Employee Relations & Compliance Specialist

Location: On-Site, Newport Beach, CA
Employment Type: Full-Time, Exempt
Reports To: Director, Human Resources
Travel: Approximately 10%

This role serves as a key HR partner to operational leaders and employees throughout our organization, ensuring compliance with employment laws and regulations while handling employee relations, workplace investigations, performance management, training initiatives, and risk mitigation efforts. The ideal candidate is a bilingual HR professional who thrives in a fast-paced industrial environment and has a passion for creating a compliant, productive, and positive workplace culture.

The Employee Relations & Compliance Specialist partners closely with leadership to promote a compliant, productive, and positive workplace by ensuring adherence to federal, state, and local employment laws and regulations. This position plays a critical role in safeguarding organizational compliance, reducing liability, resolving workplace concerns, and fostering a culture of accountability, fairness, continuous improvement, and operational excellence across all company locations.

Key Responsibilities

Employee Relations & Workplace Investigations

• Handle employee relations matters, including workplace investigations, grievances, complaints, and conflict resolution.
• Conduct employee and management interviews, prepare written findings, and provide recommendations for resolution.
• Partner with managers to address performance concerns through coaching, documentation, and corrective action.
• Draft and administer Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs).
• Issue disciplinary actions in accordance with company policy and progressive discipline standards.
• Collaborate with leadership and legal counsel regarding employee terminations, claims, subpoenas, and sensitive employment matters.

Compliance & Risk Management

• Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local labor and employment laws, including but not limited to:
  • EEO
  • ADA
  • FMLA
  • DOT
  • OSHA
  • MSHA
  • OFCCP
  • CCPA
  • Wage and Hour regulations
• Stay current on legislative changes and HR compliance trends and communicate impacts to management.
• Assess HR policies and practices to ensure legal and regulatory compliance.
• Conduct wage and hour audits, including timekeeping practices, meal and rest period compliance, and off-the-clock work reviews.
• Perform plant compliance audits to verify labor law postings, employee file maintenance, time clock usage, and policy adherence.
• Monitor on-site compliance activities and identify potential risks before they become liabilities.
• Develop and maintain quarterly compliance risk assessments for each location and support mitigation efforts.

Training & Development

• Develop, assign, track, and facilitate HR compliance and employee relations training programs.
• Deliver training on topics including:
  • Workplace harassment prevention
  • Workplace violence prevention
  • Retaliation prevention
  • Wage and hour compliance
  • Interactive process requirements
  • Company policies and procedures
• Create training materials and employee resource guides.
• Support leadership development and employee education initiatives.

HR Operations & Reporting

• Run and analyze compliance-related reports, including negative attestation and PTO-zero reports.
• Partner with operational leaders and HR team members to address discrepancies and compliance concerns.
• Assist with required company reporting, including:
  • EEO-1 Reporting
  • VETS Reporting
  • Pay Equity Reporting
  • Affirmative Action Program (AAP) Certifications
  • Diversity Outreach Initiatives
• Assist with internal audits, external audits, compliance investigations, and legal inquiries.
• Collaborate with HR, Risk Management, Safety, Operations, and other departments to ensure companywide compliance.

Strategic HR Partnership

• Support the Director of Human Resources in identifying and mitigating organizational risk.
• Assist in the development and implementation of compliance initiatives, policies, and best practices.
• Partner with management to promote a culture of accountability, fairness, safety, and respect.
• Participate in special projects and continuous improvement initiatives as assigned.

Qualifications

Required

• Bilingual English/Spanish (required).
• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in HR compliance, employee relations, and employment law.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience conducting workplace investigations and administering disciplinary actions.
• Strong knowledge of federal and state employment laws and regulations.
• Demonstrated ability to handle confidential and sensitive matters with professionalism and discretion.
• Strong organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Proven ability to manage multiple priorities and projects simultaneously.

Preferred

• SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP certification.
• ADP HRIS experience.
• Project management experience with a track record of successfully leading cross-functional initiatives.
• Experience supporting multi-site operations.
• Experience within aggregates, mining, construction materials, transportation, logistics, manufacturing, heavy industrial, or similarly regulated environments.
• Experience working with DOT, MSHA, OSHA, wage and hour compliance, and hourly workforces.

Core Competencies

• Employee Relations
• Workplace Investigations
• Employment Law Compliance
• Risk Assessment & Mitigation
• Conflict Resolution
• Performance Management
• Training & Facilitation
• Project Management
• Strategic Thinking
• Relationship Building
• Communication & Presentation Skills
• Confidentiality & Professional Judgment
• Data Analysis & Reporting
• Attention to Detail
• Organizational Effectiveness

Work Schedule

This is a full-time, exempt position. Typical workdays are Monday through Friday; however, hours may vary based on business needs. Occasional evening and weekend work may be required.

This position is not eligible for remote work.

Travel

Travel between company locations, plants, terminals, yards, and corporate offices is required and estimated at approximately 10%.

Physical Requirements & Work Environment

This position operates in both professional office settings and industrial plant environments. The employee will regularly communicate with employees and managers, use standard office equipment, and occasionally visit operational sites.

The position may require standing, walking, sitting, reaching, climbing stairs, balancing, stooping, kneeling, crouching, and lifting up to 25 pounds. The work environment ranges from a moderate-noise office setting to potentially loud industrial locations. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position.

If you are a bilingual HR professional who enjoys solving complex employee relations issues, ensuring compliance, and supporting a dynamic industrial workforce, we encourage you to apply today.

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