Director, Corporate Counsel, Labor & Employment - FT - Days - Legal Services @ MV

El Camino Health is committed to hiring, retaining and growing the best and brightest professionals who will carry our mission and vision forward. We are proud of our reputation in the community: One built on compassion, innovation, collaboration and delivering high-quality care. Come join the team that makes this happen.

Applicants MUST apply for position(s) by submitting a separate application for each individual job posting number they are interested in being considered for.

FTE

1

Scheduled Bi-Weekly Hours

80

Work Shift

Day: 8 hours

Job Description

Reporting to the Chief Legal Officer, the Corporate Counsel, Labor & Employment supports El Camino Health and its affiliated entities by providing legal guidance on labor and employment matters in a complex, unionized healthcare environment. This role advises Human Resources, leadership, and operational teams on reasonable accommodation and leave matters, employment-related regulatory compliance, labor relations, and dispute resolution. The position manages employment litigation through the organization's insurance carriers and outside counsel, supports mediations and settlements, and provides practical, business-oriented advice to mitigate employment-related risk across the health system. The role supports and coordinates closely with executive leadership on complex, high‑risk, or sensitive labor and employment matters and matters with broader enterprise or governance implications.

Job Description

Ideal candidate will have demonstrated ability to:

• Serve as the primary legal advisor to Human Resources on labor and employment matters, including employee relations, discipline, performance management, and terminations.
• Advise on ADA/FEHA reasonable accommodation requests and the interactive process, including review of documentation, assessment of operational impact, and risk analysis associated with leave and accommodation decisions.
• Provide guidance on leave-related issues, including FMLA, CFRA, pregnancy disability leave, and related federal and California requirements.
• Manage employment-related litigation and claims, including wage-and-hour, discrimination, retaliation, wrongful termination, and PAGA matters, primarily through insurance carriers and outside counsel.
• Act as the internal point of contact for employment claims administered by insurers, including coordinating investigation and fact development, reviewing pleadings and strategy, evaluating exposure, and recommending resolution.
• Prepare for and attend mediations, settlement conferences, and other alternative dispute resolution proceedings involving employment matters.
• Advise on employment-related regulatory and agency matters, including responses to DLSE, CRD/DFEH, EEOC, PERB, and similar government inquiries.
• Support labor relations activities in a unionized environment, including advising on collective bargaining strategy, union negotiations, grievances, arbitrations, and labor‑management issues.
• Support and coordinate closely with the Chief Legal Officer and Associate Chief Legal Officer on escalated, novel, or high‑risk labor and employment matters, including those involving executive decision‑making or system‑wide risk.
• Collaborate with Human Resources on the development, review, and implementation of employment policies, handbooks, and procedures.
• Provide legal guidance on employment aspects of organizational changes, including restructurings, reductions in force, and operational realignments.
• Manage relationships and workflows with outside labor and employment counsel and monitor legal spend.
• Assist with other labor and employment projects and duties, as assigned.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 5 years of labor and employment law experience, preferably in-house or with a law firm representing healthcare clients.
• Juris Doctor (or equivalent) from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association.
• Strong knowledge of federal and California labor and employment laws, including ADA, FEHA, FMLA/CFRA, wage-and-hour laws, PAGA, NLRA, and healthcare-related labor regulations.
• Experience managing employment litigation through insurance carriers and working effectively with outside counsel.
• Experience advising organizations with unionized workforces strongly preferred.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills and ability to provide practical, business-oriented legal advice.
• High degree of credibility, integrity, and confidentiality.

License/Certification/Registration Requirements

Current active member of the California State Bar in good standing.

Additional Job Description

Restrict to Country: United States of America

Management Level: Director

FLSA Status: Administrative (Exempt)

Physical Requirements: Sedentary work; may lift up to 10 lbs.

Must be able to work at multiple El Camino Health locations in Los Gatos and Mountain View based on business needs.

Salary Range:

$103.76 - $155.63 USD Hour

The Physical Requirements and Working Conditions of this job are available. El Camino Health will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with a disability if that will allow them to perform the essential functions of a job unless doing so creates an undue hardship for the hospital, or causes a direct threat to these individuals or others in the workplace which cannot be eliminated by reasonable accommodation.

Sedentary Work - Duties performed mostly while sitting; walking and standing at times. Occasionally lift or carry up to 10 lbs. Uses hands and fingers. - (Physical Requirements-United States of America)

An Equal Opportunity Employer:

El Camino Health seeks and values a diverse workforce. The organization is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions on the basis of qualifications and competencies. El Camino Health prohibits discrimination in employment based on race, ancestry, national origin, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, marital status, age, medical condition or any other status protected by law. In addition to state and federal law, El Camino Health also follows all applicable fair and equitable employment policies from the County of Santa Clara.