Employee Relations & Policy Specialist (Legal)

Macmillan Learning; Austin (TX); Remote; USD 68,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

Macmillan Learning seeks an experienced Employee Relations & Policy Specialist to lead workplace investigations, maintain multi-state policies, and support employment legal matters.

Reporting to Employment Counsel, this role bridges Legal and HR, coordinating investigations, drafting findings, and advising on performance management across a distributed workforce. Remote-friendly, tied to NY office for tax and compliance.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business, or related field; or a Paralegal Certificate from an ABA-approved program.
• 2-3 years of progressive experience in Employee Relations, Workplace Investigations, or Employment Law (in-house legal/HR environment or employer-side law firm preferred).
• Strong working knowledge of federal, state, and local employment laws (FLSA, FMLA, Title VII, ADA, ADEA, state wage-and-hour laws).
• Proven ability to conduct neutral, sensitive workplace interviews and synthesize complex facts into concise written reports.
• Exceptional strategic judgment, emotional intelligence, discretion, and the ability to influence outcomes across all levels of the organization.
• Demonstrated capability in advising on complex performance management, leaves, accommodations, and employee relations issues.
• Exceptional legal/policy writing, editing, and organizational skills.
• Proficiency with legal research databases (Westlaw/LexisNexis) and document management systems.

Responsibilities

• Lead objective workplace investigations under Employment Counsel guidance.
• Draft comprehensive investigation summaries, findings, and remediation recommendations.
• Maintain multi-state employment policies and SOPs to ensure compliance with laws.
• Provide guidance on performance management, corrective action, coaching, PIPs, accommodations, and leave programs.
• Analyze employee relations trends and maintain compliant case documentation.
• Support leader capability through training, coaching, and mentoring on employee relations best practices.
• Draft, tailor, and track employment agreements and severance/releases in compliance with law.
• Coordinate document collection, litigation holds, and evidence for outside defense counsel.
• Review engagements for proper worker classification (W-2 vs. 1099).
• Monitor regulatory changes and proactively identify policy updates and pre-litigation risk mitigation.

Skills

Policy governance

Investigations

Performance guidance

Trend analysis

Separation & agreements

Legal process support

Contractor classification

Regulatory research

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree or Paralegal certificate

Tools

Westlaw/LexisNexis

Job description

Description

The Legal Department is seeking an experienced, detail-oriented Employee Relations & Policy Specialist to manage workplace investigations, oversee employment policy compliance, and support internal employment legal matters. Sitting directly within the Legal team and reporting to the Employment Counsel, this role acts as a critical bridge between Legal and Human Resources. The Specialist will lead objective workplace investigations, maintain multi-jurisdictional employment policies, and support pre-litigation risk mitigation across a distributed workforce.

What You'll Bring:

• Policy Governance & Drafting: Maintain, update, and draft employee handbooks, multi-state employment policies, and standard operating procedures to ensure compliance with federal, state, and local labor laws.
• Internal Workplace Investigations: Conduct fair, objective internal investigations into policy violations and workplace concerns under the guidance of Employment Counsel. Draft comprehensive investigation summaries, findings, and remediation recommendations.
• Performance Management & Employee Guidance: Provide guidance on performance management, corrective action, coaching, performance improvement plans (PIPs), accommodations, and leave programs.
• Trend Analysis, Documentation & Leader Capability: Analyze employee relations trends, maintain compliant case documentation, and support leader capability through training, coaching, and mentoring on employee relations best practices.
• Separation and Employment Agreements: Draft, tailor, and track standardized and custom employment agreements and severance and release agreements in compliance with applicable law (e.g., OWBPA, state-specific rules).
• Legal Process & Dispute Support: Serve as the primary point of contact for agency inquiries, employment record requests, and subpoenas. Coordinate document collection, litigation holds, and evidence compilation for outside defense counsel.
• Independent Contractor Classification: Review engagements to assess proper worker classification (W-2 vs. 1099) under federal, state, and local legal tests; maintain classification documentation and records.
• Regulatory Research & Risk Mitigation: Monitor statutory changes, state/local leave laws, and workplace regulations to proactively identify required policy updates and support pre-litigation risk mitigation.

What You'll Bring:

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business, or related field; or a Paralegal Certificate from an ABA-approved program.
• 2-3 years of progressive experience in Employee Relations, Workplace Investigations, or Employment Law (in-house legal/HR environment or employer-side law firm preferred).
• Strong working knowledge of federal, state, and local employment laws (FLSA, FMLA, Title VII, ADA, ADEA, state wage-and-hour laws).
• Proven ability to conduct neutral, sensitive workplace interviews and synthesize complex facts into concise written reports.
• Exceptional strategic judgment, emotional intelligence, discretion, and the ability to influence outcomes across all levels of the organization.
• Demonstrated capability in advising on complex performance management, leaves, accommodations, and employee relations issues.
• Exceptional legal/policy writing, editing, and organizational skills.
• Proficiency with legal research databases (Westlaw/LexisNexis) and document management systems.

Salary range: $68,000 - $85,000

Overtime eligible: Exempt

This position is classified as remote but is tied to our New York, NY office located at 120 Broadway. Employment is subject to New York State tax withholding under applicable regulations.

Macmillan Publishers is the U.S. trade company that is part of the Holtzbrinck Publishing Group, a large family-owned group of media companies headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. Holtzbrinck Publishing Group's publishing companies include prominent imprints around the world that publish a broad range of award-winning books for children and adults in all categories and formats.

U.S. publishers include Celadon Books, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Flatiron Books, Henry Holt & Company, Macmillan Audio, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, The St. Martin's Publishing Group, and Tor Publishing Group. In the UK, Australia, India, and South Africa, companies in the Holtzbrinck Publishing Group publish under the Pan Macmillan name. The German publishing company, Holtzbrinck Deutsche Buchverlage, includes among its imprints S. Fischer, Kiepenheuer & Witsch, Rowohlt, and Droemer Knaur.

Macmillan is proud to be an equal opportunity employer consistently striving to foster a culture where everyone belongs. We welcome applicants of all backgrounds and identities. Qualified applicants are evaluated without regard to race, color, religion, age, ethnicity, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability status, physical ability, neurodiversity, genetic information, protected veteran status, family and economic status and background or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. We prohibit discrimination of any kind and will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities in accordance with applicable law.

Equal Opportunity Employer This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws.For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.