Placement in the 2013 Honors Program is limited to applicants who currently are third-year law students, full-time graduate law students or judicial law clerks.
The NLRB is the independent agency vested by Congress with preeminent authority to administer the law governing relations between employers and unions in the private sector.
- Office of the Board Members
- General Counsel Headquarters, Washington, DC
- Regional Offices, Various Locations
- Starting Salaries
- Submission of Applications
Washington, DC. Attorney Positions. Assignments will include rotations of work on one or more Board Members staffs, in the Office of Representation Appeals, the Office of the Solicitor, and/or the Office of the Executive Secretary.
Honors Program attorneys can look forward to participating in the review of unfair labor practice decisions issued by administrative law judges and representation election rulings issued by Agency hearing officers and regional directors, which are on appeal to the Board Members in Washington, D.C. The cases are intellectually challenging and require strong analytic, research, and writing skills. They also offer a rewarding opportunity to sharpen oral and written communications skills, and to assist the Board in interpreting its statute and resolving policy differences. Honors Program attorneys will obtain valuable experience which will benefit them throughout their careers in labor and employment law, and derive the satisfaction of making an important contribution to public service.
The Honors Program attorneys will be assigned to the offices of individual Board Members, and they will also be assigned on a rotational basis to the Office of Representation Appeals, the Office of the Solicitor, and/or the Office of the Executive Secretary. The rotational assignments are subject exclusively to management discretion based on work needs. Although ideally the attorney may be employed as a permanent staff attorney at the conclusion of the two-year program, all attorneys are subject to a two-year probationary period. Thus, there is no guarantee of permanent employment upon completion of the program.
It is the responsibility of the attorneys assigned to a Board Member to assist the Board Member by reviewing the hearing record and the parties' briefs on appeal in the cases to which they are assigned, researching and analyzing the issues, and presenting written recommendations as to their resolution directly to the Board Members. The issues are then deliberated in meetings either with the attorney's own Board Member, or with all of the Board Members who will be participating in the case. Ultimately the attorney drafts a decision for the Board Members for dissemination to the public reflecting the Board's disposition of the case.
Attorneys assigned to the Office of Representation Appeals present directly to the Board Members recommendations on whether to approve regional director decisions relating to recent or upcoming NLRB representation elections. These decisions raise issues involving such matters as the voting eligibility of classes of employees. Attorneys prepare legal memoranda analyzing the issues, and orally present their recommendations to the Board. The attorneys also draft decisions and orders for the Board Members.
Honors Program attorneys may also be assigned to the Office of the Solicitor. The Solicitor is the Board's chief legal officer and advises it on a broad range of questions of law and policy arising from its administration of the National Labor Relations Act. Attorneys handle assignments as varied as advising the Board on interlocutory-type appeals in ongoing unfair labor practice administrative hearings, and making recommendations to the Board on whether to seek or oppose certiorari before the United States Supreme Court with respect to the review of a Board decision by one of the U.S. federal circuit courts of appeals.
Offices of the General Counsel
General Counsel Headquarters. Washington, DC. Attorney Positions. Assignments will include rotations of work in the Division of Enforcement Litigation and the Division of Advice.
The Honors Program of the Office of the General Counsel is designed for attorneys with exemplary records who are completing law school or judicial clerkships and are interested in joining the preeminent legal office involved in the development and implementation of Federal labor law and policy.
The Office of the General Counsel is charged with the responsibility of enforcing the nation's fundamental labor law, the National Labor Relations Act. Unlike almost all other Federal agencies, the Board enjoys independent litigating authority. Every day, attorneys with the Office of the General Counsel represent the Board and the General Counsel in proceedings before federal bankruptcy and district courts and federal courts of appeals. Our lawyers also play a leading role in providing guidance to the General Counsel and the Regional Offices throughout the country with respect to novel or difficult legal issues. Altogether approximately 75 non-supervisory attorneys are assigned to the Office of the General Counsel in our headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Attorneys in the Honors Program will spend their first two years handling a broad variety of assignments from the Office's Divisions and Branches. These Branches include the Appellate Court Branch, the Contempt Litigation and Compliance Branch, the Special Litigation Branch, the Regional Advice Branch, the Injunction Litigation Branch, and the Office of Appeals. In addition, Honors Program Attorneys may choose to take a detail to work in our Baltimore Regional Office investigating charges of unfair labor practices and overseeing secret-ballot elections.
There is great variety in the legal assignments available in the Offices of the General Counsel at Headquarters. An attorney in his or her two years in the Honors Program might draft a brief and argue an enforcement case before a U.S. Court of Appeals, make appearances before federal bankruptcy and district courts as a representative of the Board or General Counsel, draft legal advice memoranda concerning difficult or cutting-edge labor law issues, and review investigative files to determine the appropriateness of an appeal from a Regional Director's dismissal of an unfair labor practice charge. Honors Program participants will obtain a broad knowledge of labor law matters and civil practice, as well as significant court experience that would be difficult to obtain in years of private practice. Moreover, participants will share the special pride that comes from representing the United States Government and engaging in public service.
After two years, participants in the Honors Program will be assigned to a specific office in the Office of the General Counsel. All efforts will be made to accommodate attorneys' preferences consistent with the needs of the Office.
Attorney Positions: Assignments as Field Attorneys in one of the NLRB Regional Offices.
Field attorneys act on behalf of the General Counsel by investigating charges of unfair labor practices, resolving or litigating cases, conducting elections to determine union representation preferences, and acting as hearing officers in contested representation matters. Attorneys in the Honors Program will be assigned as field attorneys in one of the following Regional Offices:
Region 1, Boston, MA
Region 5, Baltimore, MD
Region 12, Tampa, FL
Region 13, Chicago, IL
Region 16, Fort Worth, TX
Region 19, Seattle, WA
Region 20, San Francisco, CA
Region 21, Los Angeles, CA
Region 22, Newark, NJ
Region 24, San Juan, PR
Region 29, Brooklyn, NY
Region 31, Los Angeles, CA
Region 32, Oakland, CA
Region 34, Hartford, CT
Further information concerning the work of these offices can be found in the Honors Program Handbook ( Honors Program Handbook). Candidates interested in being considered for an entry-level attorney position under the Honors Program must submit applications for consideration beginning on August 15 and no later than October 15, 2012.
Attorneys with J.D. - GS-11
Attorneys with LLM or judicial clerkship - The Agency has some discretion for starting those with judicial clerkship experience or an L.L.M. at a higher GS level in Headquarters.
The annual starting salary for a General Schedule (GS) grade and step may be reviewed at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) website. This website provides salary tables for all NLRB duty locations.
The application period is from August 15, 2012 to October 15, 2012, for placement in the Honors Program beginning in the Fall of 2013. Placement in the 2013 Honors Program is limited to applicants who currently are third-year law students, full-time graduate law students or judicial law clerks. We invite you to apply here.
NOTE: Applications will not be accepted by the system until 12:01am EDT, August 15, 2012.
The National Labor Relations Board is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for appointment without regard to race, religion, national origin, color, sex, political affiliation, handicap, age, sexual orientation, or any other non-merit factor.
The National Labor Relations Board provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities. If you have further questions, please call the Human Resources Branch at (202) 273-3940.
