People & Employment Compliance Specialist

WHY JOIN

You'll work directly with our People and Legal leadership on real, varied employment matters from your first week — owning routine work end-to-end while gaining exposure to investigations, labor relations, and multi-state compliance strategy. It's a high-trust, high-autonomy role with a clear path to grow as we expand.

POSITION OVERVIEW

As we continue to grow, we're hiring a People & Employment Compliance Specialist to support the day-to-day employment, compliance, and employee-relations work that keeps a multi-state, multi-studio team running smoothly. This is a hands-on generalist role for someone who is equal parts practical HR operator and careful legal thinker.

We're open to two kinds of candidates: an experienced HR or employee-relations professional with strong employment-law fluency, or a junior employment attorney looking to build broad in-house experience. Bar admission is preferred but not required. You'll partner closely with our People and Legal leadership, owning routine matters end-to-end and getting meaningful exposure to investigations, labor relations, and multi-state compliance.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Day-to-day employment-law and compliance support

• Serve as a first point of contact for recurring employment questions from People Support, studio leadership, and operations — wage-and-hour, meal and rest breaks, overtime, final pay, and PTO/sick-leave accrual.
• Apply federal, state, and local requirements that vary by work location, and help ensure consistency as employees transfer between studios.
• Support benefits-eligibility and classification questions, including ACA full-time determinations and measurement periods.
• Help maintain occupational-licensing compliance for service providers — tracking active credentials, renewals, and applicable requirements across jurisdictions.
• Distinguish routine questions you can resolve independently from those that warrant escalation, and route the latter appropriately.
• Provide payroll oversight, to ensure accurate and compliant processing of wages, overtime, deductions, and employee status changes.

Policy, handbook, and documentation

• Draft, revise, and reconcile handbook and policy language across jurisdictions (leave, benefits, scheduling, uniforms, and more), keeping state-specific addenda aligned with the master handbook.
• Prepare clear, accurate employee-facing letters and notices using neutral, legally sound language.
• Maintain organized records and acknowledgment trails so the company's policies and decisions are well documented.

Employee relations and investigations

• Support workplace investigations from intake through closeout: organizing timelines, identifying relevant documents, and keeping a clean, well-structured record.
• Draft neutral, professional communications to employees throughout a matter.
• Recognize sensitive situations early and partner with leadership and counsel on the right approach.
• Prepare concise internal summaries for leadership and outside counsel, and track open items and deadlines to closure.

Labor relations support

• Provide research and administrative support on labor-relations matters, working under the direction of leadership and counsel.

REQUIREMENTS

• 2–5 years in employment law, HR compliance, or employee relations — in-house, at a firm, or in a multi-location/retail/services environment. We weigh a junior attorney and a seasoned HR generalist equally.
• Working knowledge of federal and multi-state employment law (wage-and-hour, leave, ACA, anti-retaliation, anti-discrimination); California experience is a strong plus.
• Sound judgment about what to handle independently versus escalate, paired with strong organization and follow-through.
• Clear, neutral, precise writing across a range of registers — from a policy notice to an internal summary memo.
• Discretion and comfort handling confidential, high-stakes personnel matters.
• Familiarity with HRIS/payroll systems (Rippling a plus) and standard document tooling.

BONUS BUT NOT REQUIRED

• J.D. and active bar admission (CA preferred), or SHRM-CP/SHRM-SCP / PHR/SPHR certification.
• Experience supporting workplace investigations and/or labor relations.
• Experience in a multi-location, licensed, and/or unionized workforce.

Sugared + Bronzed is a fast-growing sugaring and airbrush tanning brand with studios across multiple states. We're known for a premium, body-positive client experience — and behind the scenes, for a team that takes care of its people as thoughtfully as it takes care of its clients.