Director, Employment and Benefits Counsel

Charles Schwab Inc.•Westlake, TX

2d•$139,600 - $260,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Schwab's Employment and Benefits law group within Corporate Legal is seeking a motivated, mature, and practical Director, Counsel. This role will partner closely with HR, Employee Relations, Payroll, Operations, Health & Safety, Total Rewards/Benefits, and other cross-functional stakeholders to support employment-related compliance initiatives, policy development, investigations, day-to-day counseling, and adjacent benefits matters. The role requires expertise in ERISA and employee health and welfare benefits, including the legal and regulatory issues that arise in the administration, design, and communication of benefit programs. This role will also serve as a strategic advisor on the employment and benefits aspects of corporate acquisitions and integrations, executive compensation matters, and non-competition and non-solicitation agreement enforcement. The position requires the application of federal, state, and international labor and employment laws, as well as a willingness to build fluency in related employee benefits requirements. The position will be based at Schwab’s corporate headquarters in Westlake, Texas and required to work from the office four days per week. Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

Requirements

JD from an accredited U.S. law school and active membership in good standing with the state bar of at least one U.S. state.
7 or more years of employment law experience, including significant counseling experience with complex employment matters.
Comprehensive knowledge of federal and state labor and employment laws, including Title VII, ADA, FMLA, ADEA, FLSA and NLRA.
Ability to work independently, exercise good judgment, and take ownership of issues and matters to their successful conclusion.
Strong interpersonal skills and professional maturity to advise, influence, and build trust with senior executives and stakeholders.
Ability to find creative, compliant pathways to achieve business objectives.
Ability to translate complex legal concepts into clear, actionable, and business-friendly advice.

Nice To Haves

Prior in-house and large law firm experience (strongly preferred).
Experience with, exposure to, or a demonstrated interest in developing expertise in ERISA and employee health and welfare benefits, as well as adjacent practice areas such as executive compensation, AI governance, workplace technology and immigration (strongly preferred).
Experience supporting financial services or another highly regulated industry (preferred).

Responsibilities

Providing practical and solution-oriented legal advice to HR and business leaders on a wide range of routine and complex employment matters, including employee relations, recruiting, hiring, performance management, accommodations, leave of absences, discipline, terminations, and organizational restructurings/RIFs;
Advising on workplace policies, employee handbooks, employment agreements, FLSA classifications, state-specific wage and hour compliance, transparency requirements, pay equity initiatives, and compensation practices;
Providing legal oversight, strategy, and guidance on sensitive internal investigations into allegations of harassment, discrimination, retaliation, fraud, or other violations of company policy;
Identifying emerging employment law risks and recommending proactive risk mitigation strategies;
Preparing or supporting responses to agency inquiries, audits, subpoenas, and investigations;
Designing and delivering legal training for HR professionals, managers and business leaders on employment law developments and workplace best practices.
Supporting M&A due diligence and integration;
Developing scalable processes, templates, playbooks and knowledge management resources;
Monitoring regulatory and legislative developments and proactively advising internal stakeholders on emerging employment risks and trends; and
Assisting with ERISA, employee health and welfare benefits, executive compensation, immigration, and other adjacent employment matters as business needs evolve.