Job Description

Overview: For nearly 40 years, Great Expressions Dental Centers (GEDC) has been a leader in providing preventative dental care, orthodontics and specialty care with 275+ local offices in 10 states: Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Virginia, and Texas! One of the largest privately owned Dental Support Organizations in the United States, GEDC is consistently recognized for contributions to improving oral health through quality and safety initiatives, affordable dental care services, patient convenience, research and more. For more information, go to www.greatexpressions.com.

Responsibilities: The Associate General Counsel, Labor & Employment will work under the supervision of the General Counsel, and will serve as the in-house expert on employment matters for GEDC.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Advises Human Resources and management on day-to-day employment law and labor relations issues, including overseeing investigations (both internal and external), addressing leave issues, and advising on how to properly apply state and federal laws and regulations.
• Works with outside counsel to manage EEOC and state discrimination charges and employment-related litigation.
• Answers questions from management and provides guidance on state and federal employment laws on a daily basis.
• Assists Human Resources in managing employee grievances, disciplinary matters and contract interpretation issues.
• Provides counsel on employment law considerations in connection with integrating new Team Members who join the organization through mergers and acquisition activities.
• Proactively scans the environment for potential wage and hour issues and manages remediation plans as necessary.
• Ensures compliance with state and federal employment laws, and, when necessary, assists outside counsel defending claims in state and federal court and alternative dispute resolution venues.
• Delivers training to GEDC managers on a variety of employment-related legal topics to build management\'s understanding of how to proactively identify and avoid disputes around hiring, workplace discrimination, performance management, sexual harassment and other relevant topics.
• Performs other tasks as requested by the General Counsel.

• Proven track record of monitoring key practice success measures, and building a specific plan for progressive improvement.
• Ability to effectively engage a variety of stakeholders-from front line to executive and board-level individuals.
• Experience with integrating and onboarding employees in connection with merger and acquisition activity.
• Strong computer skills including: Microsoft Office.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with strong drafting skills suitable to more complex and sophisticated matters.
• Ability to work independently and professionally in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.
• Uses a consultative approach to engage management to successfully identify and resolve a variety of conflicts across their teams; mitigate risk and resolve personnel and operational issues.
• Ability to handle highly sensitive and confidential information with discretion and in a manner that inspires confidence and trust.
• Proven ability to manage multiple projects with correct prioritization and time management skills.

• JD. degree from an ABA accredited law school, with licensure to practice in at least one state.
• 5+ years of experience practicing employment law. Familiarity with federal employment law (Title VII, FMLA, ADA, WARN, ADEA/OWBA, FLSA, etc.) laws is required.
• Law firm experience is required, with in-house experience preferred.
• Healthcare experience is a plus, but not required.