Corporate Counsel, Labor & Employment

McCarthy Holdings, Inc. (McCarthy) is the holding entity for McCarthy Building Companies, Inc., the oldest privately-held national construction company in America, and Castle Contracting. McCarthy provides crucial business infrastructure and ensures seamless operations across the business. Repeatedly honored as a great place to work and healthiest employer, McCarthy is a 100 percent employee-owned company committed to sustaining a culture that delivers great experiences for everyone through high-performing individuals and teams, award-winning learning and development programs, best-in-class Total Rewards benefits, and an inclusive culture aligned with core values: Genuine, We, Not I, All In.

About the role

McCarthy seeks an experienced Corporate Counsel, Labor & Employment to join its expanding Legal team. This attorney will provide practical employment law guidance within a fast-moving organization shaping communities through large-scale commercial, healthcare, energy, and infrastructure projects. The role requires adaptability, innovation, and initiative in handling sophisticated and challenging legal issues. Based in Newport Beach, California, this on-site position reports to the Vice President, Associate General Counsel over labor and employment matters. The Corporate Counsel will serve as a strategic partner to Human Resources, Operations, and internal business partners, managing or supporting a broad range of employment counseling, investigations, compliance, and dispute-resolution matters.

Responsibilities

• Advice & Counsel: Provide day-to-day legal advice on employment issues including separations, disciplinary action, performance management, recruiting, hiring, workplace accommodations, leaves of absence, wage and hour, pay transparency, benefits, compensation, and immigration-related matters. Advise HR and Operations leaders across multiple states with practical legal guidance aligned with McCarthy’s culture and business objectives.
• Workplace Investigations: Independently conduct, direct, or support privileged internal investigations, including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, ethics and compliance, code of conduct, and policy-related issues. Prepare investigation plans, conduct interviews, review documents and data, assess legal risk, and develop clear, practical findings and recommendations.
• Employment Claims and Litigation: Respond to and manage administrative charges and inquiries from federal, state, and local agencies (e.g., EEOC and analogous state agencies), including position statements, information responses, and mediations. Provide support on employment-related disputes and litigation, including single-plaintiff cases, arbitrations, and wage-and-hour matters, in coordination with supervising counsel and outside counsel. Support discovery strategy and compliance and assist with witness preparation, mediations, and settlement strategy.
• Agreements: Draft, review, and negotiate employment-related agreements, including offer letters, separation agreements, independent contractor arrangements, and other agreements with employment-law implications.
• Compliance, Policies, and Training: Monitor, interpret, and communicate developments in federal, state, and local employment and labor laws impacting McCarthy’s operations across multiple jurisdictions. Draft, review, and update employment-related policies and procedures to ensure compliance and reflect best practices. Develop and deliver training to HR, Operations, and other departments on employment topics (e.g., anti-harassment, investigations, wage and hour, accommodations, and supervisor best practices).
• Labor Relations: Advise on labor relations issues in coordination with other Legal department team members and Operations, including interpretation and application of labor agreements, grievance handling, and labor matters.

Requirements

• Juris Doctor (J.D.) from an ABA-accredited law school.
• Licensed to practice law in California with active membership in good standing.
• Minimum of 4 years of dedicated employment law experience at a leading law firm, in-house legal department, or both (combination of law firm and in-house experience preferred).
• Deep knowledge of key federal and state employment laws (e.g., Title VII, ADA, ADEA, FMLA, FLSA, NLRA, state and local wage-and-hour and leave laws) and demonstrated ability to apply them in a practical, business-oriented way.
• Significant experience as a trusted advisor on a wide range of issues, including investigations, discipline, terminations, accommodations, leaves, and compliance.
• Demonstrated experience handling or overseeing employment-related disputes, agency charges, and/or litigation, including strategy, discovery, and resolution.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain complex legal concepts clearly to non-lawyers and to influence stakeholders at all levels.
• Proven ability to manage multiple matters simultaneously, prioritize effectively, and exercise sound judgment in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
• High integrity, strong ownership mindset, and a highly collaborative, service-oriented approach to partnering with Legal department team members and internal stakeholders.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting employers in construction, engineering, industrial, energy, infrastructure, or related industries.
• Experience working with union-represented workforces, collective bargaining agreements, and related labor-relations issues.
• Experience with multi-state operations and the complexities of differing state and local employment requirements.
• Prior in-house experience supporting a large, geographically dispersed organization.

Pay

For California locations, the salary range for this position is $140,000 - $180,000. This does not include possible bonus and other benefits which can impact total compensation. Compensation offered may vary based on work location, experience, qualifications, specialty, training, and market and business considerations, among other factors.