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Summary

The Honors Program in the Office of the Solicitor (SOL) provides challenging professional opportunities for outstanding law school graduates. National Office Honors Attorneys work with the various client agencies within the Department of Labor, gaining exposure to a broad range of substantive legal work in one of the Government's preeminent legal offices. After completing the two-year program, Honors Attorneys continue their careers as permanent employees of SOL.

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Duties

Who We Are

The Office of the Solicitor serves as the legal counsel for the U.S. Department of Labor. The approximately 500 attorneys in SOL enforce and interpret occupational and mine safety and health laws, civil rights laws, pension and health benefit laws, minimum wage and overtime requirements, internal union governance, whistleblower protections, and international labor standards. SOL also provides legal services to programs that pay Federal benefits to the victims of certain occupational diseases and accidents, provide grants in support of employment and training programs, and administer unemployment benefits. In all, SOL attorneys work with more than 180 labor and employment laws.

SOL has more independent litigating authority than virtually any other cabinet department outside the Justice Department. SOL attorneys represent the Secretary of Labor in proceedings before federal district courts, federal courts of appeals, administrative law judges, and administrative appellate bodies. SOL attorneys also play a leading role in important and high-profile federal rulemakings and legal review of policy initiatives.

About half of SOL's attorneys serve in the National Office in Washington, DC, where divisions are organized based on program area and the statutes that are enforced. The other half of SOL's attorneys work in one of the 14 regional and branch offices across the country, which primarily handle litigation at the trial level in administrative and federal district courts. Those offices are located in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, Cleveland, Denver, Nashville, Los Angeles, and Arlington, Virginia.

The Department of Labor's mission is to promote the welfare of wage earners, job seekers, and retirees, to improve working conditions, to advance opportunities for profitable employment, and to ensure work-related benefits and rights. Honors Attorneys play a crucial role in enabling the Department to carry out its mission. Like the Department, the Honors Program fosters a diverse and inclusive work environment that promotes collaboration, flexibility and fairness so that all individuals are able to participate and contribute to their full potential.

THE WORK OF A NATIONAL OFFICE HONORS PROGRAM ATTORNEY

Attorneys in the Honors Program who are located in the National Office in Washington, DC, will spend their first two years in SOL handling a broad variety of assignments from divisions in the National Office.

Past National Office Honors Attorneys have:

• Argued cases in federal courts of appeals on pension and wage and hour law.
• Drafted critical new mine safety regulations.
• Participated in negotiations regarding international trade and labor law.
• Advised the Department in conducting effective occupational safety investigations.
• Prepared the Department for litigation against contractors with discriminatory hiring practices.
• Arbitrated and resolved internal union grievances and ensured the legitimacy of labor union elections.

Honors Attorneys in the National Office may also receive assignments from SOL's Regional Offices, which typically involve trial work, including discovery, motions practice, and co-chairing trials. After the first six to nine months in the program, Honors Attorneys in the National Office begin a series of three-month rotations to various SOL divisions. National Office Honors Attorneys may also complete a remote rotation to a Regional Office or volunteer to work in a Regional Office for one of their rotations.

After two years, National Office Honors Attorneys will be permanently placed in a specific office in SOL. All efforts will be made to accommodate attorneys' preferences among the National Office divisions and regional offices, consistent with the needs of the Department.

The Honors Program gives attorneys a unique opportunity to help interpret and enforce a broad range of labor and employment laws while working in one of the largest legal offices in the Federal government. Honors Attorneys will gain experience that would be difficult to obtain in years of private practice and will share the honor and privilege of furthering the Department of Labor's mission and engaging in public service.

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Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Appointment to this position may require a background investigation.
• Requires a trial period if the requirement has not been met.
• Relocation expenses will not be paid.
• This position is outside the bargaining unit.
• Must be at least 16 years old.
• Must be a U.S. Citizen.
• Reference the "Required Documents" section for additional requirements.

Qualifications

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. POSITION TITLES ALONE CANNOT BE USED TO DETERMINE IF YOU ARE QUALIFIED. PLEASE LIST DATES IN MM/DD/YYYY FORMAT, HOURS AND IF FULL-TIME, OR PART-TIME. EXPERIENCE AND DATES WILL NOT BE ASSUMED.

Applicants must meet all legal and regulatory requirements.

Eligibility is limited to graduating law students who will graduate from law school between October 1, 2024, and September 30, 2025, or recent law school graduates who began participating in and continue to be employed in eligibility preserving employment within 9 months of law school graduation. Eligibility preserving employment includes full-time activities starting after law school graduation that can preserve a law school graduate's eligibility for the Honors Program such as judicial clerkships or time-limited court staff attorney positions; federal agency or state government Honors Attorney programs; or legal fellowships.

Qualifications:

Any applicants with a rank or GPA on a school document must be ranked or have graduated in the top half of their class or have a minimum GPA of 3.0 at the time of application (if currently enrolled in law school) or upon graduation from law school.

FOR LAW CLERK POSITIONS:

Applicants who have not been admitted to a state bar may be selected for a Law Clerk, GS-0904-11 position. Appointments as a Law Clerk are limited to 14 months during which time the appointee must be admitted in good standing to the bar of a court of general jurisdiction of a state, territory or possession of the United States, after which the Law Clerk will be appointed to a permanent appointment as an Attorney.

FOR ATTORNEY POSITIONS:

Applicants applying for the General Attorney, GS-0905 positions, 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 each grade level.

GS-11, applicants must possess progressively responsible legal experience of a professional nature which demonstrates the ability to perform the work at this level.

GS-12, applicants must possess (1) year of progressively responsible legal experience of a professional nature which demonstrates the ability to perform the work at this level.

GS-13, applicants must possess (2) years of progressively responsible legal experience of a professional nature which demonstrates the ability to perform the work at this level.

GS-14, applicants must possess (3) years of progressively responsible legal experience of a professional nature which demonstrates the ability to perform the work at this level.

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

Education

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.

Additional information

Based on agency needs, additional positions may be filled using this vacancy .

Refer to these links for more information: GENERAL INFORMATION, REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION, ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION, FORMER FEDERAL EMPLOYEES

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.

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

All Department of Labor employees are subject to the provisions of the Drug-Free Workplace Program under Executive Order 12564 and Public Law 100-71.

Applicants must meet all legal and regulatory requirements. Reference the "Required Documents" section for additional requirements.

Position Telework eligibility is determined by management based on position duties during the recruitment process. Employee participation in telework on a routine or situational basis is determined by management primarily based on business needs. Employees participating in telework are subject to the terms and conditions of the Department of Labor's Telework Program.

Career Level Promotion (CLP) - There is no obligation to provide future promotions if you are selected. Promotions are dependent on your ability to perform the duties at a higher level, meet all the performance requirements, and the supervisor's recommendation to the next grade.

Persons who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, or have speech disabilities, please dial 711 to access telecommunications relay services.

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. As such, the Department is committed to fostering a workplace and workforce that promote equal employment opportunity, reflects the diversity of the people we seek to serve, and models a culture of respect, equity, inclusion, and accessibility where every employee feels heard, supported, and empowered.

The information you provide may be verified by a review of your paid, unpaid, volunteer, and other lived experience, as it demonstrates the competencies or skills required for the position to be filled. Your evaluation may include an interview, reference checks, or other assessment conducted by HR specialists, subject matter experts, or panel members and may include other assessment tools (ex. interview, structured interview, written test, work sample, etc.). The SOL Human Resources Office makes the final determination concerning applicant.

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• Help A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

Office of the Solicitor

200 Constitution Avenue NW

Washington, DC 20210

US