As a Wage and Hour Division (WHD) Investigator, every day will present new opportunities to perform rewarding work that protects workers and educates employers. You will promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to ensure workers receive the wages and benefits they are due while simultaneously strengthening the U.S. economy.

Duties

The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) is an essential labor law enforcement agency responsible for enforcing significant labor laws affecting nearly 150 million workers. Our mission is to protect rights related to minimum wage, overtime, child labor, family and medical leave, employment conditions for migrant workers, lie detector tests, garnishments, prevailing wages on government-funded contracts, labor provisions of several guest worker programs, and more. This is a developmental position. The career ladder progression is GS-07/09/11/12. As a Wage and Hour Investigator, you will receive on-the-job and other formal training/instructions on the provisions of the laws enforced by the agency. You will also develop human relations skills, investigation, and negotiation techniques. Under close observation/direction and with specific instructions, you will perform the following duties (which is not an all-inclusive list) and as you progress, the assignments will become more difficult and complex in preparation for the next grade level. Conducts complete investigations and negotiations involving routine issues and situations to obtain the compliance of business enterprises and State and local governments with the provisions of Federal labor laws, regulations, and orders pertaining to a wide variety of minimum wage, overtime, child labor, coverage, exemption, and other compliance issues in agricultural, commercial, construction, industrial, and other business establishments, public institutions, and domestic service in households. Develops information required to resolve issues in cases requiring a full investigation through interviews with employers and workers; analysis of pertinent business records, and review of laws enforced by the WHD. Conducts negotiations with firms, attorneys, or other representatives. Advise employers of violations of the law; explain requirements needed to achieve and maintain compliance; perform mathematical computations to determine the amount of liability. Recommends imposition of liquidated damages and withholding of funds and/or debarment actions against employers performing on government contracts. Develops cases for civil or criminal litigation and administrative hearing actions by preparing detailed analysis. Handles situations involving tension or discomfort with people who are demonstrating hostility or distress. Produce reports, spreadsheets, graphs, memoranda, and other documents for the purpose of communicating information in both a formal and informal setting. NOTE: In addition to duties normally performed sitting at a desk, the work involves regular and recurring visits to industrial, commercial, agricultural, construction, and other business establishments or public institutions that may necessitate walking a moderate distance, climbing stairs, movement over rough, uneven, or rocky surfaces requiring above average physical exertion. The work may include regular and recurring exposure to high levels of noise, dust, grease, moving parts of machinery requiring the occasional use of protective gear such as boots, goggles, or hard hat during investigations. NOTE: THIS IS NOT A LAW ENFORCEMENT POSITION.

Requirements

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

Qualifications

WHO MAY APPLY: Applicants who meet one of the employment authority categories below are eligible to apply for this job. You will be asked to identify which category or categories you meet, and to provide documents which prove you meet the category or categories you selected. Career Transition Assistance PlanCurrent WHD Career/Career Conditional Employees with Competitive StatusCurrent WHD Career/Career Conditional Employees with Non-Competitive Status A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must clearly indicate the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such position. IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Helpful resources for creating a federal resume - USAJobs Help Center and USAJobs Resume Writing. To qualify for the GS-07 grade level: Applicants must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-05 grade level, in the Federal Service, which includes meeting at least TWO (2) of the following THREE (3) specialized criteria requirements: General knowledge of Federal wage and hour labor laws, industrial occupations, wage scales, employment practices, or salary and wage administration practices. Skill in analyzing written/verbal information and numerical data and making decisions on issues based on interviews, records review, reconstruction of missing or fraudulent records and applying legal or regulatory provisions, precedents, and principles to specific investigative matters. Skill in personal contacts requiring the ability to explain requirements or rights and obtain information and cooperation from people with diverse backgrounds and levels of understanding, reconcile conflicting interests, and persuade others to comply voluntarily with requirements. -OR- Education: One full year of graduate level education in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as: industrial relations, personnel administration, business administration, labor economics, law, or other fields related to the position. -OR- Superior Academic Achievement: Successful completion of all the requirements for a bachelor's degree with Superior Academic Achievement in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled, such as: industrial relations, personnel administration, business administration, labor economics, law, or other fields related to the position. Achievement is based on: (1) Class Standing - Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses; OR (2) Grade-Point Average (G.P.A.) - Applicants must have a grade-point average of either (a) 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on your official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or (b) 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum.; OR (3) Honor Society Membership - Applicants may be considered eligible based on membership in one of the approved national scholastic honor societies listed by the Association of College Honor Societies (https://www.achsnatl.org/). -OR- Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) by 18. Add the two percentages. To qualify for the GS-09 grade level: Applicants must have at least TWO (2) of the following THREE (3) specialized criteria requirements: General knowledge of Federal wage and hour labor laws, industrial occupations, wage scales, employment practices, or salary and wage administration practices. Skill in analyzing written/verbal information and numerical data and making decisions on issues based on interviews, records review, reconstruction of missing or fraudulent records and applying legal or regulatory provisions, precedents, and principles to specific investigative matters. Skill in personal contacts requiring the ability to explain requirements or rights and obtain information and cooperation from people with diverse backgrounds and levels of understanding, reconcile conflicting interests, and persuade others to comply voluntarily with requirements. In addition to the specialized criteria requirement specified above for the GS-09 grade level, applicants must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-07 grade level, in Federal service, which includes applying the provisions of Federal wage and hour labors pertaining to wages, hours of work, or related conditions of employment. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include: Developing, interpreting, or applying policies, procedures, and operating standards in determining compliance for an organization or government-based program. Conducting interviews and providing information about laws and/or regulations. Industrial personnel or salary and wage administration or responsible work in a certified public accounting firm. Analyzing or applying labor legislation. Reviewing and evaluating operations and procedures through analysis, audits, or surveillance inspections. Federal, State, or self-regulatory agency work involving obtaining compliance with appropriate program requirements. Applying fact-finding techniques to gather clear-cut factual evidence of administrative related to labor statutes and regulations, industrial pay practices, and regulations governing the issuance of FLSA certificates in order to apply guidelines to general types of certifications. Applying investigative and compliance review methods and using information sources and protocols to plan and assist with conducting program reviews and analyses to resolve complex problems, conflicts, and inadequacies. Gathering information and responding appropriately to general and specific program inquiries. -OR- Education: A Master's or equivalent graduate degree OR 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree OR LL.B. or J.D., if related. Education must be in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as: industrial relations, personnel administration, business administration, labor economics, law, or other fields related to the position. -OR- Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the first year (total graduate semester hours minus 18) by 18. Add the two percentages.

Education

There are no education requirements for this position. However, if you wish to use your education as a basis for meeting the minimum qualification requirements, you must submit academic transcripts from an accredited institution demonstrating that you meet the qualifying education. If you do not submit sufficient academic documentation necessary to demonstrate that you meet the minimum qualification requirements based on education as described in this announcement, your application will be deemed incomplete, and you will receive no further consideration for this vacancy.

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.

Contacts

• Address Wage and Hour Division 200 Constitution Avenue NW Washington, DC 20210 US
• Name: DeAundra McKinnis
• Phone: 617-624-6644
• Email: [email protected]