Employee Benefits Law Specialist

Department of Labor

Employee Benefits Security Administration

Summary

EBSA plays a vital role in protecting the retirement, health, and other job-based benefits of America's workers, retirees, and their families. We issue effective regulations, offer comprehensive education and assistance to workers, plan sponsors, fiduciaries, and service providers, and rigorously enforce the law. We serve workers, families, and the broader employee benefits community by protecting the security and integrity of the nation's benefit systems.

This job is open to

The public

U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.

Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL)

Federal employees whose job, agency or department was eliminated and are eligible for priority over other applicants.

Clarification from the agency

U.S. Citizens; CTAP/ICTAP eligibles in the local commuting area.

Duties

The position serves as an Employee Benefits Law Specialist responsible for the drafting
major precedential interpretations, variances, opinions, and advisory rulings; providing
technical assistance to EBSA, DOL, and Federal agencies; conducting extensive
research; recommending office policies and positions; participating in the revisions and
development of regulations, interpretations, advisory opinion, procedures, and forms.

Duties include but are not limited to the following:

Research and draft interpretations, advisory opinions, variances, forms, procedures, and technical memoranda on ERISA and related laws affecting employer-sponsored group health plans.
Identify, analyze, and resolve stakeholder issues by reviewing legislative history, regulations, and court/administrative rulings; evaluates the sufficiency of submissions; and conduct conferences to obtain necessary facts.
Develop final guidance and recommend agency policy positions; participate in the development, revision, and promulgation of regulations and subregulatory guidance through intra- and interagency efforts.
Provide authoritative technical assistance to EBSA components, including assessing enforcement case materials and recommending interpretations, policy positions, and investigative strategies.
Maintains liaison with federal and state agencies and industry stakeholders to exchange information, interpret related laws, address regulatory conflicts, and persuade adoption of EBSA interpretations.
Monitors legislative, judicial, and policy developments impacting group health plans and designs and delivers training and ad hoc reports to inform EBSA staff and stakeholders.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

Must be a U.S. Citizen.
Must be at least 16 years old.
Requires a probationary period if the requirement has not been met.
Candidate required to obtain the necessary security/investigation level.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements: Education: Undergraduate AND graduate education: Major study in one or a combination of the following fields- finance, banking, business administration, economics, mathematics, accounting or auditing, pension plan administration, law, industrial relations, public administration, or other related fields.

OR

Specialized Experience: Progressively responsible experience that demonstrated the ability to perform work in the field of pension and welfare plans. Such experience may have been gained in (1) management, administration, development, analysis, audit, financial management, or termination of such plans or their funds; or (2) in closely related work such as taxation, securities, and investments.

Specialized experience may have been gained in government, a welfare and pension plan administration or consulting firm, law firm, actuarial or accounting firm, labor union, welfare and pension association or research service, banking trust department, or investment firm. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include:

Analysis and application of fiduciary, reporting and disclosure, bonding, funding, vesting, administration, and termination provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and related laws, regulations, court decisions, and precedent rulings.
Development of proposals for new or revised pension or welfare plans, petitions for exemptions, or requests for rulings under governing law.
Legal work, a substantial portion of which required interpretation of Federal laws and legal requirements concerning welfare and pension plans, or in such related fields as taxation, securities, real estate, corporations, trusts, bankruptcy, and investments.
Auditing or accounting work that involved determining compliance with Federal and State laws governing welfare and pension plans, securities, banking, insurance, or corporations.
Analysis of Federal laws or regulations, development of policy, and drafting of proposed changes in an employee welfare and benefit plan or a related function.

In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, you must also meet the specialized experience requirement listed below: Applicants must have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, GS-12 in the Federal Service.

Specialized Experience is the experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to perform the duties of the position successfully, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level.

Applicants must meet 3 out of the 4 examples of experience listed below. Qualifying specialized experience is defined as:

1. Experience providing authoritative written analyses and delivering technical guidance in meetings, consultations, or presentations to help employers, plan sponsors, or group health plans comply with statutory and regulatory requirements under ERISA, the Affordable Care Act, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, and the No Surprises Act.

2. Experience leading or serving as a senior contributor on the development, review, and evaluation of legislative, regulatory, and administrative proposals affecting group health plans, including assessing legal, policy, operational, and compliance impacts on plan sponsors, fiduciaries, participants, beneficiaries, insurers, and service providers.

3. Experience representing an agency or organization in intra- or interagency meetings, committees, working groups, or consultations with Federal or State officials, congressional staff, regulated entities, industry groups, or other stakeholders to resolve complex health plan policy or compliance issues and to develop coordinated positions or recommendations.

4. Experience conducting extensive legal research and analysis of Federal and State statutes, regulations, case law, and policy guidance governing group health plans, welfare plans, or related health insurance matters, and using that analysis to develop regulations, policy interpretations, compliance assistance materials, testimony, briefing papers, or other authoritative documents.

Note: Specialized experience must be clearly documented in your resume; merely copying this statement into your application does not demonstrate that you possess the required experience.

Education

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 coursework requirements for this position. Click Evaluation of Foreign Education for more information.

Unofficial Transcript(s) (in English) - If you are using education as a basis for qualifying for this position, you must submit all applicable academic transcripts demonstrating that you meet the qualifying educational requirements (ex. BA/BS, MA, JD, PhD, etc.). If specific coursework is required to qualify, you must supply an unofficial transcript from each academic institution in which the required courses were taken in order to receive credit. You may upload your unofficial transcript(s) as one document with a maximum size limit of 5 MB.

NOTE: The OFFICIAL Transcript(s) MUST BE RECEIVED if you are selected, and prior to receiving the firm offer with a start date.

Reference the Education Section for College Transcript and Evaluation of Foreign Education.

Additional information

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

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.

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

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

This position is inside the bargaining unit. The duty location is within the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, the position will be included in the Local 12, AFGE bargaining unit.

For more information, click Telework Position Information. This is not a remote work position. The selectee will report to an assigned DOL office location on a regular basis and is eligible for participation in telework as determined by management in accordance with DOL policy.

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

The Department of Labor may use certain incentives and hiring flexibilities, currently offered by the Federal government to attract highly qualified candidates. Click for more information on Pay, Leave, and Workforce Flexibilities.

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.

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.

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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.

Review our benefits

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.

How you will be evaluated

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

Your evaluation will be based on how well you meet the qualifications outlined in this vacancy announcement, as demonstrated through your resume and supporting documentation.

Click Application of Veterans Preference for more information.

You may preview application questions for this vacancy here: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13002955

If you meet the minimum qualifications, you will be evaluated against the evaluation factors below and will be placed into a category based on your vacancy question responses.

Category A - Meets the basic qualification requirements for the vacancy and has successful experience in the same or similar job that has demonstrated superior proficiency in applying critical competencies required by this position to work of increased levels of difficulty and complexity.

Category B - Meets the basic qualification requirements for the vacancy and demonstrates satisfactory proficiency in the critical competencies required by this position.

Category C - Meets the specialized experience described in the minimum qualification requirements section of this announcement and demonstrates proficiency in the basic competencies.

USA Hire

You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

Attention to Detail
Customer Service
Decision Making
Flexibility
Influencing/Negotiating
Integrity/Honesty
Interpersonal Skills
Learning
Reasoning
Self-Management
Stress Tolerance
Teamwork

The information you provide may be verified by a review of your paid, unpaid, volunteer, 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.).

INFORMATION FOR ICTAP/CTAP ELIGIBLE(S) ONLY: If you are eligible for special priority selection under ICTAP/CTAP, you must be well-qualified for the position to receive consideration. ICTAP/CTAP eligible(s) who are Category B or higher will be considered well-qualified. Be sure to review the eligibility questions to reflect that you are applying as an ICTAP or CTAP eligible and submit supporting documentation.

Required Documents

The following documents must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on the vacancy closing date.

Resumes: Required and applicants must provide a resume either by creating one in USAJOBS or uploading one from your profile. To receive full consideration for relevant and specialized experience, please list the month, year, and number of work hours worked for the experience listed on your resume. We also suggest that you preview the vacancy questions and confirm that your resume supports your question responses.

NOTE: In alignment with the Presidential Memorandum titled Merit Hiring Plan, dated May 29, 2025, applicants may only submit a resume limited to two (2) pages. Only the résumé uploaded under the 'Resume" document type in USAJOBS will be reviewed. If the resume submitted exceeds two (2) pages, the application will be deemed ineligible for further consideration.

Veterans Documents (if applicable): To be considered as a 5-point (TP) preference eligible, you must submit a copy of your DD214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty. Your DD 214 must show the type of discharge and dates of active duty. To claim 10-point (CP/CPS, XP) preference, you must submit a copy of your DD214 and 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. In addition, a Standard Form (SF-15) should be included, but is not required. (For active-duty service members expecting honorable or general discharge or release within 120 days, click Tentative Preference for Active Duty). For more information, go to Feds Hire Vets - Veterans Preference.
Displaced Employee Placement Documents: Only required if requesting priority consideration under CTAP or ICTAP eligibility.

Cover Letters are not mandatory and will not be used to verify experience but may be submitted.

Do not upload password-protected documents.

Applicants selected for employment who are not current DOL employees will be required to provide proof of citizenship, and the E-Verify system will be used to confirm the employment eligibility of all new hires.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

- your performance and conduct;
- the needs and interests of the agency;
- whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
- whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

How to Apply

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

To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, including submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section.

Your application and ALL required supplemental documents MUST be received by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on the vacancy closing date to receive consideration.

Important - Save your information before the 30-minute system timeout! For help, go to the USAJOBS Help Center.

STEP 1 - Create USAJOBS Account on www.usajobs.gov, including Resume and Saved Documents. For each employment period, include start/end month & year and note full-time or part-time (if part-time, include # of hours worked per week) otherwise, your application may be considered incomplete.

STEP 2 - Complete the 1st part of the application process (USAJOBS). Once you have identified a job on USAJOBS that you wish to apply for, click on the job title and then click the Apply button. For questions about the vacancy, contact the Agency Contact at the bottom of the announcement. Proceed through the steps noted at the top of the USAJOBS page. You will be able to select a resume and documents from your USAJOBS Account that you can submit as a package as part of your DOL application. In the final step, once you have certified your application, click the Continue to agency site button.

STEP 3 - Complete the 2nd part of the application process (DOL). On the Department of Labor (DOL) page, create a DOL Account if you have not already and click Apply to this vacancy. Continue through the progress steps at the top of the DOL page. The 2nd progress step is where you answer the vacancy-specific questions. The 3rd progress step Documents is where you submit the required documents (only if applicable to you) specified in the Required Documents section of this vacancy.

STEP 4 - On the Review and Submit step, verify each section of your application is complete and correct. In order to submit your application, you must have a check mark next to each section listed. If there is an X, return to the appropriate section and follow the prompts. When it is ready for submission, certify your application and click the Submit Application button.

STEP 5 - Edit Application as needed by 11:59 pm Eastern Time of Closing Date by returning to USAJOBS, clicking the vacancy, thenUpdate Application.

If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice.

Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials.
Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended.
Set aside about 2 hours to take the USA Hire Assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link.
Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused.

Visit the USA Hire Applicant Resource Center for practice assessments and assessment preparation resources at https://support-usahire.opm.gov/hc/en-us.

To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.

To view the announcement status or your application status: Visit https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/howto/application/status/. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application.

NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.

For more detailed information on applying for positions with DOL click here to view the U.S. Department of Labor, How to Apply website.

Agency contact information

Sheree Grant

Phone: 202-693-7627
Email: grant.sheree@dol.gov

Address: Employee Benefits Security Administration
200 Constitution Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20210
US

Next steps

Once your complete application is received, we will conduct an evaluation of your qualifications and refer candidates for selection consideration. Candidates will be referred to the hiring manager for further consideration and possible interviews. You will be notified of the outcome. A selection is expected to be made within 30 calendar days of the issuance date of the certificate.

For instructions on how to check the status of your application, go to USAJOBS Help Guide.

USAJOBS will no longer send status alert email notifications. You can check your application status in the TAS by logging into USAJOBS and in the Applicant Dashboard, click the hiring agency Talent Acquisition System (TAS). If the TAS does not provide application tracking information, contact the agency's point of contact on the job announcement.

To verify that your application is complete, log into your USAJOBS account, select the Application Status link, and then select the more information link for this position. The Application page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process. To return to an incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.

Employee Benefits Law Specialist Job in Washington, DC