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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.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Posted yesterday · Apply by 07/20/26
Due by 11:59 p.m. ET on July 20, 2026
Location
Few vacancies in the following location:
Work site options
Telework eligible
Yes—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. This is not a remote position.
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$121,785 - $158,322 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 13
Promotion potential
13
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-time
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Appointment type
Permanent
Occupations and job series
Supervisory status
No
Federal service type
This job is in the Competitive Service
Represented by a union
Yes
Drug test
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.
Background check type
Financial disclosure required
No
Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.
Announcement number
MS-26-CHI-EBSA-13001814-SLG
Control number
876144900

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Duties

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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

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Conditions of employment

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

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, Ph.D., 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

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 here for Additional Information.

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.

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.

You may preview application questions for this vacancy here: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13001814

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) will be considered well-qualified if they attain at least a rating score of 85 in a numerical rating scheme. Be sure to review the eligibility questions to reflect that you are applying as an ICTAP or CTAP eligible and submit supporting documentation.

Employee Benefits Security Administration

Begin a challenging career with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), and you will help shape the workforce of tomorrow. DOL offers rewarding opportunities to contribute to a noble mission; to serve and protect American workers, prepare them for new and better jobs, and to ensure the safety and fairness of American workplaces.

The Department of Labor values its customers. Every DOL employee is responsible for delivering good customer service through accurate, courteous, efficient, and effective transactions.

The Department of Labor does not make unfavorable hiring decisions on the basis of an applicant's previous or current unemployment, or the fact that an applicant has experienced financial difficulty through no fault of his/her own and has undertaken good faith efforts to meet his/her financial obligations. Consideration is given to financial status in relation to appointments only where required by law, regulation, or Executive Order.

Applicants with disabilities can contact the vacancy point of contact listed on the job vacancy announcement to request reasonable accommodations needed for the application process.

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

Visit our careers page

Learn more about what it's like to work at Employee Benefits Security Administration, what the agency does, and about the types of careers this agency offers.

http://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa

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