with a preference for candidates in the Eastern or Central Time Zones to interface easily with internal customers domestically and internationally.

This position reports to the global Head of Labor and Employment and Corporate Governance. It will work under the strategic direction of the Global Head of L&E Law for Motion, with input into the US Labor & Employment (L&E) agenda and close collaboration with other L&E leaders.

Responsibilities

• Employment-related litigation

  • Manage employment-related litigation and provide strategic or advisory guidance as appropriate
  • Develop litigation and settlement strategies
  • Lead settlement negotiations
  • Select outside counsel
  • Oversee related fees and costs
  • Serve as liaison between outside counsel and the relevant business unit

• Labor & Employment matters

  • Develop strategies for union contracts and, where appropriate, participate in union negotiations
  • Manage union-related matters, including union avoidance, organizing campaigns, and labor arbitrations
  • Provide HR professionals and management with practical legal advice on employment matters to reduce legal exposure

• Employment counseling and compliance

  • Advise on severance packages, separation agreements, employee performance concerns, and termination decisions
  • Ensure compliance with state and federal employment laws
  • Draft and review employment-related agreements
  • Advise on restrictive covenants such as non-compete and trade secret provisions
  • Conduct labor and employment due diligence for acquisitions
  • Advise on internal investigations involving Code of Conduct or HR compliance matters
  • Review and update employment policies and procedures as laws evolve
  • Keep HR and management informed of relevant legal and legislative developments in employment and labor relations

• Benefits and investment compliance (as needed)

  • Oversee fiduciary activities related to Benefit and Investment Committee matters to ensure compliance with ERISA standards

• Emerging HR and L&E technologies (as needed)

  • Serve as a strategic legal advisor on emerging HR and L&E technologies (including digital and behavioral assessments)
  • Anticipate regulatory developments and help mitigate organizational, reputational, and litigation risks

• HR and labor compliance leadership (as needed)

  • Provide strategic leadership and oversight on HR and labor compliance
  • Advise HR and business leaders on evolving regulatory requirements, emerging risk areas, and mitigation strategies
  • Help shape a robust and sustainable compliance framework across key employment areas (including wage and hour, leave and accommodations, worker classification, employment recordkeeping, and other changing regulatory requirements)

• Government charges and mediation

  • Oversee employment-related administrative charges brought by federal or state agencies, including the EEOC and NLRB
  • Manage and conduct mediations arising from external claims

• Training, audits, and risk mitigation

  • Deliver employment-related compliance training directly or coordinate with an appropriate training provider
  • Design and implement train-the-trainer programs to support workplace compliance training
  • Identify potential risk/exposure and take steps to mitigate, including internal audits, targeted training, and policy reviews

• Corporate governance for transactions (as needed)

  • Support corporate governance within the area of responsibility, including structuring, drafting, and negotiating matters related to mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures

Requirements

• Juris Doctor and at least 10+ years’ experience in US Employment and Labor Law (an additional bachelor’s degree in business or human resources preferred)
• Prior litigation experience or extensive experience managing litigation as an in-house attorney
• Strong technical ability to research, review, and understand local, state, and federal employment laws and how they relate to business operations
• Strong people skills, including negotiations
• Superior communication skills (verbal and written) with internal and external stakeholders
• Ability to multi-task
• Strong organizational, collaborative, and follow-up skills
• Experience in a multinational environment, advising on multi-jurisdictional/cross-border projects, including exposure to strategic business decisions
• Willingness to work flexible hours when necessary to connect with colleagues abroad
• Ability to travel as needed
• Candidates must already possess authorization to work for ABB in the US.

Preferred Qualifications

• Additional bachelor’s degree in business or human resources

Compensation & Benefits

• Expected base salary: $191,300 to $306,080 annually (base salary determined by qualifications and experience)
• Incentives: Eligible for a short-term incentive plan/annual bonus

Benefit Summary (eligible US employees)

Excludes ABB E-mobility, Athens union, Puerto Rico.

Health, Life & Disability

• Choice of two medical plan options:
  • PPO plan called the Copay Plan
  • High Deductible Health Plan with a Health Savings Account called the High Deductible Plan
• Choice of two dental plan options: Core and Core Plus
• Vision benefit
• Company paid life insurance (2X base pay)
• Company paid AD&D (1X base pay)
• Voluntary life and AD&D — 100% employee paid up to maximums
• Short Term Disability — up to 26 weeks (company paid)
• Long Term Disability — 60% of pay (company paid); ability to “buy-up” to 66 2/3%
• Supplemental benefits — 100% employee paid (accident insurance, hospital indemnity, critical illness, pet insurance)
• Paid Parental Leave
• Employee Assistance Program
• Health Advocate support resources for mental/behavioral health, general health navigation and virtual health, and infertility/adoption
• Employee discount program

Retirement

• 401k Savings Plan with Company Contributions
• Employee Stock Acquisition Plan (ESAP)

Time Off

• 11 paid holidays
• Salaried exempt positions: vacation under a permissive time away policy

Location

• Remote within the United States, with preference for Eastern or Central Time Zones.

Equal Employment Opportunity

This employer is an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer for protected Veterans and Individuals with Disabilities. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to protected characteristics under federal, state, and local law, including (but not limited to) sex (including gender identity and gender expression), marital status, citizenship, age, race and ethnicity, color, religious creed, national origin, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, genetic information, protected Veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal and state law.