Criminal Investigator (LEO)

Summary

This position is a Criminal Investigator Law Enforcement Officer (LEO), located in a field activity of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards. The primary duty of this position is the investigation of individuals suspected or convicted of offenses against the criminal laws of the United States. Pay to be set based on the locality pay area of the duty location. Final duty location will be determined upon selection. This position is inside the bargaining unit.

Duties

• This is a career ladder progression position; the duties described below are at the full performance level (GS-12). Incumbents hired below the GS-12 grade level will serve in a developmental capacity, wherein the work is less complex in nature and the supervisor, or a senior level employee provides specific instruction and guidance. Conducts investigations of individuals suspected of violating the criminal provisions of the LMRDA and related statutes, to include highly sensitive criminal investigations and civil investigations as appropriate, and associated crimes such as conspiracy, forgery, bank fraud, mail fraud and wire fraud. Assumes full responsibility for planning and developing assigned cases and cases the investigator identifies for investigation, obtaining evidence, interviewing all contacts, interrogating subjects, issuing Miranda warnings as appropriate, analyzing all financial records and writing all reports. Serves as team member on complex criminal investigations. Independently conducts major segments of the investigation and prepares assistance portions of the investigative report. Initiates and conducts meetings, discussions and conferences with parties germane to the investigations such as union officers, employees of unions, attorneys, certified public accountants, employers, and union members. Coordinates joint investigations with FBI, DOL OIG, EBSA, IRS and other federal agencies by developing investigative plans and coordinating additional investigations, integrating findings and conclusions into a comprehensive report. Initiates contacts and maintains liaison with United States Attorneys and state prosecutors, and other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies for the purpose of exchanging information. Explains LMRDA requirements and OLMS investigative procedures to gain access to records and gather pertinent facts and evidence. Prepares comprehensive, well-documented, sign-off quality reports of investigative findings and recommends appropriate disposition that clearly substantiate violations in accordance with elements of proof and other requirements necessary for criminal prosecution or justifies closing the case. Such reports are sufficient, with few or no changes, for forwarding to appropriate parties for action. Physical Demands: The work requires some walking, travel, and carrying of items such as brief cases, notebooks, and work papers. Many records are obtained from reluctant sources via administrative or grand jury subpoena. The work may involve considerable exertion to obtain, transport, and ultimately review records. The work requires interviewing witnesses or targets in remote work sites at irregular, unpredictable or unscheduled hours. The position may also require working for prolonged periods of time without adequate rest. Conducting investigations requires frequent travel to various geographic sites to locate witnesses and records, and conduct extensive, prolonged interviews at irregular hours to satisfy stress-provoking time constraints. Travel is sometimes necessary in severe weather on remote roads, in hazardous areas or under hazardous conditions, for up to three weeks at a time. Some casework may have to be done over protracted shift periods and at irregular hours. Interviews may be conducted in arduous circumstances with reluctant witnesses, sometimes exposing the investigator to personal risk. Prosecutive support work frequently requires unusually long work days and long periods away from the assigned duty station. Considerable endurance is often required to review voluminous records, and physical strength is required for lifting and transporting them. Investigators must often lift heavy boxes or equipment, categorize, store, and secure evidence. Work Environment: Some assignments are performed in a typical office setting, but usually require extensive additional onsite investigative work. This on-site work often occurs during evening or other irregular hours in work environments of union officials or other persons in unsafe, crime ridden areas, in factories, on construction sites, or at depots. Investigative activities bring the investigator into direct contact with the individuals facing potential criminal charges and the potential loss of their freedom and livelihood; individuals known to commit, attempt, or threaten to commit violence against union members; individuals who own weapons; or individuals alleged to have ties to organized crime. These contacts also expose the investigator to highly contested, hostile internal union political and power struggles. These and other situations described above may place the investigator in physical jeopardy. Protective clothing and gear and observance of safety precautions are required. The work sometimes involves accompany higher graded investigator during prolonged hours of interviews or records reviews in hazardous, hostile environments.

Qualifications

You must meet the Basic Requirements listed and the Specialized Experience to qualify for the Criminal Investigator (LEO) position, as described below. BASIC REQUIREMENTS: All applicants must meet the following basic requirements. Medical Requirements: The duties of positions in this series require moderate to arduous physical exertion involving walking and standing, use of firearms, and exposure to inclement weather. Manual dexterity with comparatively free motion of finger, wrist, elbow, shoulder, hip, and knee joints is required. Arms, hands, legs, and feet must be sufficiently intact and functioning in order that applicants may perform the duties satisfactorily. Sufficiently good vision in each eye, with or without correction, is required to perform the duties satisfactorily. Near vision, corrective lenses permitted, must be sufficient to read printed material the size of typewritten characters. Hearing loss, as measured by an audiometer, must not exceed 35 decibels at 1000, 2000, and 3000 Hz levels. Since the duties of these positions are exacting and responsible, and involve activities under trying conditions, applicants must possess emotional and mental stability. Any physical condition that would cause the applicant to be a hazard to himself/herself, or others is disqualifying. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: In addition to the Basic Requirement listed above, all applicants must possess the following specialized experience to be considered minimally qualified. For the GS-11: Applicants must have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level at the GS-09 level in the Federal Service. Qualifying specialized experience for GS-11 includes at least four (4) of the following: Participating in investigations on violations of the criminal provisions of the LMRDA and related statutes; Interviewing witnesses to verify or obtain relevant information; Conducting audits and/or analyzing financial records to identify discrepancies (e.g., labor union, banking records); Examining, researching and gathering information for preparation of investigative reports and/or; Drafting and/or preparing reports. OR Education: Posses a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree; or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree; or LL.M., if related OR Combination of Education and Specialized Experience: Applicable graduate education and specialized experience as defined above. The total percentage must equal at least 100% This must be fully supported by your resume and transcripts. For the GS-12, Applicants must have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, GS-11, in the Federal service. Qualifying specialized experience for GS-12 includes at least five (5) of the following: Participating in and planning investigations on violating the criminal provisions of the LMRDA and related statutes; Interviewing or interrogating individuals to verify facts or to obtain relevant information during an investigation; Researching, investigating, and/or analyzing conflicting accounting and union financial records; Prepare comprehensive reports or other documentation pertaining to investigations; Performing undercover and/or surveillance work as part of an investigation and/or; Experience testifying as a witness before grand juries for indictments, prelimary hearings or trials. Applicants may not qualify for this position based on education in lieu of specialized experience at the GS-12 grade level. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE POSITION: Maximum AGE Requirement: An applicant must enter a Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) law enforcement covered position or a Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) law enforcement covered position not one day later than his/her 37th birthday. Please note: Applicants appointed to Criminal Investigator positions in the Federal service must not have reached their 37th birthday upon appointment to the position unless they previously served in a Federal civilian law enforcement position covered by special civil service retirement provisions, including early or mandatory retirement. This requirement may be waived only for veterans. However, the primary duties of these positions are classified as rigorous, and a waiver may be authorized by the head of the agency only in unusual situations. An age requirement waiver is not automatic. An individual who has passed the maximum entry age limit but previously served in a covered position, may be eligible for consideration and reinstatement of coverage if he/she will be able to complete a total of 20 years of covered law enforcement service by the time he/she reaches the mandatory retirement age of 57. See OPM Retirement Handbook for further details. WHEN DOCUMENTING EXPERIENCE IN YOUR RESUME, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. NO ASSUMPTIONS WILL BE MADE ABOUT YOUR WORK EXPERIENCE. Do NOT copy and paste the duties or specialized experience from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position.

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.

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 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. 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. 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, then Update 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