Attorney-Advisor (Labor)

This position is in the Benefits Review Board's Longshore Division. The Board's, is an independent adjudicatory body with exclusive nationwide jurisdiction to consider and decide appeals raising substantial questions of law or fact taken by any party-in­ interest from decisions concerning claims filed under the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act and its extensions.

Duties

Major Duties

• Independently performs a complete intensive legal review and examination of complex case records and the issues presented on appeal; reviews and analyzes the parties' arguments regarding the law and the facts of each case. Drafts and submits recommended decisions or memoranda for assigned appeals; in some cases, may present a recommended disposition through an oral presentation.
• Researches statutes, regulations, decisions, opinions, legislative history, and other legal authorities on the points of law involved and analyzes their application to the case at hand.
• On certain complex cases assigned, the incumbent will be involved in the formal conferencing of cases, with the full Board and supervisory attorneys. Similarly, attends and provides support to formal oral arguments, where the parties appear before the Board to address cases involving a novel issue, or where clarification is essential to case disposition.
• Following Board Members' consideration, consultation, when appropriate, and vote, prepares a written decision and order for each case, for approval and signature in line with instructions from Members. As directed, prepares drafts of dissenting or concurring opinions for Board Members, usually in particularly difficult cases, or cases involving new issues. As instructed, redrafts memoranda or decisions and orders, following review by supervisory attorneys or Board members.
• When further consultation or justification is required, confers with and advises the Board Members on cases assigned that involves new law and establishes new precedent. Such advice often requires extended discussions of the legal issues involved, formulation of legal theory, presentation of facts out of which the legal issues arose, evaluation of conflicting testimony and the weighing of evidence, consideration of the inferences to be drawn, and examination of the effect of a particular proposed decision upon general interpretation of the Act, in the light of Congressional intent.

Salary

• $106,437 - $158,322/year

Conditions of Employment

• Must be at least 16 years old.
• Must be a U.S. Citizen.
• Requires a trial period if the requirement has not been met.
• Appointment to this position may require a background investigation.
• You will be required to submit to Suitability/Fitness for the Trust Determination Process.

Qualifications

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Position titles alone cannot be used to determine if you are qualified. Please list dates in MM/DD/YY format. This is imperative in determining if whether you have at least one year of creditable specialized experience. Dates will not be assumed.

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 the GS-13 grade level: Applicants must have two (2) years of post-law school legal experience of a professional nature which demonstrates the ability to perform the work at this level. At least one year (52 weeks) of qualifying experience must be 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 the job.

Prior experience as a law clerk or staff attorney to an appellate body, service on law review, publication of an article or note in a legal periodical, and honors or awards for academic or professional performance are also desirable. Competitive candidates will have demonstrated good judgment, sound reasoning, and critical thinking.

NOTE: An LL.M. may be substituted for a maximum of one year of experience.

Education A LL.B or J.D. is a requirement for this position. If you do not submit sufficient academic documentation necessary to demonstrate that you meet the eligibility and minimum qualification requirements described in this announcement, your application will be deemed incomplete and you will be ineligible for further consideration for this vacancy. 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 course work requirements for this position. Click Evaluation of Foreign Education for more information. Other Information Applicants must meet all legal and regulatory requirements. Reference the Required Documents section for additional requirements. This position is inside the bargaining unit. If the duty location is within the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, the position will be included in the Local 12, AFGE bargaining unit. If the duty location is outside the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, the position will be included in the NCFLL bargaining unit. The mission of the Department of Labor (DOL) is to protect the welfare of workers and job seekers, improve working conditions, expand high-quality employment opportunities, and assure work-related benefits and rights for all workers. Refer to these links for more information: GENERAL INFORMATION, REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS, ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION, and FORMER FEDERAL EMPLOYEES As a condition of employment, all personnel must undergo a background investigation for access to DOL facilities, systems, information, and/or classified materials before they can enter on duty: BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION This position is at the full performance level. For more information, click Telework Position Information. This is not a remote work position. The selectee will report to an assigned DOL office location on a regular basis and is eligible for participation in telework as determined by management in accordance with DOL policy. Based on agency needs, additional positions may be filled using this vacancy. The Fair Chance Act (FCA) prohibits Federal agencies from requesting an applicant's criminal history information before the agency makes a conditional offer of employment. If you believe a DOL employee has violated your rights under the FCA, you may file a complaint of the alleged violation following our agency's complaint process: Guidelines for Reporting Violations of the Fair Chance Act. Note: The FCA does not apply to some positions specified under the Act, such as law enforcement or national security positions. Required Documents

The following documents must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on the vacancy closing date. You are not required to submit a document if it does not apply to you.

• Resumes: Required and applicants must provide a resume either by creating one in USAJOBS or uploading one from your profile. To receive full consideration for relevant and specialized experience, please list the month, year, and number of work hours worked for the experience listed on your resume. We also suggest that you preview the vacancy questions, and confirm that your resume supports your question responses.
• Bar Certification: Should you be selected for this position, you will be required to submit documentation verifying that you are an active member of the Bar in Good Standing of any State, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, or any Territorial Court under the U.S. Constitution. This letter and/or certificate should be dated within the last six months of the closing date of this job announcement.
• Transcript(s): Should you be selected for this position; you will be required to submit documentation verifying that you have completed your first professional law degree. Applicants who claim substitution of education for experience with an LL.M. must submit a copy of their transcripts for verification.
• Writing Sample: Applicants must submit a writing sample. Some examples of documents demonstrating writing skills are briefs, legal memoranda, and opinion letters. These examples should total no more than 10 pages in length. Extracts of selected sections of larger documents are acceptable. This work must be your own, not edited by someone else.
• Veterans Documents (if applicable): Attorney appointments within the Department of Labor are positions in the excepted service, not the competitive service. There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference in attorney appointments; however, the Department of Labor considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor in attorney 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 the veteran's consideration. Additional information is available at Feds Hire Vets - Veterans Preference

You may also find more information on positive considerations for attorney hiring here.

Cover Letter(s) are not mandatory and will not be used to verify experience but may be submitted.

NOTE: The OFFICIAL Transcript(s) MUST BE RECEIVED if you are selected, and prior to receiving the firm offer with a start date.

Do not upload password-protected documents.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year trial during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

- your performance and conduct;
- the needs and interests of the agency;
- whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
- whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your 1-year trial, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

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.

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, thenUpdate Application.

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 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.