Department of Labor

Labor Investigator

Los Angeles, California Full time

Labor Investigator

Department: Department of Labor

Location(s): Los Angeles, California

Salary Range: $58827 - $93549 Per Year

Job Summary: The primary duty of this position is conducting civil and criminal investigations of individuals and labor organizations that have or may violate provisions of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (LMRDA). The incumbent will plan, direct, and conduct compliance and enforcement activities within an assigned geographic area. This position is inside the bargaining unit.

Major Duties:

  • This is a career ladder progression position; the incumbent will serve in a developmental capacity, wherein the work is less complex in nature and the supervisor or a senior level employee provides specific instruction and guidance. For the GS-07 level: Conducts specifically selected, straight-forward civil and criminal investigations, compliance audits, and routine enforcement activities. Serves as team member on complex civil and criminal investigations. Attends and participates in meetings and conferences with union officials and their attorneys and/or accountants and enforcement staff of various state and federal agencies. Conducts extensive searches for information from labor organization financial reports, union constitutions and other documents. Organizes information to assist in preparations for civil and criminal investigations. Drafts portions of investigative reports and audit findings for use in final reports prepared by lead Investigator. For the GS-09 level: Conducts civil and criminal investigations and compliance audits of union operations or financial practices and performs specific monitoring duties during supervised union elections related to compliance with the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) and related laws. Explains or interprets the provisions, policies and requirements of the pertinent statutory authorities governing the matter under consideration to effect voluntary compliance. Interviews union members regarding allegations of unequal access to union mailing lists for campaign purposes; lack of appropriate safeguards to secret balloting, or ballot fraud. Participates in meetings and conferences with union officials and their attorneys and/or accountants and enforcement staff of various state and federal agencies, including the Regional Solicitor and United States Attorneys on civil and criminal matters. Drafts complete, well-documented reports of investigative findings. Develops appropriate sections of reports of broader or more complex civil or criminal investigations. As the employee progresses, the assignments will become more difficult and complex with less supervision. Work Environment: Initial assignments are typically performed in office settings, but usually require extensive additional on-site investigative work. This on-site work may occur during evening or other irregular hours in workplaces of union officials or other persons at work sites that include unsafe and crime ridden urban areas, factories, union office buildings, construction building sites, mine operations, trucking terminals, warehouses, etc. and could expose the Investigator to some personal and environmental risks in order to accomplish required mission.

Qualifications: To qualify for the Labor Investigator, you must meet one of the options described by grade level below. Specialized Experience is the experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to perform the duties of the position successfully, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level. For the GS-07 level: Specialized Experience: Applicants must have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, GS-05, in the Federal Service. Qualifying specialized experience for the GS-07 level includes at least three (3) of the following: Providing assistance to higher level staff in researching and applying laws and regulations to identify discrepancies; Performing regulatory compliance work; Assisting in the examination of financial data and records to compile data and draw conclusions; Assisting in conducting fact-finding interviews to gather information; Drafting correspondence for final review and signature; and/or Drafting and/or preparing portions of reports. OR Education: Possess one (1) full year of graduate education that provides the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to do the work of this position; OR Combination of experience and education: Possess a combination of specialized experience as described above AND graduate education as described above, which when combined would equate to at least 100%; OR Superior Academic Achievement (S.A.A.): S.A.A. recognizes college or university students who have successfully completed all of the requirements for a bachelor's degree and achieved superior academic standing as evidenced by one of the three methods described below. S.A.A. is based on (1) class standing, (2) grade-point average, or (3) honor society membership. 1. Class standing -- Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses. 2. Grade-point average (G.P.A.) -- Applicants must have a grade-point average of a. 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on their official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or b. 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum. 3. Election to membership in a national scholastic honor society -- Applicants can be considered eligible based on membership in one of the national scholastic honor societies listed below: Alpha Beta Gamma, Alpha Chi, Alpha Epsilon, Alpha Epsilon Delta, Alpha Epsilon Rho, Alpha Eta Mu Beta, Alpha Iota Delta, Alpha Kappa Delta, Alpha Kappa Mu, Alpha Lambda Delta, Alpha Phi Sigma, Alpha Pi Mu, Alpha Sigma Lambda, Alpha Sigma Mu, Alpha Sigma Nu, Beta Gamma Sigma, Beta Kappa Chi, Beta Phi Mu, Chi Epsilon, Chi Sigma Iota, Delta Epsilon Sigma, Delta Mu Delta, Delta Tau Alpha, Epsilon Pi Tau, Gamma Theta Upsilon, Kappa Mu Epsilon, Kappa Omicron Nu, Kappa Tau Alpha, Lambda Iota Tau, Lambda Pi Eta, Lambda Sigma, Mortar Board, Mu Kappa Tau, National Society of Scabbard and Blade, NSCS (The National Society of Collegiate Scholars), Omega Chi Epsilon, Omega Rho, Omicron Delta Epsilon, Phi Beta Delta, Phi Sigma, Phi Sigma Iota, Phi Sigma Tau, Phi Upsilon Omicron, Pi Alpha Alpha, Pi, Delta Phi, Pi Gamma Mu, Pi Kappa Lambda, Pi Omega Pi, Pi Sigma Alpha, Pi Tau Sigma, Pi Theta Epsilon, Psi Beta, Psi Chi, Rho Chi, Sigma Beta Delta, Sigma Delta Pi, Sigma Lambda Alpha, Sigma Lambda Chi, Sigma Pi Sigma, Sigma Tau Delta, Sigma Theta Tau, Tau Alpha Pi, Tau Beta Pi, Tau Sigma Delta, Theta Alpha Kappa, Upsilon Pi Epsilon. For the GS-09 level: Specialized Experience: Applicants must have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, GS-07, in the Federal Service. Qualifying specialized experience for the GS-09 level includes at least four (4) of the following: Reviewing, analyzing and interpreting laws to assure compliance with regulations; Conducting simple investigations of the violation of laws; Conducting audits/reviews of financial records to identify discrepancies (e.g., labor union, banking records); Examining, researching and gathering information for preparation of portions of investigative reports; Providing advice and guidance to the public on regulatory requirements; and/or Drafting and/or preparing reports. OR Education: Possess a Master's or equivalent graduate degree, or two (2) full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree, or LL.B or J.D, if related, that provides the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to do the work of this position; OR Combination of experience and education: Possess a combination of specialized experience as described above AND graduate education as described above, which when combined would equate to at least 100%.

How to Apply: 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. Important - Save your information before the 30-minute system timeout! For help, go to the USAJOBS Help Center. STEP 1 - Create USAJOBS Account on www.usajobs.gov, including Resume and Saved Documents. 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. If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice. Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a training a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. Set aside at least 2 hours to take the USA Hire Assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link. Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused. Visit the USA Hire Applicant Resource Center for practice assessments and assessment preparation resources at https://support-usahire.opm.gov/hc/en-us. To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. To view the announcement status or your application status: Visit https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/howto/application/status/. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your 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: 2026-03-27