Equal Employment Specialist (Adjudicator)

Summary

This vacancy is for an Equal Employment Specialist (Adjudicator) in the Office of the Secretary within the Department of Commerce.

Duties

• As an Equal Employment Specialist (Adjudicator), you will perform the following duties: Reviews filed formal EEO complaints to determine whether the Department is required by law to investigate the basis(es) and claim(s) raised in formal EEO complaints. Ensures basis(es) and claim(s), as outlined in complaint, are clearly and correctly stated in notices of acceptance, notices of partial acceptance, or procedural Final Agency Decisions. Decisions regarding acceptance are based upon a clear analysis of all pertinent evidence and are factually correct and legally defensible. Arranges for and conducts interviews with complainants, Department officials, and other public and private sector witnesses. Obtains sworn or affirmed testimony in the form of affidavits, answers to interrogatories, or oral testimony needed by a court reporter. Identifies appropriate Department records and obtains documentary evidence. Develops and reports evidence in Reports of Investigation, which will be used by the Department as the record upon which Final Agency Decisions and appellate decisions of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Merit Systems Protection Board, and Federal courts will be based. Investigations routinely require analysis and interpretation of personnel and administrative policies Conducts legal research and analysis on particularly complex cases or on novel legal issues, using both traditional and electronic research methods. Research may include administrative law and non-EEO areas of law. Decisions require determining relevant information pertaining to the case; determining the applicable law and regulations; comparing the facts to the general principles and theories of discrimination and regulations; summarizing information; and determining the agency position. Drafts and/or assists with drafting legally sustainable, comprehensive merit Final Agency Decisions that are written in a manner that clearly and succinctly addresses all bases, claims, and findings. Decisions require determining relevant information pertaining to the case; determining the applicable law and regulations; comparing the facts to the general principles and theories of discrimination and regulations; summarizing information; and determining the agency position. This Job Opportunity Announcement may be used to fill other Equal Employment Specialist (Adjudicator) GS-0260-13, FPL 13 positions within the Department of Commerce in the same geographical location or local commuting area with the same qualifications and specialized experience. This position is also advertised under OS-OCR-ST-26-13043687, which is open to Merit Promotion eligible applicants. You must apply to both announcements if you want to be considered for both.

Qualifications

Qualification requirements in the vacancy announcements are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook, which contains federal qualification standards. This handbook is available on the Office of Personnel Management's website located at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/#url=Occupational-Series Applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular competencies/knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. This experience need not have been in the federal government. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations e.g., professional; philanthropic, religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies; knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. To qualify at the GS-13 level: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You must possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as: Independently reviewing, analyzing, and documenting determinations in formal EEO complaints, applying expert knowledge of Federal EEO statutes, regulations, EEOC Management Directive 110 (MD-110), and EEOC case precedent to determine whether allegations should be accepted or dismissed in whole or in part; resolving complex procedural and jurisdictional issues; identifying relevant facts, issues, and evidence; and determining the applicable legal and regulatory requirements governing the processing of the complaint. Independently conducting legal research and analysis of complex EEO cases and novel legal issues, using traditional and electronic research methods; evaluating investigative records and evidentiary material; interpreting and applying applicable statutes, regulations, MD-110, and EEOC precedent; weighing the evidence; comparing the facts to established legal principles and theories of employment discrimination; and determining whether discrimination has been established and the Agency's appropriate legal and factual position on the merits. Independently drafting comprehensive and legally sufficient procedural and merit Final Agency Decisions, clearly addressing all accepted bases and claims, accurately applying applicable legal standards, and providing well-supported findings of fact, conclusions, and rationale based on the evidentiary record.

Requirements

You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this position. You must successfully pass a background investigation. This may include a credit check, a review of financial issues, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs. A probationary period may be required. Selective Service: Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see https://www.sss.gov/). If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application. All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing. Bargaining Unit Position: NO Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE form 450): NO Permanent Change of Duty Station (PCS) Expense: WILL NOT be paid License required: NO incumbent is required to operate a motor vehicle and must possess a current active state issued Driver's license.

Education

There is no positive education requirement for this position.

How to apply

Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include the initial online assessment and submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section above. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. The application process is as follows: To begin the application process, click the Apply Online button. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date. Note: To update your application, including supporting documentation, at any time during the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account (https://usajobs.gov). There you will find a record of your application, the application status, and an option to Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. 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 at least 3 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.