Counsel - Employment and Compliance

Best People + Right Culture drive JE Dunn’s success. By hiring inspired people, giving them challenging work, enabling them with innovative tools, and letting them share in the company’s rewards, we’ve grown sustainably for over 100 years. Our diverse teams enrich lives through inspired people and places, and we need inspired people like you to join us in building authentic partnerships.

About the role

The Counsel – Employment & Compliance will provide broad and in-depth legal support, advice, and guidance to the organization regarding employment and labor law matters, compliance audits, and workplace policy development. This position partners with internal Human Resources Leaders and other key stakeholders to prepare and review employment-related templates, handbooks, and policies, as well as preparing legal evidence and arguments to protect the Company’s interests, manage agency charges, and minimize employment-related legal risk.

This role also serves as a key leader of the Company’s enterprise compliance program, overseeing regulatory compliance, reporting, records governance, licensing, affirmative action programs, federal project compliance, corporate ethics, and policy governance. The position partners with executive leadership to ensure audit readiness and compliance with all applicable legal and regulatory obligations.

Responsibilities

• Provides day-to-day legal support and counseling on routine employment and labor law matters across a national footprint.
• Reviews and provides guidance on employment-related documents, including consulting agreements, progressive discipline documentation, separation agreements, and confidentiality agreements.
• Provides legal counsel and guidance on a variety of HR matters including employee benefits, employee relations, progressive discipline, and workplace accommodations.
• Researches and prepares draft legal opinions, internal memoranda, and employee handbook guidelines and policies.
• Interprets federal, state, and local employment laws, rulings, and regulations (e.g., Title VII, ADA, FMLA, FLSA, OSHA, NLRB) to help the Company prepare clear, compliant, and effective workplace policies and practices.
• Assists with the management of employment-related claims, demands, and administrative charges (e.g., EEOC, DOL, state agencies). Provides assistance to gather and prepare evidence to formulate defenses or initiate legal actions.
• Implements and manages litigation hold memoranda for personnel records and related employment evidence.
• Provides legal guidance and support to HR and other stakeholders on immigration-related employment matters and filings. Partners with outside counsel as appropriate.
• Leads, supports, and promotes a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion within JE Dunn.
• Deeply understands JE Dunn’s policies and ensures positive, proactive compliance and implementation throughout the organization.
• Leads enterprise-wide employment compliance strategy, including OFCCP compliance, wage and hour enforcement, and regulatory investigations.
• Oversees Affirmative Action Programs (AAPs), including development, audit response, and regulatory compliance for veterans and individuals with disabilities.
• Conducts and reports annual pay equity analyses to executive leadership and the Board.
• Judges the merits of major employment claims or administrative charges filed against the company and works with HR executives and business leadership to define a strategic defense or approve settlements where warranted.
• Advises Human Resources and executive teams concerning employment liability, the advisability of prosecuting or defending lawsuits, workplace investigation findings, and legal rights/obligations.
• Partners with HR Leadership on workplace investigations and provides guidance as it relates to the preparation of evidence to defend the company against employment-related actions.
• Helps manage outside legal counsel retained for specialized employment litigation or local labor disputes.
• Monitors employment litigation proceedings and tracks legislative updates or shifting regulatory compliance trends.
• Assists with the development and delivery of training on legal topics for HR teams and people managers (e.g., anti-harassment, wage and hour compliance, interviewing best practices).
• Provides leadership and oversight of the Company’s Compliance Department functions, including Records Management, Licensing Compliance, Regulatory Reporting, Affirmative Action Programs, Federal/Project Compliance, and Company Compliance (Ethics, Policy Governance, Security).
• Oversees the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of enterprise compliance programs.
• Establishes KPIs and reporting frameworks to measure compliance effectiveness.
• Ensures enterprise-wide audit readiness and regulatory compliance.
• Leads quarterly legislative and compliance reviews with HR and business stakeholders.
• Provides oversight and leadership to compliance team members and functional leads.
• Assumes responsibility for day-to-day financial management of assigned scope by understanding the budget process, accurately forecasting, and limiting month-to-month fluctuations.
• Maintains fiscal records and follows procedures to ensure effective and efficient operations.
• Understands the business plan and manages financial goals.
• Makes operational decisions in light of broader financial goals and constraints.
• Inspires a sense of teamwork, utilizes communication and conflict resolution skills, and models a positive and professional attitude.
• Communicates and explains goals, encourages and motivates team performance, and recognizes individual and team accomplishments.
• Leads and facilitates effective team meetings.
• Assesses and manages the quality of work produced by the team.
• Creates, monitors, and manages scheduling; directs assignments and goal setting for optimal productivity and resource management.
• Participates in talent management activities, including evaluating and managing performance, providing feedback, recruiting, staffing, and addressing employee relations risks.
• Provides feedback and coaching to support individual employee performance, learning, and career development.
• Removes obstacles and solves problems to optimize team performance and productivity.
• Serves as a change agent by supporting corporate and work program change initiatives.
• Models and communicates positive approaches to adapting to change.
• Supports internal succession planning and ensures key compliance processes are well-documented and transferable across the department.
• Judges the merits of major claims filed against or on behalf of the region and works with the appropriate executive and project team to define a strategic defense and approve settlements where warranted.
• Advises the assigned region concerning claim liability, the advisability of prosecuting or defending lawsuits, and legal rights and obligations.
• Gathers and prepares evidence to formulate defense or to initiate legal actions.
• Helps manage outside counsel and monitors legal proceedings.
• Assists with the development and/or training on legal topics.

Qualifications

• Doctorate degree – Juris Doctor (Required).
• Bachelor’s degree in construction management, architecture, engineering, or other technical field (Preferred). In lieu of the above requirements, equivalent relevant experience will be considered.
• 5+ years of legal experience dedicated to practicing employment law (Required).
• Employment law litigation and compliance counseling experience with a large law firm or corporate legal department (Preferred). In lieu of the above requirements, experience in a related compliance practice, such as corporate governance or regulatory law, may be considered.

Skills

• Ability to perform work accurately, completely, and in a timely manner.
• Advanced communication skills (verbal and written).
• Ability to follow up on inquiries and employee relations issues in a timely manner.
• Advanced analytical skills to independently analyze complex workplace problems, investigate complaints, and provide legally compliant solutions.
• Advanced presentation skills to conduct effective compliance and legal training.
• Intermediate proficiency in MS Office.
• Advanced legal writing skills for drafting policies, position statements, and legal briefs.
• Advanced legal research skills, including tracking evolving employment statutes and case law.
• Advanced collaboration skills to build strong relationships within HR, executive teams, and external partners.

Benefits

The benefits package aligned to this position is Professional Non-Union. Click here for benefits details.