Senior Labor & Employment Counsel, USA

Overview

The organization is hiring a Senior Labor & Employment Counsel for its US organization. This role shapes and influences Labor & Employment (L&E) strategies across the United States and helps ensure the business operates within a strong legal, compliance, and regulatory framework on all Labor & Employment matters.

This position is part of the Legal and Integrity function and reports globally to Head of Labor and Employment and Corporate Governance.

Responsibilities

• Employment-related litigation

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

• Labor & employment matters

  • Develop strategies for union contracts
  • Participate directly in union negotiations when appropriate
  • Manage union-related matters, including union avoidance, organizing campaigns, and labor arbitrations
  • Provide practical legal advice to HR professionals and management to reduce potential legal exposure

• Ongoing L&E advisory

  • 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 (e.g., non-compete and trade secret provisions)
  • Lead 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

• 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

  • 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 oversight (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 compliance framework across key employment areas, including:
    • wage and hour
    • leave and accommodations
    • worker classification
    • employment recordkeeping and other changing regulatory requirements

• Administrative actions and mediations

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

• Training and audits

  • Develop and deliver employment-related compliance training or coordinate with a 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 (T&A)

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

Qualifications

• Education: Juris Doctor degree
• Experience: at least 10+ years of experience in US Employment and Labor Law (additional bachelor’s degree in business or human resources preferred)
• Prior litigation experience or extensive experience managing litigation as an in-house attorney
• Ability to research, review, and understand local, state, and federal employment laws and how they relate to business operations
• Strong negotiation and people skills
• Superior communication skills (verbal and written) with internal and external stakeholders
• Proven ability to multi-task
• Strong organizational, collaborative, and follow-up skills
• Work experience in a multinational environment providing advice 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 the organization in the US

Preferred Qualifications

• Additional bachelor’s degree in business or human resources
• Experience supporting strategic business decisions in cross-border/multi-jurisdictional environments

Compensation & Benefits

• Expected base salary range: $191,300 to $306,080 annually
• Eligible for a short-term incentive plan/annual bonus
• Benefit summary for eligible US employees (exclusions apply):
  • Health, Life & Disability
    • Two medical plan options: PPO (Copay Plan) or High Deductible Plan (with HSA)
    • 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) with ability to “buy-up” to 66 2/3% of pay
    • 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
    • Vacation under a permissive time away policy for salaried exempt positions

Location

• Remote within the United States.
• Preference for candidates located in the Eastern or Central Time Zones to interface with internal customers domestically and internationally.
• Role is eligible for remote work (LI-Remote).

Equal Employment Opportunity

The organization is an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer for protected Veterans and Individuals with Disabilities. All qualified applicants receive consideration without regard to protected characteristics as required by applicable law.