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U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

ATTORNEY ADVISER (LABOR)

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers See More Job Openings by This EmployerArrow
  • Full Time
  • $139,422 - $181,254/year
  • Sacramento, CA
September 15, 2026 Attorney Military Law

Job Description

About the Position: You will advise clients on Personnel Law, AR 15-6 investigations, and employment litigation.

Duties
  • You will provide oral and written advice to the Command, senior leaders, and other management officials on all aspects of federal employment and labor relations law.
  • Provide preventive counsel and legal review regarding employment matters, disciplinary actions, performance management, labor relations matters, and equal employment opportunity policies and issues.
  • Prepare recommended course of action for senior staff members; prepares factual analysis and legal opinions, and present oral briefings to command officials and supervisors
  • Responsible for keeping abreast of developing issues with the labor and employment law area of practice and will proactively work to address these issues within the legal community of practice.
  • Advises the Command regarding the effect on management stemming from changes in employment laws and regulations, and the verdicts and settlements of grievances, EEO complaints, MSPB appeals, and Whistleblower Protection Act proceedings.
  • Coordinate closely with the Civilian Personnel Staff and the EEO Office to identify and address employment law issues and to develop and present training and training materials to supervisors and employees on employment law and policies
  • Represent the District in administrative hearings before mediators, arbitrators, investigators, and administrative judges from various agencies.
Salary
  • $139,422 - $181,254/year
Conditions of Employment
  • Appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.
  • To avoid real or apparent conflicts of interest, you will be required to submit recurring Confidential Financial Disclosure Reports (OGE-450).
Qualifications

Who May Apply: US Citizens

In order to qualify, you must meet the education and experience requirements described below. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student; social). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document.

Basic Requirement for Attorneys (GS-0905): Successful completion of a full course of study in a school of law accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) and have the first professional law degree (LL.B. or J.D).

Bar Membership: Applicants MUST currently a member in good standing of a bar of a state, territory of the United States, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

Specialized Experience: Professional legal experience, acquired after being admitted to the bar. This experience must be documented in your resume. At least 3 years of experience independently (1) analyzing facts, ascertaining law and give opinions, articulating facts and legal issues; (2) explaining legal principles and identify alternative courses of action; (3) advising managers or supervisors on the civilian personnel system and aspects of handling issues of conduct, performance, and EEO, and (4) preparing litigation reports and draft pleadings and other legal documents required by the Department of Army and Department of Justice in various federal courts or administrative forums. (Experience must be documented in your resume).

Fitness to Practice Law: An applicant must currently be fit to practice law. If your fitness to practice law, or your conduct has ever been challenged you must submit a sworn statement giving the facts and circumstances, together with any explanations you consider appropriate. The sworn statement should be notarized and dated within 3 months of the date of your application. (If you are currently employed as an attorney with The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, this requirement does not apply to you)..

Time in Grade Requirement: If currently employed as an attorney by the Federal Government you must have completed 1 year at the next lower level within 30 days of the closing date of the announcement, or previously served at the same or higher grade as the position being filled.

This position is in the excepted service without time limitation and will not be filled by competitive appointment. Service in this position may be fully creditable toward civil service retirement. Any selected applicant who is in the competitive service will be taken out of the competitive service when he or she occupies this position and will compete only with other excepted status employees in the event of a reduction-in-force. He or she, however, remain eligible for reinstatement in the competitive service.

Education FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. NOTICE OF VETERANS' PREFERENCE:There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of Defense considers veterans' preference eligibility a positive factor for attorney hiring. Applicants eligible for veterans' preference must include that information in their cover letter or resume and attached supporting documentation (for example, DD Form 214, "Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty") to their submissions.Although the point-preference system is not used, applicants eligible to claim 10-point preference must submit a Standard Form (SF) 15, "Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference," and supporting documentation for the specific type of preference claimed. The SF 15 will identify the supporting documentation required along with a list of the types of 10-point preference. The SF 15 is available from the OPM at https://www.gsa.gov/reference/forms. LOCALE INFORMATION Sacramento, home to the world's second largest urban forest (behind Paris), sits just two hours between both San Francisco and Lake Tahoe, at the base of the Sierra Nevada mountains. It is blessed with California's famed good weather, without the L.A. or San Francisco markup, and locals call Sacramento California's best kept secret. It's got big city amenities, but with a small town feel. America's best bike trail runs along the American River from the center of town up to Gold Country. And the wineries of Napa, and Sonoma, national parks like Yosemite and Sequoia, the beach and the mountains, are only a day trip away. Come see what makes Sacramento California's most livable metro - and why the Sacramento Area Human Resources Association named the Sacramento District the best large government agency to work for in Sacramento! Other Information Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must complete a Pre-Employment Certification Statement for Selective Service Registration. You will be required to provide proof of U.S. Citizenship. This position requires a 2-year trial period during which the agency evaluates your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In making this determination, the agency may consider your performance and conduct; agency needs and interests; whether your continued employment supports organizational or Government goals; and whether it promotes the efficiency of the Federal service. Continued employment requires written certification that it advances the public interest. Direct Deposit of Pay is required. This position requires you to submit a Public Financial Disclosure Report (OGE 278) or a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE450) upon entry, and annually thereafter. If you have retired from federal service and you are interested in employment as a reemployed annuitant, see the information in the Reemployed Annuitant information sheet. This is a Career Program (CP) 56 - Civilian Attorneys & Paraprofessionals position. Salary includes applicable locality pay or Local Market Supplement. Payment of Permanent Change of Station (PCS) costs is not authorized, based on a determination that a PCS move is not in the Government interest. A Relocation, Recruitment, Student Loan Repayment, Advance in Hire or Advance Leave Accrual incentive may be authorized if it is in the best interest of the government. Attorney spouses of active duty military may apply for available positions in accordance with the military spouse program, as identified in DODI 1400.25 Volume 315. Required Documents

The documents you are required to submit vary based on whether or not you are eligible for preference in federal employment. A complete description of preference categories and the associated required documents is in the Applicant Checklist (External).

As described above, your complete application includes your resume, your responses to the online questionnaire, and documents which prove your eligibility to apply. If you fail to provide these documents, you will be marked as having an incomplete application package and you will not be considered any further.

If you are a current U.S. Army Corps of Engineers attorney, you MUST submit:-

  • Resume
  • Last Annual performance appraisal
  • Your latest, non-award Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50); and
  • A writing sample. WRITING SAMPLES SHOULD NOT EXCEED 10 PAGES.
If you are NOT a current U.S. Army Corps of Engineers attorney, you MUST submit:
  • Resume
  • Copy of law school transcript(s)s and official statement of relative standing in class;-
  • Certificate showing that you are a member in good standing with the bar, dated no more than 3 months before the opening date of this announcement (a copy is sufficient for the application, but a certified copy may be necessary upon selection);
  • A sworn statement, certifying that your fitness to practice law or your conduct as an attorney has never been challenged in any jurisdiction. This statement should be notarized, and dated no more than 3 months before the opening date of this announcement. IF YOUR FITNESS TO PRACTICE LAW OR YOUR CONDUCT AS AN ATTORNEY HAS BEEN CHALLENGED IN ANY JURISDICTION, you must provide a notarized statement concerning the facts and circumstances, and any other explanation that you deem appropriate;
  • Three letters of reference from members of the bar dated within 12 months of the opening date of this announcement; and,
  • A writing sample. WRITING SAMPLES SHOULD NOT EXCEED 10 PAGES.NOTE:

Documents submitted as part of the application package, to include supplemental documents, may be shared beyond the Human Resources Office. Some supplemental documents such as military orders and marriage certificates may contain personal information for someone other than you. You may sanitize these documents to remove another person's personal information before you submit your application. You may be asked to provide an un-sanitized version of the documents if you are selected to confirm your eligibility.

How to Apply

To apply for this position, you must complete the online questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below.

The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 09/22/2026 to receive consideration.

  • To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application (https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13059967).
  • Follow the prompts to select your resume and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. As a reminder, your resume must be two pages or less and must support the specialized experience described in this announcement. Resumes exceeding two pages will be removed from consideration. For additional information, refer to the 'Required Documents' section.
  • You will have the opportunity to upload additional documents to include in your application before it is submitted. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
  • After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the Include Personal Information section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process.
  • You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application. Your resume selected in USAJOBS will be included, but you must re-select other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application may be incomplete.
  • It is your responsibility to verify that your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) is complete, accurate, and submitted by the closing date. Uploaded documents may take up to one hour to clear the virus scan.
  • Additional information on how to complete the online application process and submit your online application may be found on the USA Staffing Applicant Resource Center.

To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account (https://www.usajobs.gov/applicant/profile/dashboard/), all of your applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to/application/status.



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