Verified official opening
Employment Counsel
Green Thumb Industries · Chicago, IL. TWS checked this against the employer’s official recruiting source; the employer remains the final authority.
Role details
<p><strong>The Role</strong><br>GTI is seeking an experienced in-house employment attorney to join our Legal team. In this role, you'll serve as a trusted partner to the People team and business leaders across GTI's multi-state operations – providing practical, business-focused guidance across the full employee lifecycle, from day-to-day employment matters and EEOC charges to complex leave and accommodation issues.
The ideal candidate brings strong employment law experience, a solutions-oriented mindset, and the ability to build trusted partnerships across the organization – delivering clear, actionable legal guidance that enables the business to move quickly while protecting the company.</p> <p><strong>Responsibilities</strong><br>• Serve as the dedicated employment law advisor to GTI’s People team and other business partners across all multi-state retail, production, and corporate operations, providing practical, risk-calibrated guidance across the full employee lifecycle – from hiring and onboarding through performance management, compensation, accommodations, and separations.<br>• Advise on internal workplace investigations involving employee misconduct, discrimination, harassment, and retaliation, ensuring outcomes are consistent, lawful, and aligned with GTI’s values.<br>• Own GTI’s EEOC charge and administrative agency complaint process end-to-end – drafting position statements, coordinating fact-gathering, responding to agency requests, and driving matters to resolution prior to litigation.<br>• Collaborate closely with the Associate General Counsel – Litigation when matters escalate beyond the administrative stage, ensuring seamless handoff and consistent strategy on active employment-related cases.<br>• Serve as a trusted legal advisor on complex employee benefits escalations, interpreting applicable laws and regulations, counseling cross-functional partners, and identifying emerging legal risks requiring further action. <br>• Advise the People team on complex leave of absence and reasonable accommodation matters across GTI’s operating states, ensuring consistent application of federal and state requirements.<br>• Partner with the People team to proactively manage risk, draft and maintain employment policies, and advise on workforce strategy, employee relations, and all aspects of employment law compliance.<br>• Review form employment agreements, offer letters, separation and severance agreements, and the templates People and Talent Acquisition teams use day-to-day.<br>• Design and deliver practical employment law training for managers and the People team, covering high-risk areas such as terminations, accommodations, investigations, and wage and hour compliance.<br>• Collaborate with Assistant General Counsel – Labor, as needed, to support GTI’s labor relations strategy and union matters.<br>• Stay current on federal, state, and local employment law developments across GTI’s operating markets; manage compliance plans in response to legislative changes and translate developments into actionable guidance for business partners.<br>• Partner with the People team and other business leaders to spot early warning signs across complaints, investigations, and exits, and drive corrective action where possible.<br>• Own and maintain the employee handbook and all state-specific addenda, ensuring policies remain current, legally compliant, and reflective of regulatory changes across all jurisdictions in which GTI operates.</p> <p><strong>Qualifications</strong> <br>• J.D.
from an accredited law school and active bar admission in the state where the attorney resides, or eligibility to practice as registered in-house counsel.<br>• 6+ years of employment law experience, with in-house experience preferred.<br>• Strong working knowledge of employment laws – including discrimination, employee leave, wage and hour, and employee relations – under federal, state, and local frameworks.<br>• Experience navigating multi-state compliance complexity; cannabis industry or other highly regulated industry experience a plus.<br>• Demonstrated ability to partner effectively with outside counsel.<br>• Excellent legal analysis, reasoning, and writing skills – including the ability to quickly synthesize facts and law to make sound decisions under time pressure.<br>• Clear, concise, and persuasive communicator, both orally and in writing.<br>• Ability to work independently, anticipate business needs, and take a proactive, situationally aware approach.<br>• Strong judgment and ability to assess risk, take firm positions, and protect the company’s interests.<br>• Superior interpersonal skills – able to build relationships with diverse stakeholders, collaborate across a geographically dispersed Legal team, and work effectively with members of the People team and business leaders.<br>• Comfortable operating with agility and urgency in a high-growth, fast-paced environment with competing priorities.<br>• Must understand and comply with the rules, regulations, policies, and procedures of Green Thumb, including cannabis-specific laws and regulations across all operating markets.</p> <p><strong>Additional Requirements</strong><br>• Must pass any and all required background checks <br>Must be and remain compliant with all legal or company regulations for working in the industry </p> <p> </p><div class="content-pay-transparency"><div class="pay-input"><div class="description"><p><em>The pay range is competitive and based on experience, qualifications, and/or location of the role.
Positions may be eligible for a discretionary annual incentive program driven by organization and individual performance.</em></p></div><div class="title">Green Thumb Pay Range</div><div class="pay-range"><span>$175,000</span><span class="divider">—</span><span>$195,000 USD</span></div></div></div>
Where this role fits.
TWS groups this opening under Compliance / quality. The employer posting is the authority for this specific job; the guidance below is here to help you understand the broader path and prepare for similar work.
Useful things to understand
- Your state's cannabis rules
- SOPs and audit habits
- Inventory / reporting controls
Similar current openings
Source: Green Thumb Industries official posting ↗. Last verified Oct 5, 2026. Openings can change; confirm the latest details on the employer site before applying.
