Staff Attorney

This position is in the following program areas: Retaliation Complaint Investigation Legal section. Under direction of the Attorney Supervisor to the Labor Commissioner's Office, the successful candidate will represent the LCO and act as counsel, advising the Labor Commissioner and other public agencies, on California employment law. California often leads the way with First-in-the-Nation measures to protect workers and employers. In this dynamic arena, LCO team personnel are assigned a variety of tasks such as litigation, negotiation, legislative and community liaison work, hearings, legal research, legal opinion writing on policy, precedents and appeals. The ideal candidate possesses a strong motivation to work on and contribute to labor, employment rights-related matters. The ability to travel is required for this position.

• Please ensure application is complete with detailed job descriptions/tasks performed, employment beginning and ending date information, and hours worked per week.

Failure to provide this information may disqualify your application. This posting may be used to fill future vacancies in accordance with 2 CCR §249.3 To be considered for this Attorney job opportunity, applicants must be either reachable on an employment list, have transfer eligibility or have reinstatement eligibility. To take the exam and gain employment list eligibility, please click here to access the exam bulletin: https://calcareers.ca.gov/CalHrPublic/Exams/ExamBulletin.aspx?

ExamControlId=1579 Effective July 1, 2025, specific Bargaining Units and associated Excluded State employees are subject to a salary reduction between 2% - 4.62% in exchange for hours in the Personal Leave Program 2025 (PLP 2025) per month. For more details, please click her e to visit the California Department of Human Resources (CalHR) website. You will find additional information about the job in the Duty Statement . Benefit information can be found on the CalHR website and the CalPERS website. Comprehensive health benefits package with medical, dental, and vision options

• Sick leave, vacation leave, or annual leave options available
• Retirement plan through CalPERS. Other retirement options include 401(k) and/or 457(b) participation through State of California Savings Plus program
• Public transportation subsidy and pre-tax parking program options
• The personal satisfaction of knowing that you impact the daily lives of wage earners in California.

Attorneys are covered by the Unit 2 Memorandum of Understanding and are represented in bargaining by the California Attorneys, Administrative Law Judges and Hearing Officers in State Employment (CASE). Attorneys contribute to funding an excellent defined benefit Calpers retirement, social security, and employees may participate additionally in both 401K and 457 deferred compensation plans. While you work hard to provide economic justice for California workers, you secure economic security for your future. Minimum Requirements You will find the Minimum Requirements in the Class Specification.

ATTORNEY

Desirable Qualifications In addition to evaluating each candidate's relative ability, as demonstrated by quality and breadth of experience, the following factors will provide the basis for competitively evaluating each candidate: Candidates with trial experience such as prosecutors and public defenders, and candidates with experience representing employees in Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) or Labor Code enforcement actions are especially encouraged to apply.

• Knowledge of how to conduct legal analysis (e.g., issue-spotting, rule analysis, applying law to facts) to ensure relevant issues and information are identified and correlated with applicable law, and to aid in predicting the legal outcome.
• Knowledge of proper spelling, grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure to ensure that written materials prepared and reviewed are complete, and free of errors.
• Knowledge of the rules of evidence and their application in depositions, court trials, and administrative hearings.
• Knowledge of pretrial and trial procedures in state and federal courts, as well as experience with administrative and appellate proceedings.
• Skill to listen to others to facilitate an open exchange of ideas and provide for effective communication.
• Skill to effectively organize and conduct cross examination of witnesses at trial or hearing.
• Skill to negotiate case resolutions that maximize results for the client.
• Ability to apply professional ethical rules as they relate to the practice of law and particularly the role of public attorneys.
• Ability to examine witnesses at deposition and at trial on direct examination and cross examination.
• Ability to review and/or finalize work products produced by clients, para- professionals, and/or other attorneys.
• Ability to lay the foundation for documentary evidence and expert witness opinion testimony.
• Ability to prepare and deliver closing arguments which synthesize evidence and applicable law in a compelling narrative.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and exercise discretion in the dissemination of information.
• Ability to plan the development of a project, case or matter.
• Ability to present cases before State and Federal Courts, and administrative agencies or forums.
• Ability to remain calm under stressful circumstances.
• Ability to exercise sound judgment in decision making.