ASSISTANT GENERAL COUNSEL, EMPLOYMENT LAW UNIT

Job description

The Employment Law Unit (ELU) provides comprehensive legal counsel and strategic guidance throughout the Department of Social Services/Human Resources Administration (DSS/HRA) and the Department of Homeless Services (OHS) program areas in all matters related to labor and employment law. The Unit oversees the prosecution of disciplinary matters under the State Civil Service Law, litigates cases before the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH), and manages the agency's defense against discrimination complaints before Federal, State, and City Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) enforcement agencies. The ELU also serves as primary legal counsel for Human Capital Management {HCM) and provides high-level counsel to the senior leadership on emerging legal and investigative issues. Under the supervision of the Associate General Counsel (M-III) for the Employment Law Unit, the Assistant General Counsel (M-II) serves as a senior executive manager with wide latitude for independent judgment and high-level decision making. This role is responsible for the overall strategic direction and day-to-day executive operations of the ELU, directly supervising all attorney and support staff. The Office of the General Counsel is recruiting for one (1) Executive Agency Counsel M2 to function as an Assistant General Counsel for the Employment Law Unit who will: - Direct and manage the day-to-day executive operations of the ELU and supervises all Unit staff. This includes providing executive supervision and oversight of the Agency Attorney and support staff, ensuring appropriate volume of work, and providing expert legal guidance on successful trial advocacy. This duty is performed under the general oversight of the M-111 Associate General Counsel, with the M-11 primarily focused on implementing the strategic direction and managing the operational workflow for the Unit. Serves as a critical executive level decision-maker in the absence of the M-111 Associate General Counsel. - Review and resolve highly complex EEO litigation and investigative issues. Prepare confidential legal summaries and formal memoranda recommending disciplinary action, investigations, and other proposed management resolutions. In the absence of the Associate General Counsel (M-111], acts directly on their behalf to meet with the Senior Deputy General Counsel and other senior leadership, authorizing investigative actions, making initial decisions to suspend employees for serious misconduct, and counseling senior managers on responses to subpoenas, temporary restraining orders (TROs), and requests for injunctive relief. - Manage and oversee the prosecution of misconduct and incompetence cases filed before the Citywide Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH), directing and providing guidance to attorney staff on the review and drafting of disciplinary charges to ensure successful prosecution. Coordinate agency employee discipline initiatives with the Office of Human Resources Solutions through early intervention and oversees the investigative review of disciplinary referrals with the Inspector General and other investigative entities within and outside the agency. - Manage the strategic defense of discrimination complaints filed before Federal, State, and City EEO enforcement agencies, overseeing all aspects of the agency's defense including comprehensive witness and case preparation. Serve as the primary strategic point of contact for external agencies (e.g., Law Department, Department of Investigations, City Office of Labor Relations) regarding the conduct of outside litigation and proposes case settlements as appropriate. - Litigate the most complex and high-profile discipline and EEO cases which are beyond the expertise of subordinate attorney staff, setting the standard for advocacy within the unit. Conducts mandatory and ongoing legal training for agency employees on EEO and disciplinary processes to ensure compliance with external training mandates. - Ensure full regulatory and internal compliance. This includes preparing formal legal opinions on Conflict-of-Interest issues (e.g., legal waivers), ensuring that required monthly data collection reports are provided to the Senior Deputy General Counsel, and filed with external partners (e.g., EEO Office, COIB), and confirming that all case management tools and reports are maintained according to agency and legal standards. EXECUTIVE AGENCY COUNSEL - 95005 Admission to the New York State Bar; and four years of recent full-time responsible, relevant, satisfactory legal experience subsequent to admission to any bar, eighteen months of which must have been in the supervision of other attorneys, in an administrative, managerial or executive capacity, or performing highly complex and significant legal work. Incumbents must remain Members of the New York State Bar in good standing for the duration of this employment. The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.