This position is located in the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Office of Administrative Law Judges (ALJ). All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply. The Required Documents section of this announcement identifies all documents that must be uploaded in order to be considered a complete application package. Applicants who do not submit a complete application will not receive further consideration.
Duties
This position is located in the Office of Administrative Law Judges (OALJ) in the United States Department of Labor in one of our six district offices. Under the general administrative direction of the District Chief Judge, incumbent performs all the duties of an ALJ and renders initial or final decisions in accordance with the procedural requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act and applicable statutes, executive orders, and regulations, including 29 C.F.R. Part 18. The principal duties are to preside over adversarial hearings, adjudicate cases under approximately 80 different laws and executive orders, and produce a written decision based on the record made at the hearing. In presiding over hearings, incumbent has qualified decisional independence in the conduct and progress of proceedings and issues a written decision that, depending on the governing regulations is final, or is considered final if petition for review of the decision is not timely filed. Incumbent is required to preside over hearings involved with other regulations and statutes, as well as any public hearings that are held from time to time, preparatory to the issuance of rules and regulations in connection with the Department's many programs and/or statutes. Incumbent also performs additional duties not inconsistent with the duties and responsibilities of an ALJ.
Salary
Qualifications
MANDATORY QUALIFICATIONS: Licensure and authorization to practice law under the laws of a state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any territorial court established under the laws of the United States. An "active" bar status and/or membership in "good standing" for at least fifteen (15) years total in at least one jurisdiction in which the applicant is admitted. Judicial status is acceptable in lieu of "active" status in States that prohibit sitting judges from maintaining "active" status to practice law. Being in "good standing" is acceptable in lieu of "active" status in jurisdictions where the licensing authority considers "good standing" as having a current license to practice law. Applicants must have at least ten (10) years of relevant litigation or administrative law experience. Relevant litigation experience can include: preparing for, participating in, and/or conducting formal hearings, trials, or appeals at the federal, state, or local level; participating in settlement or plea negotiations in advance of such proceedings; hearing cases; preparing opinions; and participating in or conducting arbitration, mediation, or other alternative dispute resolution. Relevant administrative law experience is litigation experience in cases initiated before a governmental administrative body. Applicants must have knowledge of statutes enforced by the Department of Labor, such as the Black Lung Benefits Act, Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act, whistleblower protection statutes enforced by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and other similar laws. All Mandatory Requirements and Qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement.
Education
This position has a positive education requirement. Education Juris Doctor from an ABA accredited law school. You must provide a copy of your transcripts from an accredited institution. Any applicant falsely claiming an academic degree from an accredited school will be subject to actions ranging from disqualification from federal employment to removal from federal service. If your education was completed at a foreign college or university, you must show comparability to education received in accredited educational institutions in the United States and comparability to applicable minimum coursework requirements for this position. Click Evaluation of Foreign Education for more information.
Required Documents
Thoroughly review the following list to determine the documentation you need to submit. Your application and ALL required supplemental documents MUST be received by 11:59 pm Eastern Time (ET) on the vacancy closing date (i.e.,08/28/2026 ) to receive consideration. If you fail to submit the required documentation before the announcement closes, you will be rated ineligible. Resume - Please provide sufficient details in your resume to enable us to determine if you meet the requirement for qualifying experience (as stated in the Qualifications section). Providing insufficient details in your resume may result in a lower or ineligible rating. Important: a) Providing the month and year of the starting and ending dates of employment will enable us to determine the length of your experience; if you do not provide the month or the year of the starting and ending dates of employment your starting date will be assumed to have been the last month of that year and your ending date will be assumed to be the first month of the year. Resumes must be limited to two (2) pages. Cover letter - containing a statement why you are interested in the position and how your skills, education and experience would qualify you to perform the duties of an administrative law judge in the Department of Labor. Writing Sample -- Demonstrate an ability to perform the duties of an Administrative Law Judge in the Office of Administrative Law Judges, U.S. Department of Labor. Must be one significant decision, or equivalent significant legal product, authored by the applicant. Completion of Assessment/Occupational Questionnaire, if applicable. The names and contact information of three professional references. Veterans Documents (if applicable): This appointment is to an ALJ position in the excepted service, not the competitive service. There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference in excepted service ALJ appointments; however, the Department of Labor considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor in excepted service ALJ hiring. In order to receive positive consideration, you must indicate your eligibility, in response to the appropriate item on the vacancy questionnaire. Additionally, you must submit a copy of your Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, DD214 showing the type of discharge and dates of active duty and, if applicable, a VA letter certifying the present existence of the service-connected disability which indicates the percentage of your disability. (For active duty service members expecting to be honorably discharged or released within 120 days, click Active Duty). Without this documentation, you will not receive veteran's consideration. Proof of Bar Status. Most recent SF-50 (if applicable). Copy of law school transcript (unofficial), if selected official copy may be required. If applicable, a list of published articles authored by the applicant.
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. 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 the USAJOBS Help Center. STEP 1 - Create USAJOBS Account on www.usajobs.gov, including your 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. 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 checkmark 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 the Application as needed by 11:59 pm Eastern Time of Closing Date by returning to USAJOBS, clicking the vacancy, then Update the 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.
