Employee Relations Business Partner, US (Contractor)

About the role

Rippling is looking for a United States-based Employee Relations Business Partner to join its HR Policy & Compliance Team to manage employee relations investigations.

You will work closely with a number of stakeholders, including HR Business Partners (HRBPs), Legal, and business leaders, on employee relations investigations.

What you will do

• Assess incoming employee relations concerns, determine the appropriate investigative response, and partner with stakeholders to drive timely and thoughtful resolution.
• Partner closely with Legal to identify and escalate matters requiring a dedicated Legal team investigation.
• Work with HR Business Partners, managers, and business leaders to resolve employee relations matters in a way that is fair, consistent, risk-aware, and operationally practical.
• Provide practical HR guidance and recommendations that address employee concerns while supporting team effectiveness, manager accountability, and business continuity.
• Draft clear, concise documentation, including case summaries, findings, recommendations, stakeholder updates, playbooks, templates, and business-facing guidance.
• Track employee relations activity, themes, resolution status, and outcomes in Rippling.
• Identify patterns, root causes, and emerging risks across employee relations matters, and recommend process, training, manager coaching, or policy improvements.
• Help develop and maintain employee relations operating practices, including intake criteria, escalation guidelines, documentation standards, investigation protocols, templates, and cadences.
• Leverage data, AI, and automation to improve employee relations processes, scale case handling, and create better experiences for employees and managers.
• Maintain discretion, confidentiality, neutrality, and professionalism when handling sensitive employee and workplace matters.

What you will need

• 5+ years of experience in employee relations, HR business partnership, HR compliance, workplace investigations, or a related HR role.
• Strong understanding of employee relations principles, workplace conduct standards, HR compliance considerations, and investigation best practices.
• Experience advising managers and business leaders on sensitive employee matters with sound judgment, discretion, neutrality, and empathy.
• Ability to assess employee relations concerns and determine the right path for HR-led resolution, stakeholder partnership, or escalation to Legal, Compliance, Security, or another specialized team.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including experience drafting case summaries, findings, recommendations, playbooks, and stakeholder updates.
• Strong interviewing, fact-gathering, documentation, problem-solving, and analytical skills.
• Practical business judgment and strong HR instincts, with the ability to recommend solutions that are fair, consistent, risk-aware, and operationally realistic.
• Strong project management skills, including the ability to manage multiple matters at once, prioritize urgent issues, and drive work to timely resolution.
• Experience working cross-functionally with HRBPs, Legal, managers, executives, and other internal stakeholders.
• Ability to use data and case trends to identify recurring issues, improve processes, and support broader employee relations priorities.
• Comfort building structure, improving processes, and operating effectively in a fast-moving, high-growth environment.
• Interest in using AI and automation to scale HR processes and improve the employee and manager experience.'

Nice to have

• Law degree, such as a JD or equivalent, preferred but not required.
• Experience with Jira, case-management systems, HRIS tools, or similar tracking platforms.
• Experience supporting a global or multi-state workforce.
• Experience building employee relations programs, operating models, templates, or playbooks in a scaling company.