Senior Counsel - Labor and Employment

SCMZ•Gilbert, AZ

14h•Onsite

About The Position

The Senior Counsel (Labor and Employment) reports directly to Shield’s General Counsel and supports the Office of General Counsel by serving as Shield’s legal advisor on employment, labor, workplace, and human resources matters across multiple jurisdictions. This role provides strategic legal analysis and guidance on employment law obligations, workplace risk management, employee relations, labor compliance, and litigation strategy, and partners with internal stakeholders and external counsel to mitigate risk and ensure compliance with applicable employment law.

Requirements

Juris Doctor (J.D.) from an accredited law school with active bar license in Arizona in good standing.
Minimum of 5+ years of labor and employment law experience, including counseling employers on workplace matters and managing employment-related disputes.
Excellent legal research and writing skills.
Highly organized, detail-oriented, and efficient problem-solver with excellent communication skills.

Nice To Haves

Experience advising multi-state employers and managing employment-law compliance programs is strongly preferred.
Experience handling EEOC, U.S. Department of Labor, state labor agency, unemployment, and workers' compensation matters is preferred.
A demonstrated ability to design and implement employment compliance, workplace training, and risk-management programs is preferred.

Responsibilities

Advise Human Resources, Executive Leadership, and business leaders on federal, state, and local employment laws, including wage and hour requirements, discrimination laws, leave laws, accommodations, retaliation, and workplace investigations.
Manage and respond to employment-related claims, including EEOC/DOL charges, audits, investigations, demand letters, administrative proceedings, and litigation matters.
Provide legal guidance regarding employee discipline, terminations, reductions in force, reorganizations, severance arrangements, restrictive covenants, and workforce management strategies.
Conduct legal analysis and draft legal memoranda, employment agreements, separation agreements, workplace policies, employee communications, and responses to regulatory agencies.
Supervise and provide legal oversight to Paralegal(s) and Legal Assistant(s) assisting with employment-related matters, including review of work product, guidance on issue escalation, and quality control.
Serve as primary point of contact for internal teams and Executive Leadership on labor and employment related matters, providing clear legal guidance and assessments.
Coordinate and manage external counsel, including scoping work, reviewing deliverables, and tracking timelines and budgets.
Support internal workplace investigations involving harassment, discrimination, retaliation, misconduct, ethics concerns, and other employee-relations issues.
Develop, review, and audit employee handbooks, workplace policies, management training programs, and employment compliance procedures.
Identify and escalate material employment, labor, and workplace risks to the General Counsel and recommend mitigation strategies.
Monitor changes in employment and labor laws and drive implementation of policy and operational updates across the organization.