Employment Law Counsel

Guardian Life · New York City · $152,290–$250,195 (stated in the posting)

Apply on the company website

Guided by our company Purpose of “Inspiring well-being for our colleagues, consumers, and communities”, we are committed to building a best-in-class Law Department.

We drive a high-performance culture across our Legal, Compliance, and Government Affairs functions.  Aligned to “what” we deliver, our goals and “how” we deliver, our values and behaviors demonstrated in delivering against our goals.  We do this through leveraging a series of core capabilities, which includes interpersonal effectiveness, ability to demonstrate business savvy, being a subject matter expert in your practice area, and leading people and teams where applicable.

Our colleagues, and the candidates we hire are key to the continuing success of our department.

Position Summary

In this role as the Employment Law Counsel, you will serve as the number two Employment and Labor Counsel. Reporting directly to the Head of Employment Law you will provide practical, business-focused legal advice on a broad range of employment matters affecting Guardian’s employees and field force.

As Employment Law Counsel, you will partner closely with Human Resources, business leaders, and Law Department colleagues to manage legal risk, support sound decision-making, and advance Guardian’s business priorities.

You are

You are an enterprise thought leader on employment law. You independently identify emerging legal and business risks, establish strategic direction, and provide practical, business-focused counsel to senior leaders on complex and precedent-setting matters. You bring expertise in ERISA plans, sales compensation, and incentive plans and exercise a high degree of autonomy while aligning with the Head of Employment Law and the Law Department’s commitment to technical excellence, client service, collaboration, and ethics.

You have

Required:

• A Juris Doctor degree with active bar admittance

• Minimum of five (5) years of relevant professional legal experience practicing employment law in a large law firm or an in-house legal department; labor law experience a plus, but not necessary

• Must have significant experience handling administrative matters, and single-plaintiff litigation/arbitration

• Strong oral and written communication skills as well as outstanding organizational and analytical skills required

• Strong negotiation skills and business acumen, with a track record of structuring separation agreements, settlements, and resolutions that balance legal risk with business objectives

• Work independently, but collaboratively in a team setting while displaying a high level of self-direction and sound judgment

• Must be a self-starter, have a proactive approach to address issues before they create legal exposure; able to handle a multitude of complex and challenging situations

• Desktop computer competency to include proficiency in MS Office Suite, Westlaw and Harvey.

• Demonstrated AI literacy, including using AI-enabled legal tools (such as Harvey) for research and drafting, with the judgment to critically evaluate and verify AI-generated output against primary sources

Preferred:

• NYS bar admission preferred or eligible to be admitted with NYS bar under its in-house counsel admission program

• Familiarity with compensation and benefit plans governed by ERISA, including plan language drafting and ERISA litigation

• Experience defending employment class and collective actions

• Comfort working with workforce data and analytics (e.g., pay equity, worker classification, and adverse-impact analyses) to support evidence-based legal advice

You will:

• Partner with the Head of Employment Law to lead and advance enterprise-wide legal strategy for employment matters, and provide counsel to Human Resources leadership, and business leaders on complex and high-impact issues, including hiring and termination, harassment, discrimination and retaliation, leaves of absence, reasonable accommodations, pay equity, wage and hour requirements, compensation plans, restrictive covenants, conflicts of interest, worker classification, employee investigations, performance management, and affirmative action compliance.

• Lead and oversee the company’s response to administrative agency matters, including investigations and proceedings before the EEOC, DOL, and equivalent state and local agencies.

• Partner and consult with the Colleague Relations team, Human Resources Business Partners, and business leaders, as appropriate, to assess involuntary terminations and develop separation packages that address legal risk and business considerations.

• Advise on organizational restructurings, reorganizations, and reductions in force, including WARN Act and state notice requirements, selection-process design, and adverse-impact review, in partnership with Human Resources and business leaders.

• Counsel the business on workforce transformation driven by automation and AI, including role redesign, up-skilling and redeployment terms, and review of technology-related position eliminations to mitigate discrimination and wrongful-termination risk.

• Manage employment and labor litigation and/or arbitration, including reviewing pleadings, developing strategy, facilitating the gathering of information (documents, interviews); making recommendations at key stages in the process, etc. Lead on complex, precedent-setting employment and labor litigation and arbitration. Direct outside counsel, determine case strategy, oversee the development of the factual record, and provide senior leaders with clear recommendations at key decision points.

• Conduct legal research, develop well-reasoned legal opinions, and provide clear, practical recommendations on novel and high-impact employment-law matters.

• Anticipate and assess emerging employment law developments and translate them into enterprise-wide legal strategy, advising senior leaders and Human Resources leadership on the financial, regulatory, operational, and reputational implications for the company.

• Stay abreast of evolving employment-related legislation and provide strategic guidance to stakeholders on required policy, process, and operational changes.

• Provide guidance on the development, interpretation, and implementation of company policies and procedures, ensuring alignment with employment-law requirements and consistent application across the enterprise.

• Advise Human Resources and business leaders on the legal risks of AI and automated decision tools used in hiring, promotion, performance management, and workplace monitoring, including bias audits, candidate notice, and transparency requirements (e.g., NYC Local Law 144).

• Partner with key stakeholders to develop and deliver internal training on a range of employment-law topics, supporting compliance and consistent practices across the enterprise.

• Provide strategic employment-law counsel in support of acquisitions, divestitures, and other enterprise transactions, advising on due diligence, workforce risks, and integration matters.

• Bring deep labor and employment law expertise, a business-oriented and client-focused approach, and the ability to build trusted relationships and collaborate effectively with counsel across the Law Department, external counsel, Human Resources partners, and business partners.

• Undertake additional strategic initiatives and responsibilities in partnership with the Head of Employment Law, consistent with the evolving needs of the Law Department and the business.

Functional Leadership Skills & Behaviors

Interpersonal Effectiveness

• Demonstrated ability to use communications and stories to inspire, motivate and influence others on ideas.  You communicate with conciseness, composure, and confidence - yet engaging manner.

• Gone beyond the expected and engaged others to do more than what is expected.

• Proactively sought out leadership or significant project opportunities rather than wait for direction.

Business Savvy

• Taken the time to learn and become well-versed in the business.  Able to bring your professional expertise to use for business or customer needs in a way that makes a significant difference.

• A strategic end to end view in organizing and planning work or initiatives and able to deliver exceptional results and outcomes that involves managing or influencing through others.

• Found ways to ask insightful questions in creating or shaping a new solution.  Challenge existing approaches and enlist others in new thinking.  Created a change environment and champions new projects that shape the future.

Legal Expertise

• A mastery of both written and oral communications with the goal to provide concise, clear messaging to persuade the audience, especially the executive level. 

• Remained current in your subject matter and demonstrates expert knowledge in your field.  You are sought after for advice / counsel.  Made significant contributions toward achieving team and organizational goals.

• Brought a solutions-based approach when working with clients / customers to understand needs required to deliver unique solutions to challenging business problems.

Lead by Example

• Bring your authentic self to work and demonstrate empathy …  create an inclusive environment

• Prioritize your well-being

• Stay informed and continually develop yourself as a leader … create capacity for growth

Reporting Relationships

As our Employment Law Counsel, you will report to our Head of Employment Law, who reports to our Chief Legal Officer

Location:   

Hybrid role - 3 days in the Hudson Yards, NYC office. 2 days WFH.

Salary Range:

The salary range reflected above is a good faith estimate of base pay for the primary location of the position. The salary for this position ultimately will be determined based on the education, experience, knowledge, and abilities of the successful candidate. In addition to salary, this role may also be eligible for annual, sales, or other incentive compensation.

Our Promise

At Guardian, you’ll have the support and flexibility to achieve your professional and personal goals.  Through skill-building, leadership development and philanthropic opportunities, we provide opportunities to build communities and grow your career, surrounded by diverse colleagues with high ethical standards.

Inspire Well-Being

As part of Guardian’s Purpose – to inspire well-being – we are committed to offering contemporary, supportive, flexible, and inclusive benefits and resources to our colleagues. Explore our company benefits at www.guardianlife.com/careers/corporate/benefits. Benefits apply to full-time eligible employees. Interns are not eligible for most Company benefits.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Guardian is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to age, race, color, creed, religion, sex, affectional or sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, marital status, disability, military or veteran status, or any other classification protected by applicable law.

Accommodations

Guardian is committed to providing access, equal opportunity and reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities in employment, its services, programs, and activities. Guardian also provides reasonable accommodations to qualified job applicants (and employees) to accommodate the individual's known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless doing so would create an undue hardship. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact MyHR@glic.com. Please note: this resource is for accommodation requests only. For all other inquires related to your application and careers at Guardian, refer to the Guardian Careers site.

Visa Sponsorship

Guardian Life is not currently or in the foreseeable future sponsoring employment-based visas (e.g., such as an H-1B). In order to be a successful applicant, you must be legally authorized to work in the United States, without the need for employer sponsorship/support now or at any time in the future.

Notice Regarding Guardian’s Use of Artificial Intelligence in Recruitment

As part of Guardian’s job application process, Guardian may use artificial intelligence tools (“AI Tools") to automate the sorting and filtering of information provided by applicants as part of its preliminary screening. This preliminary screening may be used to help identify applicant materials and resumes relative to their indication that the applicant meets the requirements for the specific job for which they are applying, as specified in the listing posted on Guardian’s jobs website (Careers at Guardian at https://www.guardianlife.com/careers). At Guardian, we do not use AI Tools to substantially assist or replace human judgment or discretionary decision making in our hiring process. All hiring decisions will be made by Guardian colleagues.

Please be aware that if you apply for a specific position with Guardian, you will have the choice of opting out of Guardian’s use of AI Tools during the job application process. If you would like to request an alternative process that does not utilize AI Tools or would like to request a reasonable accommodation, within ten business days of your position application, you must email your request to MyHR@glic.com, making sure to provide your name and job requisition identification number. Guardian will retain your applicant materials and resume and all information therefrom in accordance with Guardian’s document retention policy, a copy of which you may request via MyHR@glic.com.

Additionally, at applicable times, Guardian will make public the most recent bias audit results for such AI tools, which may be found here. 

Current Guardian Colleagues: Please apply through the internal Jobs Hub in Workday.

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