Duties

Summary

This position is a member of a team of Attorney-Advisors within the Office of the General Counsel. The Office's primary function is to provide legal support and advice to the Review Commission on cases arising under the Occupational Safety and Health Act. The Office also provides legal advice in a variety of other areas, including the Freedom of Information Act, ethics, privacy, procurement, the Administrative Procedure Act, and Equal Employment Opportunity.
Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

• Analyzing petitions for discretionary review.
• Analyzing cases directed for review under section 12(j) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
• Preparing draft legal memoranda addressing the issues raised in the case.
• Preparing draft decisions pursuant to instructions from the Commissioners.
• On occasion, performing legal tasks, including research, drafting legal opinions, and providing legal advice regarding the Review Commission's administrative operations and employees. These may include such areas as: employment law, procurement/contracting law, Equal Employment Opportunity law, budget and reporting laws, and U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board procedures.

Travel Required

Not required

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
14

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• U. S. Citizenship is required.
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
• Be sure to read the "How to Apply" and "Required Documents" Sections.
• May be required to successfully complete a one year trial period.

Qualifications

Applicants must have graduated with a law degree (such as a J.D.) from a school of law accredited by the American Bar Association and be an active member in good standing of the bar of a state, territory of the United States, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico bar.

Applicants must also possess these minimum amounts of professional legal experience following law school: one year of experience for GS-11, two years of experience for GS-12, and three years of experience for GS-13.

Part-time or unpaid experience: Credit will be given for appropriate unpaid work on the same basis as for paid experience. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. To receive credit for such experience you must indicate clearly the nature of the duties and responsibilities in each position held and the number of hours per week spent in such employment.

Education

There is a positive education requirement for this position. Transcripts (unofficial) are required at the time of application to verify that you meet the educational requirement. Only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education may be credited. Applicants can verify accreditation at the following website: http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html .

Foreign Education: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and that 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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html

Additional information

This position has no known promotion potential beyond GS-14. This position may be filled at the GS-11, GS-12 or GS-13 levels. Promotion to the GS-14 level may occur without further competition subject to supervisory discretion and budgetary constraints.

Conditions of Employment :

• Relocation expenses will not be paid.
• This position is in the excepted service. New excepted service employees are required to complete a one-year trial period.For more information on the Excepted Service appointments, please visit: Excepted Service Appointing Authorities at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/excepted-service/
• This position is excluded from provisions of the Career Transition (CTAP) and the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP).
• All employees are required to participate in direct deposit/electronic funds transfer for salary payments.
• A preliminary security background check is required for this position.
• United States Citizenship is required.
• Applications will not be accepted in postage paid Government envelopes.
• May be eligible for Telework as determined by agency policy

Application of Veterans' Preference :

There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Review Commission considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor in attorney hiring. Applicants eligible for veterans' preference are encouraged to include that information in their cover letter or resume and attach supporting documentation (e.g., DD form 214 or other substantiating documents) to their submissions.

Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see www.sss.gov ).

The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 requires employers to hire only individuals who are eligible to work in the U.S. The appointee will be required to complete Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, and provide acceptable proof of employment authorization and identity.

BENEFITS:

The Review Commission offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, annual leave, sick leave, holidays, life insurance, health benefits, and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System. This link provides an overview of the benefits currently offered to Federal employees, https://www.opm.gov/healthcare-insurance/Guide-Me/New-Prospective-Employees/

OTHER INFORMATION:

Reasonable Accommodation:The Review Commission provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities when appropriate. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and/or hiring process, please contact the Office of the Executive Director at (202) 606-5100. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.

Equal Employment Opportunity:The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Applications will be considered without discrimination for any non-merit reason such as: race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, disability, and in retaliation for prior involvement in Equal Employment Opportunity protected activity.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) and other characteristics). These competencies may be demonstrated by experiences you had during law school (e.g. moot court, internships involving in-depth legal analysis, legal journal) and/or during your one/two/three years of professional legal experience following law school.

NOTE: We do not require a separate statement responding to the required competencies, also referred to as KSAs. However, your resume should clearly show possession of these competencies:

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

Demonstrated ability to conduct legal research, engage in sound legal analysis and orally explain and discuss legal issues logically, concisely and effectively.

Demonstrated excellence in writing, including the ability to draft legal analyses in a clear, precise and cogent manner.

Demonstrated ability to manage multiple assignments, negotiate solutions to problems, apply initiative and good judgment, and work effectively in a team-oriented setting.

Knowledge of, or experience in, statutory or regulatory enforcement (i.e., prosecution, defense, or adjudication of statutes/regulations such as those regarding occupational safety and health, environmental protection, mine safety and health, labor/employment rights, securities, etc.).

Experience in appellate and/or motions practice.

Must be met by the Closing Date : You must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements by Monday, August 26, 2019.

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
No

Required Documents

To receive consideration, you must submit the following documents:

• Resume: Your resume must accurately reflect the duties and responsibilities under each position you have held with each employer. In describing your experience, please be clear and specific. It is your responsibility to make sure your resume states complete information for each job entry (beginning and ending date of employment stated as MM/YYYY; and total hours worked per week).
• Job announcement number, and title and grade of the position for which the application is being made.
• Personal information: Full name, mailing address with zip code, day and evening phone numbers, country of citizenship, highest Federal civilian grade held (if any). If you are or have been a federal employee, please provide a copy of your most recent SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action.
• Education: Colleges/Universities and law schools attended, city and state, majors and type and years of any degrees.
• Work experience: Job title, duties, accomplishments, employer name and address, supervisor's name and phone number, starting and ending dates (month and year), hours per week, salary, and whether or not your current supervisor may be contacted. [Please prepare a separate entry for each position held.]
• If you provide a cover letter, we suggest that you describe how your experience, education, knowledge and/or awards relate to this position.
• Other qualifications: Job-related training courses (title and year), job-related skills, job-related certificates and licenses, job-related honors, awards, and special accomplishments.
• Bar membership: State the jurisdiction(s) and date(s) of admission.
• Performance appraisal: A copy of your latest performance appraisal or, if unavailable, an explanation as to why it is unavailable.
• Transcripts: Your law school transcript.
• Writing sample: A writing sample (no more than 10 pages).

All application materials must be received by the closing date of this announcement. Failure to provide complete information will result in the applicant not receiving consideration for this position. Please do not submit additional, unsolicited materials, or original documents that you may need in the future. Applications will become part of the staffing case file and will not be returned.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education .

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.