Attorney Adviser

Attorney Adviser

Department: Department of Labor

Location(s): San Francisco, California, Washington, District of Columbia, Boston, Massachusetts, Cincinnati, Ohio, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Newport News, Virginia

Salary Range: $90838 - $111896 Per Year

Job Summary: This position is located in the Office of the Deputy Secretary, Office of Administrative Law Judges (OALJ). This office is responsible for conducting adjudicatory hearings and issuing decisions for the Department of Labor under more than 70 different laws and executive orders. This position is inside the bargaining unit.

Major Duties:

• Major Duties: The Attorney Advisor serves as an attorney to either the District Chief ALJ or, in the Headquarters Office, to an Associate Chief ALJ or the Chief ALJ. However, the incumbent may be assigned to perform work for any ALJ. The incumbent serves as a senior attorney with specialized knowledge concerning the numerous statutes, regulations, and procedures governing cases adjudicated by the OALJ. The incumbent is responsible for providing a full range of advice on program issues and drafting decisions and orders in pending cases before the office. The incumbent conducts the highest level of research on the most complex and difficult legal issues, both substantive and procedural, arising under any case area and particularly under prominent case areas such as the Black Lung Act, the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act, Permanent Alien Labor Certification Appeals and the whistleblower statutes under OALJ's jurisdiction. Reviews the work of externs, law clerks, and less experienced attorney advisors, including examining pertinent laws, regulations, administrative and court decisions, and other materials necessary for ensuring that rulings issued by ALJs are legally sound. Conducts comprehensive legal research to assist one or more ALJs, a District Chief ALJ, an Associate Chief ALJ, or the Chief ALJ by, including examining pertinent laws, regulations, administrative decisions from the DOL appellate authorities and Federal court decisions nationwide, and other materials necessary for ensuring that the rulings issued by ALJs are legally sound and which can be the basis for wide-ranging precedent. The research typically includes analyzing and summarizing the relevant facts and law, then explaining the basis for the conclusions or recommendations. Provides technical guidance to ALJs regarding the legal implications and legal sufficiency of decisions, orders, and other communications issued by OALJ. The incumbent makes revisions to draft decisions, orders, and other communications or recommends revisions to ensure those documents conform to legal requirements and reflect the most recent precedents. Drafts orders and decisions in both routine and significant cases or the signature of the ALJ. The incumbent's writing often requires a high degree of original and creative analysis of complicated facts and complex statutes, regulations, and decisions by Federal courts and the Department's appellate authorities. The process requires the incumbent to evaluate conflicting evidence, review testimony, briefs or legal memoranda filed by the parties, medical records or other exhibits, the entire hearing record, and all relevant legal authorities. Without further technical review, submits proposed decisions and orders directly to the ALJ. These proposed decisions and orders should require little substantive revision by the ALJ before issuance.

Qualifications: IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. To qualify for an attorney position, applicants must possess a professional law degree (LL.B. or J.D.); be a member in good standing of the bar of a court of general jurisdiction of a state, territory or possession of the U.S.; and have acquired the amount of experience indicated below for each grade level. For GS-13 grade level, applicants must have two (2) years of post-law experience progressively responsible legal experience of a professional nature which demonstrates the ability to perform the work at this level. Specialized Experience: two (2) years of post-J.D. specialized experience at or equivalent to, the GS- 12, in or directly related to this position. Two (2) years of specialized experience commensurate with the duties and responsibilities of the position at a level close to the work of this job that has given you the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities required to successfully perform. NOTE: A LL.M. may be substituted for a maximum of one year of experience. Transcripts: You must provide a copy of your law school transcript to be considered for this position. Verification of your academic degree(s) is necessary to determine your qualifications or eligibility for this position. Unofficial transcripts may be submitted during the application phase of the process, although you will be required to submit official transcripts for verification purposes before you are hired. Please note that you must earn a J.D. or L.L.B degree before you can begin working. Writing Sample: In addition to your transcripts applicants must also provide an unedited legal writing sample that is no more than ten (10) pages long with your application in order to receive further consideration. The writing sample can a portion of a brief or memorandum. Status Federal Employees: If applying as a status candidate with current or former Federal Service, please provide a copy of your last or most recent SF-50, "Notification of Personnel Action" which shows your appointment eligibility for the position for which you are applying. Your SF-50 must identify the highest grade you held on a permanent basis, Pay Plan/Pay Schedule, Series, Grade/Pay Band, and career status. Multiple SF-50 may be submitted to demonstrate your highest previous rate and eligibility. *WARNING: An award SF-50 (ex. cash or time off award) may not indicate grade, step, and competitive status. For current DOL employees, an award SF-50 DOES NOT indicate grade and step.

How to Apply: Persons who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, or have speech disabilities, please dial 711 to access telecommunications relay services. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, including submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section. Your application and ALL required supplemental documents MUST be received by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on the vacancy closing date to receive consideration. Paper applications and supplemental documents submitted in any other manner without prior approval from the vacancy contact will not be considered. Click here for information on Reasonable Accommodations. Important - Save your information before the 30 minute system timeout! For help, go to USAJOBS Help Center. STEP 1 - Create USAJOBS Account on www.usajobs.gov, including Resume and Saved Documents. Your resume must provide sufficient information to substantiate your responses to the self-assessment vacancy questions. If not, HR may amend your responses to more accurately reflect the competency indicated by resume content. For each employment period, include start/end month & year and note full-time or part-time (if part-time, include # of hours worked per week) otherwise, your application may be considered incomplete. NOTE: In alignment with the Presidential Memorandum titled Merit Hiring Plan, dated May 29, 2025, applicants may only submit a resume limited to two (2) pages. Only the résumé uploaded under the 'Resume" document type in USAJOBS will be reviewed. If the resume submitted exceeds two (2) pages, the application will be deemed ineligible for further consideration. STEP 2 - Complete the 1st part of the application process (USAJOBS). Once you have identified a job on USAJOBS that you wish to apply for, click on the job title and then click the Apply button. For questions about the vacancy, contact the Agency Contact at the bottom of the announcement. Proceed through the steps noted at the top of the USAJOBS page. You will be able to select a resume and documents from your USAJOBS Account that you can submit as a package as part of your DOL application. In the final step, once you have certified your application, click the Continue to agency site button. STEP 3 - Complete the 2nd part of the application process (DOL). On the Department of Labor (DOL) page, create a DOL Account if you have not already and click Apply to this vacancy. Continue through the progress steps at the top of the DOL page. The 2nd progress step is where you answer the vacancy-specific questions. The 3rd progress step Documents is where you submit the required documents (only if applicable to you) specified in the Required Documents section of this vacancy. STEP 4 - On the Review and Submit step, verify each section of your application is complete and correct. In order to submit your application, you must have a check mark next to each section listed. If there is an X, return to the appropriate section and follow the prompts. When it is ready for submission, certify your application and click the Submit Application button. STEP 5 - Edit Application as needed by 11:59 pm Eastern Time of Closing Date by returning to USAJOBS, clicking the vacancy, then Update Application. NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date. For more detailed information on applying for positions with DOL click here to view the U.S. Department of Labor, How to Apply website.

Application Deadline: 2026-03-23