Administrative Law Judge

The Department of the Interior is devoted to protecting and preserving the natural resources of this great nation, including National Parks, Landmarks, and the well-being of communities, including those of Native American, Alaska Natives and affiliated Islanders.

This position is in the excepted service and not subject to competitive service procedures.

Merit promotion procedures do not apply.

This vacancy may be used to fill additional positions as vacancies become available.Appointment to this position requires final approval by the Secretary of the Interior.

Incumbent serves as an Administrative Law Judge in the Departmental Cases Hearings Division (DCHD), created by the Secretary of the Interior, residing within the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA). Incumbent is under the supervision and broad administrative direction of the Chief ALJ, OHA Director, and Deputy Director.

DCHD has responsibility for the disposition of disputes arising primarily from decisions by officers of the Department of the Interior which relate to the disposal or use of public lands of the United States under a wide variety of involved and complex statutes, such as mining and mineral leasing, grazing, homestead, and public sale laws, and the more limited group of problems affecting acquired lands of the United States arising from particular statutes relating to such lands.

Hold Hearings: Pursuant to the APA's procedures and the Department's regulations, the incumbent presides over public lands hearings, both virtual and in person, held on behalf of the Department's bureaus and offices, in a fair and impartial manner, exercising all power and authority conferred on ALJ's by law. The incumbent conducts administrative proceedings that are functionally comparable to that of a trial judge of a court of record, with exceptional latitude for the exercise of discretion and independent judgment in the conduct of the proceedings and the determination of all issues of law and fact. The incumbent conducts highly adversarial proceedings, issue bench rulings during the course of a hearing on a variety of matters and decides complex issues of law and fact.

Resolve Public Lands Disputes: The incumbent conducts administrative proceedings under the APA which include, but are not limited to the following subject areas: (1) the grant or denial of licenses for grazing livestock on the public domain (Taylor Grazing Act); (2) the enforcement of laws relating to public land use (Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976); (3) the grant or denial of patents to public land; the determination of the validity of mining claims (Mining Act of 1872); (4) the determination of the rights to the surface resources of public lands; (5) the determination of competing mining and mineral rights claims; (6) the determination of homestead rights; (7) the determination of the propriety of pecuniary penalties assessed against coal mine operators or miners for violation of environmental, health or safety standards (Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act); (8) the determination of the propriety and scope of orders based upon findings of noncompliance after inspection of a mine by an authorized representative of the Secretary (Federal Mine Safety and Health Act; (9) resolution of conflicts not subject to the APA referred for special hearing by the Secretary on such issues as State versus Federal ownership of oil lands, and rights to a permit of a public carrier to construct public carrier transmission oil lines over public lands pursuant to his plenary authority (5 U.S.C. § 301 [1994]).

Other Responsibilities: The OHA Director may assign other cases to the incumbent which will require hearings for resolution. These include, but are not limited to: (1) cases under the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970; (2) penalty cases under the Endangered Species Act of 1973; (3) hearings ordered by the OHA Director or the Ad Hoc Appeals Boards under 43 C.F.R. §4.704; (4) hearings ordered by the Interior Board of Indian Appeals under 43 C.F.R. §4.415 and 43 C.F.R. §4.337(a); (5) hearings pursuant to the Debt Collection Act of 1982; (6) hearings on questions of fact and discretionary matters ordered by the Secretary pursuant to his/her plenary authority in 5 U.S.C. §301; (7) hearings for a petitioner for tribal acknowledgment having received a negative decision from the BIA Office of Federal Acknowledgement (25 C.F.R. Part 83; 43 C.F.R. Part 4, Subpart K). Additionally, incumbent may be assigned cases pursuant to the White Earth Land Settlement Act (WELSA), 25 U.S.C. §331, which includes rendering heirship determinations required by WELSA.

The incumbent follows policies and procedures of the office as directed by the OHA Director, OHA Deputy Director, and Chief ALJ, including utilizing case docket management and electronic filing systems, audio and video hearing equipment and processes, and other software and systems. Incumbent follows policies and procedures related to collaboration, review, work management processes, and case production targets. The OHA Director, OHA Deputy Director, or Chief ALJ may assign special projects to the incumbent.

OHA has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework in accordance with agency policy. This is not a remote/virtual position, and the incumbent would be expected to report to the duty station of Salt Lake City, UT.The incumbent in this position may have the opportunity to serve as acting Chief ALJ in the DCHD on a rotating basis with other ALJ's. Acting as Chief ALJ would require supervisory duties that entail providing administrative leadership necessary to ensure the thorough, yet expeditious, processing of all formal and informal hearing proceedings arising before DCHD.

Education: You must be a graduate from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association. You must submit your law school transcript for verification of qualifying education. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable at the time of application.

Licensure Requirement: Possession of a professional license to practice law and being authorized to practice law under the laws of a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any territorial court established under the United States Constitution at the time of selection and any new appointment.

Judicial status is acceptable in lieu of ''active'' status in States that prohibit sitting judges from maintaining ''active'' status to practice law and being in ''good standing'' also is acceptable in lieu of ''active'' status in States where the licensing authority considers ''good standing'' as having a current license to practice law.

Documentation: You must submit proof that you are licensed and authorized to practice law. Such proof can include a current active bar card, a screen print from a bar website that reflects you are an active member of the bar or a letter/certificate from the bar certifying you are licensed and authorized to practice law. Documents (bar card, screen print, letter/certificate) must be dated within 3 months of the closing date of the announcement. If using a screen print, make sure it is clear when the screen print was taken. For bar cards that do not have a date on them, please also submit a screen print or letter/certificate certifying you are licensed and authorized to practice law dated within 3 months of the announcement closing date.

Additionally, applicants must have at least seven years of progressively responsible professional legal experience. Qualifying experience must be of a type and level sufficient to demonstrate the applicant's ability to render final decisions covering a wide range of complex, highly contested issues in an efficient and timely manner.

Mandatory Qualifications: As a basic requirement, applicants must demonstrate progressively responsible experience that is directly related to the Mandatory Qualifications below. Failure to meet basic qualifications requirements and all mandatory qualifications listed automatically disqualifies an applicant. In addition, applicants are being asked to respond to the question relating to supervisory experience. Supervisory experience is desired, but not mandatory.

Applicants are required to respond to each mandatory qualification question with a comprehensive narrative statement addressing each mandatory qualification individually. The narrative must demonstrate the necessary level of skills, characteristics, qualities, specialized knowledge, and technical competence that would indicate successful performance in this Administrative Law Judge position. This evidence must include clear and concise examples that emphasize the applicant's level of responsibilities, scope, and complexity of assignments, program accomplishments, policy initiatives, and level of contacts. Applicants who fail to provide this narrative statement in the format requested will not be considered. EACH MANDATORY AND DESIRED QUALIFICATION MUST BE ADDRESSED SEPARATELY and must not exceed 10,000 characters (including spaces) per response.

Is it recommended that you type your responses in a separate document, and then cut and paste them into the narrative text box to ensure that your application doesn't time out while you are typing your response. USA Staffing will time out after 15 minutes of inactivity, and typing in a narrative text box is not registered as activity.

* Broad legal knowledge and experience, including as (a) a judge or attorney for a court or quasi-judicial, (b) an attorney representing the government or private parties in litigation, and/or (c) an attorney advising government or private parties in legal disputes. Demonstrated ability to quickly develop a specialized knowledge of unfamiliar substantive areas.
* Understanding of (a) administrative law and (b) natural resources law, public lands law, and/or environmental law, including relevant statutes, regulations and case law.
* Skill in analyzing and synthesizing voluminous and technically complex evidentiary materials, and in researching, considering, and correctly applying the law to decide cases.
* Skill in communication, negotiation, and consensus building that have been used in high level consultative or collaborative situations, and the ability to write clearly, concisely, and persuasively.
* Ability to produce a high volume of quality work in a timely manner to meet individual and organizational goals.
* Desired Experience: The incumbent of this position may have the opportunity to act as Chief ALJ on a rotating basis with other ALJs in the Departmental Cases Hearings Division. As such, supervisory experience is desired, including leadership in providing customer service; evaluating program performance; designing and implementing strategies to maximize employee potential; and supervising and managing employees.

Travel for hearings, conferences, etc., may be required at any time during the year. Some hearings take place in remote locations where public transportation is not available. All applicants must have or be able to obtain a valid driver's license to be able to drive a car during travel.

If invited for an interview, you will be asked to provide a writing sample.

All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.