Description

JOB PURPOSE: 

The Senior Director of Labor Relations serves as the organization’s senior in-house labor and employment authority, responsible for leading enterprise-wide labor relations strategy, employee relations, HR compliance, and workplace investigations. This role acts as the primary liaison with union representatives and organizers, leads collective bargaining negotiations, and ensures the organization maintains full compliance with all applicable employment laws.

 The incumbent represents the organization in employment-related legal matters and provides expert guidance on labor implications across the organization’s entities. The role also designs and delivers comprehensive management training programs on labor and employee relations matters at all levels of leadership. This position requires a licensed New York attorney with deep experience in unionized healthcare or similarly regulated environments.

 JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:

 Labor & Employee Relations

• ­   Serve as the organization’s primary point of contact for all unions, union organizers, and delegates.
• ­   Lead and manage collective bargaining negotiations, contract administration, and renewal strategy.
• ­   Direct grievance, arbitration, and dispute resolution processes, including case preparation and representation as appropriate.
• ­   Lead all labor-management meetings and develop proactive union engagement strategies.
• ­   Advise executive leadership on union activity, organizing risk, and labor mitigation strategies.
• ­   Monitor labor trends and recommend enterprise-wide action plans.
• ­   Oversee the enterprise Employee Relations function, ensuring consistent, fair, and compliant handling of workplace matters.
• ­   Direct and/or conduct complex and sensitive employee investigations, including allegations of misconduct, harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and policy violations.
• ­   Provide expert guidance to HR and leadership on disciplinary actions, terminations, and performance management.
• ­   Ensure investigations and outcomes are well-documented, defensible, and aligned with legal standards.
• ­   Identify trends and implement preventive employee relations strategies.
• ­   Develop metrics and dashboards to monitor employee relations and labor trends.

 HR Compliance and Employment Law

• ­   Ensure organizational compliance with all applicable federal, New York State, and local employment laws and regulations.
• ­   Research and interpret new and emerging employment laws and translate requirements into actionable guidance.
• ­   Oversee the team responsible for managing and coordinating all workforce-related audits conducted by the New York State Department of Health (DOH), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and other applicable regulatory agencies.
• ­   Serve as the primary organizational contact for DOH and CMS auditors on personnel and labor-related matters, ensuring timely, accurate, and consistent responses.
• ­   Ensure full compliance with personnel file documentation and recordkeeping requirements established by DOH, CMS, and other governing bodies, including periodic internal reviews and corrective action as needed.
• ­   Support and coordinate all requests and responses to external agency matters (e.g., EEOC, NYSDHR, NLRB, DOL).
• ­   Conduct periodic audits of employment practices to ensure compliance and risk mitigation.
•  ­   Serve as the primary internal liaison with outside attorneys, regulators, and third-party entities on labor and employment matters for all entities under the system and legacy organizations.
• ­   Coordinate litigation strategy, document production, position statements, and case preparation as required.
• ­   Support executive leadership in assessing legal risk and exposure related to workforce matters.
• ­   Lead the development, review, and update of HR policies, procedures, and employee handbook content.
• ­   Review and advise on organizational contracts, agreements, and vendor arrangements that may have labor or employment implications across the organization’s entities.
• ­   Ensure policies and agreements align with current legal requirements and organizational strategy.
• ­   Maintain standardized investigation and employee relations protocols.

 Accommodation & Workplace Requests

• ­   Oversee the interactive process for ADA accommodations, religious accommodations, and other protected workplace requests.
• ­   Provide legal and operational guidance on complex accommodation determinations.
• ­   Ensure consistent, compliant, and timely handling of all requests.

 Management Training

• ­   Design, implement, and deliver comprehensive labor and employee relations training programs for management at all levels of the organization.
• ­   Provide ongoing coaching to leaders on effective employee management, union awareness, and risk avoidance.
• ­   Develop toolkits, guidance materials, and standardized practices to strengthen frontline management capability.
• ­   Promote a culture of accountability, fairness, and legal compliance.

 Perform other duties as assigned in support of organizational priorities.

Schedule: 8:30 AM – 5:30 PM

Hybrid Schedule: 3 days in the Office, 2 days remote.

Weekly Hours: 40

Location: Brooklyn Office, or Uniondale Office. Flexible based on the Candidate preference.

Salary Range: $170,000.00 - $185,000.00

Additional Comp: Annual Management Bonus up to 10% Annual Salary, 409A SERP Plan, and 401K (3% safe harbor, and Employer match).

Requirements

QUALIFICATIONS: 

•  Education: Juris Doctor (JD) from an accredited law school is required.
•  License: An active license to practice law in New York State in good standing is required.

 Experience:

• ­   Minimum 5+ years of progressive labor and employment experience.
• ­   Significant experience in unionized environments required (healthcare strongly preferred).
• ­   Demonstrated success leading collective bargaining negotiations.
• ­   Extensive experience conducting complex workplace investigations.
• ­   Experience managing external counsel and agency matters strongly preferred.
• ­   Experience supporting multi-entity or complex organizational structures preferred.

 Knowledge, Skills & Competencies:

•  ­  Deep expertise in labor relations strategy and union dynamics.
• ­   Strong investigative judgment and documentation skills.
• ­   Excellent negotiation and conflict resolution capabilities.
• ­   Ability to balance legal risk with operational realities.
• ­   Executive presence and ability to influence senior leaders.
• ­   High level of discretion and professionalism.
• ­   Strong analytical, policy development, and training facilitation skills.