Employment Counsel

Experian Group; Costa Mesa (CA); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Great compensation package and bonus

Medical, dental, vision and 401K

Flexible remote/hybrid or in-office

Flexible time off

Benefits portal

Job summary

Experian is seeking a Senior Employment Counsel to partner with HR, Employee Relations, and Legal to guide complex employment matters across North America. The role reports to the VP, Litigation Director and requires a proactive, risk-aware approach to policy, investigations, and training.

You will balance legal risk with business goals, provide scalable guidance, and support a hybrid work model with weekly presence at the Costa Mesa headquarters.

Qualifications

• J.D. with active bar license (CA preferred).
• 7+ years employment law experience.
• Experience in employment litigation, investigations, and policy development.
• Experience advising on HR matters across multi-state organizations.
• Ability to translate legal concepts into practical guidance for HR partners.

Responsibilities

• Advise HR, Employee Relations, and business leaders on employment law matters including leaves, accommodations, performance management, and separations.
• Oversee complex employee relations investigations and advise on strategy and documentation.
• Manage employment-related claims, agency charges, and litigation coordination with outside counsel.
• Draft and update employment policies and handbooks to meet federal, state, and local requirements.
• Deliver training for HR and leaders on employment law and investigations.

Skills

Employment law expertise

Relationship skills

Policy development

Training delivery

Data-driven risk management

Education

Juris Doctor (J.D.)

Active bar membership

California bar (preferred)

Job description

Role Overview

What you'll do

You will combine deep employment law expertise with relationship skills. You will balance legal risk, employee experience, and operational goals while helping the business move forward thoughtfully. You will report to our VP, Litigation Director. You will work in a hybrid-capacity, requiring 1-day per week at Experian's North America Headquarters in Costa Mesa, CA.

Main responsibilities include:

• Advise HR, Employee Relations, and business leaders on a broad range of employee relations and employment law matters, including performance management, accommodations, leaves, separations, workplace conduct, and organizational change.
• Provide guidance on sensitive workplace matters, helping leaders make defensible, and values‑aligned decisions.
• Support the full employment lifecycle, including recruiting, onboarding, job classification, background checks, contingent workforce matters, performance issues, and separation documentation.
• Partner on or oversee complex employee relations investigations and advise on investigation strategy, documentation, findings, remediation, and defensible record‑building.
• Manage employment‑related claims, agency charges, demand letters, mediations, audits, and litigation, including coordination with outside counsel.
• Draft, review, interpret, and update employment‑related policies, handbooks, templates, communications, and manager guidance to align with federal, state/provincial, and local legal requirements.
• Monitor legal and regulatory developments across North America and translate changes into practical, scalable guidance, training, and policy updates.
• Support compliance programs involving accommodations, leaves, wage and hour, pay practices, equal employment obligations, handbook governance, and other workplace compliance requirements.
• Build trusted relationships with People/HR, Employee Relations, Compliance, Benefits, Security, Investigations, Legal, and business leaders to provide coordinated support.
• Deliver practical training for HR, employee relations practitioners, and people leaders on employment law, workplace investigations, accommodations, respectful workplace conduct, documentation, and related topics.
• Strengthen manager and HR capability through tools, guides, templates, issue‑spotting guidance, standard operating procedures and process simplification.
• Use data, technology, and efficient ways of working to improve legal service delivery, identify trends, and reduce workplace risk.

Experience and Skills

• Juris Doctor (J.D.) and active bar membership; California bar membership preferred.
• 7+ years of employment law experience, combining law firm and in‑house experience or advising complex, multi‑state employers.
• Background in employment litigation, agency charges, workplace investigations, compliance audits, policy development, and practical risk management.
• Experience advising on employee relations, performance management, leaves and accommodations, terminations, employment claims, and high‑risk workplace matters.
• Experience supporting large, matrixed, multinational, or high‑growth organizations.
• Experience supporting North America or broader Americas employment matters, including Canada, Costa Rica, and Chile, preferred.
• Translate complex legal concepts into clear, practical guidance for HR partners and business leaders.
• Experience developing training, strengthening manager capability, and improving enterprise processes, and ways of working.

About Experian

Experian is a global data and technology company, powering opportunities for people and businesses around the world. We operate across a range of markets, from financial services to healthcare, automotive, agribusiness, insurance, and many more. Experian invests in people and new advanced technologies to unlock the power of data. We have an amazing team of 25,200 people in 32 countries.

Our uniqueness is that we celebrate yours. Experian's people first, inclusive and purpose driven culture is multi award‑winning; World's Best Workplaces™ 2025 (Fortune Global Top 25), Great Place To Work™ in 26 countries to name a few. Check out Experian Life on social or explore our Careers Site to understand why.

Our compensation reflects the cost of labor across several U.S. geographic markets. The base pay range for this position is listed above. Within this range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors such as job‑related skills, experience, and education. You will be also eligible for a variable pay opportunity.

Experian is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer for all groups protected under applicable federal, state and local law, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know at the earliest opportunity.

Benefits/Perks:

• Great compensation package and bonus plan
• Core benefits including medical, dental, vision, and matching 401K
• Flexible work environment, ability to work remote, hybrid or in‑office
• Flexible time off including volunteer time off, vacation, sick and 12‑paid holidays
• Explore all our exciting benefits here: https://myexperianbenefits.com/