Corporate Counsel II - Labor & Employment

ALDI•Aurora, IL

8d•Hybrid

About The Position

ALDI is seeking a Corporate Counsel II - Labor & Employment to join their Legal team. This role is crucial for supporting ALDI's aggressive growth plans and managing a wide range of legal matters. The objective is to provide accurate and timely legal advice and counseling on labor and employment matters, focusing on employment compliance, OSHA and workplace safety, regulatory developments, litigation risk, and operational risk mitigation. The position also involves contributing to Legal projects and supporting other legal matters as needed. Adherence to the ALDI Management System (CAMS), Code of Conduct, Employee Handbook, Sustainability Principles, and all ALDI policies is required.

Requirements

Bachelor's Degree required.
A minimum of 5 years of progressive experience in a legal environment required, preferably in a combination of law firm and corporate or in-house experience.
J.D. from an ABA accredited law school required.
Licensed to practice in Illinois (or immediate ability to become licensed) required.
Or, a combination of education and experience providing equivalent knowledge.
Knowledge of relevant United States employment law, labor law, OSHA and workplace safety compliance requirements, and ability to assist in defending the company against various types of litigation, administrative charges, agency investigations, and regulatory matters.
Knowledge of how legal issues affect organizations and the ability to develop strategies to coordinate legal considerations to business objectives.
Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite.
Ability to analyze and present complex data.
Ability to anticipate legal risks as well as utilize excellent judgment and analytical skills.
Ability to identify and assess employment law and OSHA-related compliance risks and provide practical guidance to support business objectives.
Ability to interpret and apply company policies and procedures.
Ability to stay organized, multi-task, and prioritize in a professional and efficient manner while working under strict deadlines.
Negotiation skills.
Ability to plan and organize workflow and embrace new challenges.
Ability to apply creative solutions.
Leverages legal expertise and business acumen to support the company in achieving its objectives.

Nice To Haves

Preferred experience in employment law, labor law, OSHA and workplace safety compliance, regulatory law, litigation, contract law, commercial transactions, and/or data privacy required.
Knowledge of retail industry standards and practices.

Responsibilities

Communicates effectively and informs direct leader of issues, status, and results of assigned tasks.
Identifies legal issues and recommends responsive action, with an emphasis on risk mitigation.
Advises business partners on employment law, labor law, OSHA and workplace safety requirements, and related risk mitigation.
Engages with leadership, various business units, and external parties involved in the legal process.
Partners and liaises with outside counsel on legal matters and manages relevant external consultants.
Evaluates and analyzes legal issues in multiple jurisdictions and nationwide and reports findings, as well as recommendations, to direct leader.
Recommends process improvements for area of responsibility.
Provides strategic counsel to assigned business units on a wide range of legal issues.
Provides strategic counsel to assigned business units on employment law matters, including workplace policies, employee relations, investigations, accommodations, discipline, separations, wage and hour matters, and workplace safety compliance.
Works strategically to provide expert legal advice to key business functions in multiple jurisdictions to drive strategy and operational goals.
Researches, monitors, and assesses emergent legal trends, new legal issues and laws, legislation, regulations, and court decisions; identifies and communicates impactful updates to relevant business units.
Monitors OSHA, federal, state, and local workplace safety developments and communicates impactful updates to relevant business units.
Identifies and analyzes unique legal issues impacting the organization by identifying applicable statutes, judicial decisions and codes.
Drafts legal memorandums, case assessments, attorney correspondence, reports, and other work product to identify exposures and risks then reports findings to direct leader.
Partners with relevant internal stakeholders to create and implement workforce policies and strategies.
Partners with Human Resources, Employee Relations, Safety, Operations, and other business stakeholders on OSHA compliance, workplace safety incidents, government investigations, inspections, citations, corrective actions, and related employment law matters.
Serves as a liaison for various areas of the business, including creating and reviewing related agreements.
Performs pre-litigation work to minimize risks and potential legal liability, including employment-related claims, administrative charges, OSHA-related matters, and workplace safety-related disputes.
Partners with and manages outside counsel with respect to complex legal matters.
Identifies proactive, cost-effective solutions that will eliminate and/or mitigate legal and business risks.
Ensures effective implementation and communication of Legal programs, providing visibility of key milestones and progress.
Assists in developing, implementing and driving process improvements and infrastructure solutions to enhance the department’s ability to assist the Company and function efficiently.
Ensures compliance with legal documentation and Company policies.
Prepares and analyzes data to identify exposures and risks.
Provides proactive analysis of current projects and analytical review of reported results.
Performs special projects as requested.
Drafts, reviews, and negotiates agreements.
Collaborates with team members and communicates relevant information to leadership.
Complies with ALDI privacy and security requirements and policies if job responsibilities include possible access to confidential and/or sensitive information.
Other duties as assigned.