HR/ER Principal

Job Purpose The HR/ER Principal serves as the primary legal and compliance resource within Human Resources, providing practical, business-focused legal guidance across the full HR function. This role supports Employee Relations, Benefits, Safety, Security, Workers' Compensation, HR compliance, labor relations, and other employment-related matters.

The position reviews investigation reports and sensitive employment actions; reviews and updates internal forms, templates, policies, and documents for compliance with applicable federal and state law; monitors legal developments and employment-law trends; partners closely with external counsel on complex and high-risk legal matters; prepares legal, compliance, and audit reports; and supports urgent workplace matters as needed.

This is an individual-contributor role requiring an attorney or legal professional with strong employment and labor law experience, sound judgment, discretion, and the ability to translate legal requirements into practical HR and business solutions. Key Accountabilities

• Enterprise HR Legal Support - 30%: Advise HR and business leaders on employment and labor law matters across Employee Relations, Benefits, Safety, Security, Workers' Compensation, leave and accommodations, wage and hour, and related HR operations. Review and update HR forms, policies, notices, agreements, and other documents for federal and state law compliance. Monitor legal developments, conduct legal research, recommend practical changes, and draft or negotiate employment-related agreements.
• Claims, Litigation, Agency Matters and Reporting - 25%: Partner with external counsel on claims, agency charges, demand letters, subpoenas, pre-litigation matters, mediations, arbitrations, and litigation. Coordinate litigation holds, evidence preservation, discovery, document production, witness preparation, settlement implementation, and post-matter follow-up. Prepare case summaries, risk assessments, litigation and executive reports, audit reports, and status updates. Monitor outside-counsel performance, budgets, invoices, and forecasts.
• Investigation and Employment Action Review - 20%: Review complex or high-risk investigations, evidence, findings, disciplinary actions, and termination recommendations for factual support, consistency, policy alignment, and legal risk. Advise on matters involving discrimination, harassment, retaliation, whistleblowing, wage and hour, leaves, accommodations, safety, privacy, and senior-level employees.
• Labor Relations and Union Prevention - 15%: Support positive employee relations and lawful union-prevention efforts by identifying workplace concerns and recommending responsive actions. Train managers on employee rights, protected concerted activity, union awareness, early warning signs, and compliant communication. Coordinate lawful responses to organizing activity and other labor matters with external labor counsel when appropriate.
• Policy, Forms, Training, Compliance and Audit - 10%: Develop and update HR policies, procedures, forms, templates, training, and compliance communications. Conduct compliance and risk assessments, support audits, respond to findings, prepare compliance and audit reports, and implement corrective and preventive actions with HR stakeholders. Key Performance Indicators
• Provide timely, accurate, practical legal guidance that enables informed HR and business decisions.
• Complete reviews of investigations, disciplinary actions, and termination recommendations within established timelines, with clear identification of factual, policy, and legal-risk gaps.
• Ensure investigation reports distinguish allegations, evidence, credibility considerations, findings, and recommendations and are supported by available facts.
• Identify and escalate potential litigation, retaliation, safety, compliance, and labor-relations risks promptly.
• Keep HR forms, policies, notices, agreements, and templates current with relevant federal and state legal developments.
• Provide timely, clear, and practical legal updates, including the potential impact on HR operations and recommended actions.
• Deliver manager and HR training on employment-law fundamentals, investigations, documentation, employee rights, labor relations, and compliant union-related communications.
• Identify and address employee-relations trends and workplace concerns that may contribute to organizing activity, while ensuring recommendations and management responses comply with the National Labor Relations Act and protect employees' rights.
• Maintain complete, confidential, organized, and audit-ready matter files and trackers that clearly identify legal holds, discovery obligations, counsel requests, settlement commitments, deadlines, ownership, and next steps.
• Meet agency, litigation, discovery, reporting, audit, and internal business deadlines.
• Prepare accurate case summaries, risk assessments, litigation reports, executive updates, compliance reports, and audit reports that clearly state status, exposure, deadlines, recommendations, and next steps.
• Coordinate timely and complete evidence preservation, document collection, review, production, witness preparation, mediation, arbitration, settlement implementation, and post-matter follow-up in partnership with external counsel.
• Track outside-counsel performance, legal spend, matter budgets, invoices, forecasts, and material variances, and recommend cost-effective use of legal resources.
• Use claims, investigation, audit, and litigation trends to identify root causes and recommend preventive controls, policy changes, and targeted training.
• Complete agreement reviews and negotiations accurately and within required business timelines.
• Partner effectively with Benefits, Safety, Security, Workers' Compensation, Payroll, HR, Operations, and external counsel on cross-functional legal matters.
• Preserve attorney-client privilege where applicable and consistently maintain confidentiality, sound judgment, and professional independence.
• Perform other duties as assigned, consistent with business needs and applicable law. Major Challenges and Key Decisions
• This position requires a high level of independent thinking, leadership, and problem-solving, with daily decisions necessary to ensure compliance with federal and state laws, protect the company from unnecessary litigation, effectively lead and develop Field HRBPs, and provide consistent Employee Relations support across multiple locations.
• The position must exercise sound judgment when reviewing investigation findings, disciplinary actions, and termination recommendations; allocating Employee Relations resources; evaluating organizational risk; managing employment claims and litigation-related matters; and determining when issues require escalation to senior leadership or legal counsel.
• Balancing legal risk, employee impact, operational urgency, and business objectives across multiple HR functions and locations.
• Determining when a matter can be addressed through internal HR guidance and when specialized internal or external legal counsel should be engaged.
• Assessing whether investigation findings and employment recommendations are factually supported, consistently applied, and legally defensible.
• Providing rapid, practical guidance during urgent workplace events while working with incomplete or evolving information.
• Navigating labor-relations matters in a manner that respects employees' legally protected rights and supports lawful management practices. Work Schedule and Travel Requirements Work Schedule Monday
• Friday 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM Travel Required Yes Travel Detail Minimal overnight travel (up to 20%) by land and/or air