Assistant General Counsel - Employment

Serve as key legal partner to human resources personnel, Human Resources Leadership Team (HRLT) and leaders on employment law matters and overall compliance with global, federal and local employment and labor laws relating to non-bargained and bargained employee populations.  Works closely with VP & Deputy General Counsel, as well as business leaders and personnel, to support the needs of the company and the corporate department.  

RESPONSIBILITIES:

 Primary Responsibilities

• Provide timely, practical and business-oriented legal advice on a range of employment issues, including: hiring, performance management, employee relations, personnel policies and handbooks, leaves of absence and accommodations, discrimination and harassment, wage and hour, internal investigations, discipline and termination, compensation, benefits, and privacy.
• Develop, draft and implement a variety of workplace policies, employee training and employment-related templates and agreements in collaboration with Human Resources and other functions as appropriate.
• Investigate and respond to claims, demand letters, administrative complaints, audits, and other employment-related inquiries; Represent the Company in investigations and mediations before administrative agencies including the EEOC, DOL and NLRB.
• Manage employment related litigation, including responding to attorney demand letters, effectively negotiating resolution of claims, and making recommendations to Human Resources and senior management on corrective action. Critically supervise and manage outside counsel to ensure high-quality, cost-effective service through developing and monitoring budgets and oversight of outside counsel on employment litigation matters.
• Support the human resources benefits team in review and response to appeals under qualified and non-qualified benefit plans.
• Conduct/oversee internal audits to support compliance, such as classification reviews and management of leaves of absence.
• Collaborate with local outside counsel to advise Human Resources and management on international employment issues.
• Advise and assist Corporate Human Resources and management to ensure compliance with U.S. federal executive orders and Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) regulations.

Additional Responsibilities

• Serve as primary legal counsel responsible for global data privacy compliance and data protection as it relates to employee, customer, supplier and other personal information relating to individuals.
• Work with Ethics & Compliance and the operations to investigate issues of compliance with laws and company policies, including, but not limited to, advising on and assisting in investigations and recommend action to prevent or mitigate potential legal claims.
• Advise on employment and dispute provisions in commercial agreements and mergers and acquisitions.
• Protect and maintain the privacy of employee personnel records including, but not limited to, personal and compensation information about employees.
• Perform other duties as assigned.