Attorney Advisor (Labor)

Attorney Advisor (Labor)

Department: Department of Labor

Location(s): Washington, District of Columbia

Salary Range: $121785 - $187093 Per Year

Job Summary: This position is located in the Office of the Solicitor's Division of Employment and Training Legal Services and will be will be assigned to either the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Programs or Wagner-Peyser and Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS) Employment and Training Counsel Areas.

Major Duties:

• The Office of the Solicitor is looking for a talented and motivated attorney to join the WIOA Programs or Wagner-Peyser and VETS Programs Counsel Area in the Division of Employment and Training Legal Services. The Division provides legal assistance to: (1) the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) in its administration of the foreign labor certification programs, the Federal-State unemployment compensation program, the national workforce investment and employment service programs, Job Corps, and apprenticeship programs. (2) the Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS) in its administration of employment and training programs for veterans and separating service members, the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994, and the provisions of the Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 relating to the enforcement of Federal executive branch veterans' preference laws; and (3) the Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) with regard to all international labor activities of the Department, including with regard to its efforts to eradicate child labor, forced labor, and human trafficking and to negotiate and enforce strong labor rights provisions in trade agreements. The individual selected will primarily work either in ETLS' WIOA Programs or Wagner-Peyser and VETS Employment Training Programs areas. ETLS' WIOA Programs team provides legal services with respect to ETA's administration of employment and training grant programs authorized under WIOA, including state formula grant programs, and competitive grant programs such as the National Farmworker Jobs Program, the Indian and Native American Program, national emergency grants, YouthBuild, and several demonstration grant projects such as Reentry Employment Opportunities grants. ETLS' Wagner-Peyser and VETS provides legal services with respect to ETA's administration of employment and training programs and activities that are not authorized under WIOA, including programs and activities authorized under the Wagner-Peyser Act, the Senior Community Service Employment Program, and the H-1B Skills Training Grant Program, as well as with respect to VETS' administration of employment and training programs for veterans. Staff on these teams regularly perform work in both areas. The individuals selected will provide legal advice, rulemaking, and litigation services to ETA's Office of Workforce Investment and VETS. This work includes drafting formal and informal legal opinions regarding administration of ETA and VETS' workforce programs and on the administration of federal grants; verbally providing legal advice to client staff and leadership; drafting and/or reviewing regulations, policy and program guidance, and grant funding opportunity announcements; and drafting or reviewing legislation, regulations, program letters, memoranda of understanding, and testimony to assure conformity with Federal statutory, regulatory, and policy requirements. This work includes addressing very difficult, highly complex and controversial questions involving problems of statutory construction and novel questions of law which govern the administration of the above-described programs. This position requires the ability to work in a fast-paced environment responding to constantly evolving agency priorities, a strong dedication to public service, and an ability to develop and provide legal advice in a collaborative manner to further ETA's and VETS' program goals. Background in grants law and/or administrative law, knowledge of the workforce programs administered by ETA and VETS, and experience in the Federal rulemaking process is preferred. The selected attorney will be expected to exercise sound judgment and discretion in the discharge of duties, including providing advice directly to DOL officials and staff, subject to the overall supervision of Division management. The selected attorney will from time-to-time meet with Federal officials in other Federal agencies such as the Department of Justice, the Department of Education, and the Office of Management and Budget. This position is inside the bargaining unit.

Qualifications: 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. Qualifying specialized experience for GS-13 includes: two (2) years of progressively responsible legal experience of a professional nature which demonstrates the ability to perform the work at this level. Qualifying specialized experience for GS-14 includes: three (3) years of progressively responsible legal experience of a professional nature which demonstrates the ability to perform the work at this level. At least one year of qualifying experience, at this level, must be specialized experience as defined below. Specialized experience, for both grade levels, is defined as experience engaging in federal rulemaking, conducting federal and/or administrative litigation, or experience researching and analyzing legal issues involving federal immigration programs. Note: An LL.M may be substituted for a maximum of one year experience.

How to Apply: 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. 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: 2026-03-15