Staff Attorney

California Department of Industrial Relations; California; On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

The California Department of Industrial Relations is seeking an attorney to represent the Labor Commissioner’s Office on California employment law, with emphasis in Wage Claim Adjudication. The role involves litigation, negotiation, hearings, and legal research to support policy, precedents and appeals.

The ideal candidate is admitted to the California State Bar and willing to travel as needed to fulfill program objectives. Prior experience in labor or employment matters is preferred.

Qualifications

• Active membership to the California State Bar is required.

Responsibilities

• Represent the LCO and advise on California employment law with emphasis in Wage Claim Adjudication.
• Engage in litigation, negotiation, hearings, and legal research to support policy, precedents and appeals.
• Travel is required to perform duties and meet program objectives.

Education

Active California State Bar membership

Job description

Job Description And Duties

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 with an emphasis in Wage Claim Adjudication. 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. This position is in the following program areas: Wage Claim Adjudication Legal section. 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. You will find additional information about the job in the Duty Statement.

Working Conditions

• May work in high-rise building in downtown locations.
• Must work in office. Workspace is a standard office in a smoke-free environment.
• Incumbent must be able to remain in a stationary position for long periods of time; Incumbent must occasionally move boxes, files and office equipment.
• As needed, an Attorney will also have contact with the general public, California State and outside legal, program, court and agency staff via phone, email, in person, via presentation, video and mail. Such contact may include general, confidential, sensitive, technical and informative materials.
• The Attorney is expected to travel via land and air (including overnight travel out of town) and arrange schedules to perform duties and meet the objectives of the program.

Location(s)

• Los Angeles County: 320 W. Fourth Street, Los Angeles, CA 90013. JC-536942
• Los Angeles County: 6150 Van Nuys Blvd., Van Nuys, CA 91401. JC-536946
• Ventura County: 1901 North Rice Avenue, Oxnard, CA 93030. JC-536943
• Fresno County: 770 E. Shaw Avenue, Fresno, CA 93710. JC-536940

Special Requirements

• Active Membership to the California State Bar.

Type your answer to the following inquiry in 12-point type, Times New Roman font. Have your name and JC number for the position you’re applying to at the top left corner of each page. Your Statement of Qualifications should be no more than two (2) pages and should be submitted with your application and resume. Applications received without the SOQ will not be considered.

• Summarize the reasons for your interest in this position and how your prior experience qualifies you for it.

Who May Apply

Individuals who are currently in the classification, eligible for lateral transfer, eligible for reinstatement, have list or LEAP eligibility, are in the process of obtaining list eligibility, or have SROA and/or Surplus eligibility (please attach your letter, if available). SROA and Surplus candidates are given priority; therefore, individuals with other eligibility may be considered in the event no SROA or Surplus candidates apply. Individuals who are eligible for a Training and Development assignment may also be considered for this position(s).

Final Filing Date

12/9/2026

Equal Opportunity Employer

The State of California is an equal opportunity employer to all, regardless of age, ancestry, color, disability (mental and physical), exercising the right to family care and medical leave, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin, political affiliation, race, religious creed, sex (includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and related medical conditions), and sexual orientation.

It is an objective of the State of California to achieve a drug-free work place. Any applicant for state employment will be expected to behave in accordance with this objective because the use of illegal drugs is inconsistent with the law of the State, the rules governing Civil Service, and the special trust placed in public servants.