Duties

Summary

This position is located in the Office of the Executive Secretary (OEXS). The legal assistant contributes to the agency's mission through direct and personal service to the public. The incumbent provides administrative support to OEXS which includes providing training, advice and guidance to Review Commission staff in the processing of contested cases received from OSHA regional/area offices; cases decided by administrative law judges; and cases under review.
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Responsibilities

• Assists in the review and analysis of legal cases and documents.
• Serves as the focal point for Review Commission staff responding to questions concerning documents that have been filed in the review of cases.
• Coordinates staff activity to ensure that all new cases are properly docketed. Ensures that data is entered into the agency?s case management/electronic filing system.
• Assists the Executive Secretary in drafting special comments when a motion is circulated and in drafting an order to cover any special circumstances.
• Refers cases to Office of the Chief Administrative Law Judge for assignment when required documents have been filed or sufficient time has passed after request for additional documents and those documents have not been filed.
• Maintains a chronological log of cases placed on and removed from the Commissioners' docket.
• Provides both oral and written information to the parties and the public on case status and on Commission adjudicatory procedures.
• Assists the Executive Secretary in his duties as Records Officer by performing such tasks as preparing case files for archiving at the National Archives and Records Administration?s Federal Records Centers.
• Prepares certified records for cases filed with the U.S. Courts of Appeals and prepares certified copies of Commission case records.
• Provides a variety of additional administrative support to the Executive Secretary and other staff in the office as needed.

Travel Required

Not required

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
9

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• U. S. Citizenship is required.
• May be required to complete background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
• Be sure to read the "How to Apply" and "Required Documents" Sections. Must provide resume and supporting documents (see required documents).
• A one-year probationary period may be required.
• Per Public Law 104-134 all federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of your choosing.
• This position is covered by the Hatch Act Reform Amendments of 1993 which prohibits requesting, transmitting, accepting, or considering political recommendations for employment or other personnel actions for nonpolitical position.
• The work requires occasional lifting and carrying of items weighing up to 50 pounds.
• Selective Service Registration, if applicable www.sss.gov
• Telework eligible, as determined by agency policy and procedures.

Qualifications

To be considered minimally qualified for this position, you must demonstrate that you have the required specialized experience for the respective grade level(s) in which you are applying:

Specialized Experience GS-7: Applicants must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-6 grade level in the Federal government applying knowledge of legal regulations, techniques, and procedures to perform a variety of legal assistance work, working in a team environment and also independently. Experience must include ALL of the following: 1) Processing various legal documents, records or evidence in accordance with applicable rules and regulations; 2) Providing information in response to inquiries about legal claims, process, or other related programs; 3) Researching laws, rules, regulations or written guidelines in order to explain the provisions to others; 4) Using computer software and programs to prepare documents (e.g., correspondence, reports, memos), and to enter, maintain, track and extract data on legal cases; and 5) Using an automated legal case tracking system to input case file data, perform queries, and extract data for reports.

Specialized Experience GS-8: Applicants must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-7 grade level in the Federal government applying a comprehensive knowledge of legal regulations, techniques, and procedures with less supervision in order to perform a variety of legal assistance work, working in a team environment and also independently. Experience must include ALL of the following: 1) Reviewing and processing a variety of legal documents, records and evidence in accordance with applicable rules and regulations; 2) Communicating both orally and in writing with a wide variety of individuals in order to provide advice/guidance about legal claims, process, or other related programs; 3) Interpreting complex laws, rules or regulations and written guidelines and explaining both orally and in writing the provisions to clients, attorneys or co-workers; 4) Using computer software and programs to prepare documents (e.g., correspondence, reports, memos), and to enter, maintain, track and extract data on legal cases; 5) Auditing case files for completeness; and 6) Using an automated legal case tracking system to input, update and extract case file data, perform queries, and extract data for reports, briefs, or other legal documents.

All qualifications for this position must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Applicants must meet the minimum qualification requirements as contained in the U.S. Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) General Schedule Qualification Standards. These qualification standards are available online at www.opm.gov. Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including time-in-grade restrictions, specialized experience and/or education, as defined in this announcement.

Your resume must have complete information : Please ensure your resume accurately reflects 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 dates of employment stated as MM/YYYY; and total hours worked per week). If your resume does not provide enough information regarding your work history for us to make a creditable qualification determination, your application package may be rendered disqualified and you will no longer be considered for this position.

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.

You must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Education

This job does not have an education qualification requirement.

Additional information

This position has no known promotion potential beyond GS-9. This position may be filled at the GS-7 or GS-8 levels. Promotion to the GS-9 level may occur without further competition subject to supervisory discretion and budgetary constraints.

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.

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 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.

Relocation expenses will not be paid.

A preliminary security background check is required for this position.

Applications will not be accepted in postage paid Government envelopes.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

Your application will be evaluated in accordance with OPM's delegated examining procedures using category rating. Your resume and supporting documentation will be used to determine whether you meet the job qualifications listed on this announcement. If you are basically qualified for this job, your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your responses on the online assessment questionnaire. If you rate yourself higher than is supported by your application materials, your responses may be adjusted, and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this job. Your application will then be placed in one of three categories:

Highly Qualified Category - applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are highly proficient in all requirements of the job and can perform effectively in the position;
Well Qualified Category - applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in some, but not all, of the requirements of the job;
Qualified - applicants possessing experience and/or education that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors.

Names of all candidates in the best qualified category will be sent to the hiring official for employment consideration (unless a sufficient number of qualified veterans are found - in which only those names will be initially certified). Candidates within the best qualified category who are eligible for veteran preference will receive selection priority over non-veteran preference eligibles. Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics):

• Office Automation
• Oral Communication
• Teamwork
• Technical Competence
• Writing

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Please note that if, after reviewing your resume and or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your rating can and will be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities, or you may lose consideration for this position. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview.

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
No

Required Documents

Note: Failure to submit a resume or supporting documentation may result in elimination for further consideration.
To apply for this position, you must provide a complete application package which includes:

1. Your Resume
2. A complete Assessment Questionnaire
3. Other supporting documents:

• Most recent performance appraisal - if appraisal is not available, please include the reason why.
• Veterans preference documentation, if applicable
• Any other supporting documentation required for verification as described in the announcement.

If you are a veteran and you are claiming veteran's preference, you must submit a Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (DD-214), which shows dates of service and discharge under honorable conditions. For competitive service positions, active duty service members expecting to be discharged or released from active duty service in the armed forces under honorable conditions within 120 days: you may be granted tentative preference by submitting a "certification" document in lieu of a DD-214. This "certification" is any written document from the armed forces that certifies the service member is expected to be discharged or released from active duty service under honorable conditions not later than 120 days after the date of the submission of the certification. Veteran's preference must be verified prior to appointment. Without this documentation, you will not receive veteran's preference and your application will be evaluated based on the material(s) submitted.

If you are claiming 10-point veteran's preference based on service-connected disability, in addition to the DD-214 or certification requirements (see above bullet), you must also submit an SF-15, "Application for 10-point Veterans' Preference, plus the proof of entitlement of this preference which is normally an official statement, dated 1991 or later, from the Department of Veterans Affairs certifying to the present existence of the service-connected disability and indicating the percentage of your disability. For more information on veterans' preference see http://www.fedshirevets.gov/job/vetpref/ .

Enlisted Record Briefs and military identification do NOT qualify as official documentation.
The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) provides eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your agency has notified you in writing that you are a displaced employee eligible for ICTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your ICTAP eligibility; 2) you apply under the instructions in this announcement; and 3) you are found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well qualified, you must satisfy all qualification requirements for the vacant position and rate equivalent to the Highly Qualified or better category using established category rating criteria. You must provide proof of eligibility with your application. Such proof may include a copy of your written notification of ICTAP eligibility or a copy of your separation personnel action form. Additional information about ICTAP eligibility is at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/#ictap

The Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provides eligible surplus and displaced competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your agency has notified you in writing that you are a surplus or displaced employee eligible for CTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your CTAP eligibility, 2) you apply under the instructions in this announcement, and 3) you are found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well qualified, you must satisfy all qualification requirements for the vacant position and rate equivalent to the Highly Qualified or better category using established category rating criteria. You must provide a copy of your written notification of CTAP eligibility with your application. Additional information about CTAP eligibility is at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/#ctap