Please join the U.S. Department of Labor on Wednesday March 21 at 1:30pm EST for information about career opportunities with the Federal Government!

Interested in Federal employment?

Looking for a position focused on civil rights, labor law, and/or health law?

Want to learn more about USAJobs?

Opportunities are Open at the U.S. Department of Labor nationwide!

Dear friends and colleagues:

I hope this message finds you well.  We invite you to join U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) leadership to discuss opportunities that are open at the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), both in the Washington, DC headquarters and nationwide.  We will host a free, easy-to-use webinar on Wednesday, March 21, 2012 starting at 1:30pm EST.  Please register at the following link: Webinar Registration

All current DOL job postings are available at www.usajobs.gov.  For additional information about EBSA vacancies, interested candidates should contact Crystal Jordan via e-mail at Jordan.Crystal2@dol.gov.

We hope you will all join us for this information session.  In the meantime, see more information below about the DOL and EBSA.

Best,

M. Lucero Ortiz

Special Assistant

Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Labor

(202) 693-6085

Ortiz.MLucero@dol.gov

Opportunities are Open at the U.S. Department of Labor

The U.S. Department of Labor and its 16,000 employees work to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.  Under the leadership of Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis, the Department is committed to ensuring Good Jobs for Everyone.

Currently, several opportunities are open for recent law school graduates and young attorneys (starting at the GS-9).  In addition, there are summer student temporary (STEP) and student career (SCEP) opportunities for current 1L and 2L law students.  The Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), one of the Department’s law enforcement agencies, will have several vacancies in the near future.  For additional information about EBSA vacancies, organizations or candidate should contact Crystal via e-mail at Jordan.Crystal2@dol.gov.

All interested applicants should visit USA Jobs and begin building their profile.  Potential applicants are encouraged to view tutorials on building a Federal resume, conducting advanced searches on USA Jobs, and tips on applying and using keywords available at
http://www.usajobs.gov/ResourceCenter/Index/Interactive/Tutorial#icc

 

EBSA Mission

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) is responsible for the administration and enforcement of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).  EBSA’s top priority is to ensure that pension, health, and other employee benefit plans are operated in accordance with the law.  EBSA is recognized as the guardian of the private employee benefits system.

 

EBSA Auditors

Auditors plan, conduct, and coordinate civil and criminal investigations/audits of moderate size single or multi-employer benefit plans, service providers, trust departments, and other financial entities having relationships and conducting transactions with the plans.  These individuals determine the scope and investigative approaches to be taken for each investigation/audit and are assigned investigations/audits that cover areas where there may be a high probability of significant findings.  Auditors work with the legal staff of the Department’s Office of the Solicitor (SOL) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) in preparing cases for civil litigation and criminal prosecution and in developing documentary evidence.    

 

EBSA Benefit Advisors

Benefit Advisors provide technical information, guidance and assistance in response to the full range of written, telephonic, and walk-in inquiries from plan administrators, participants and beneficiaries, members of Congress, and the general public on the rights and benefits of individuals under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986 (COBRA), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), etc.  These individuals advise participants, beneficiaries, and plan administrators in resolving differences about benefit eligibility by providing explanations of ERISA, COBRA, HIPAA, and plan provisions and by conducting analyses of the facts in particular situations.  Benefit Advisors also plans and conducts outreach and educational programs and workshops designed to communicate rights and benefits under ERISA, COBRA, HIPAA, etc. to employers and their employees.

EBSA Investigator

In addition to performing many of the duties assigned to Auditors above, Investigators determine the scope and investigative approaches to be taken for each investigation.  These individuals prepare comprehensive and well-documented investigative reports (including evidentiary materials and related documentation, work paper and financial analyses, problem identification, findings, citation of ERISA and related laws, regulations, interpretations, etc.  Investigators may serve as a witness for the Agency at civil and criminal court trials and may testify before Federal or State grand juries concerning facts and evidence developed during criminal investigations.

EBSA Employee Benefits Law Specialist

Employee Benefits Law Specialist assists and advises organizations and persons regarding exemptions, exemption policy, related legislation and enforcement.  These individuals represent the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) on various interagency task forces involving ERISA and national retirement income and health policy.  They develop and issue regulations, interpretations, and other guidance concerning the application of the provisions of Title I of ERISA, including provisions governing ERISA coverage, reporting, disclosure, fiduciary responsibility, claims procedures for pension, health and other employment based benefits.  Employee Benefits Law Specialist  assists and advise organizations and persons involved in all aspects of employee pensions and health care plan administration, including plan administrator and beneficiaries, insurers, and third party administrators.

EBSA Recruitment Coordinator

Crystal Jordan has been designated as EBSA central Recruitment Coordinator.  Crystal can assist individuals who would like to apply for vacancies in EBSA.  For additional information about EBSA vacancies, organizations or candidate should contact Crystal via e-mail at Jordan.Crystal2@dol.gov.

Student Career Experience Program (SCEP) Opportunity with the Department of Labor–Applications due Tuesday, May 31, 2011

The information below is from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration:

The Student Career Experience Program (SCEP) provides for formal periods of work and study while the student is enrolled in school.  The work performed in the SCEP must be related to the academic course of study.  The U.S. Department of Labor, the school, and the student complete a written agreement, which contains information on work assignments, schedule, etc.  Upon successful completion of the Program, students are eligible for conversion to the competitive service for up to 120 days following completion of the requirements of this program.   

This SCEP opportunity is with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), National Office.  The Division of Field Operations, Office of Enforcement (OE) is a major component of the EBSA.  EBSA is responsible for administering and securing compliance with Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).  OE coordinates national enforcement policy with EBSA field offices and various governmental agencies.  OE promotes the protection of pension and welfare benefits under ERISA by ensuring a strong and effective national and field office enforcement program through: policy formulation; project identification and program planning; guidance development and implementation; field liaison, training, and field and project evaluation.

EMPLOYMENT/ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

• U.S. citizenship
• Age 16 or over
• Meet Department of Labor security requirements

To apply for this position, fax or e-mail a cover letter, complete resume, graduate degree transcript, and DD-214 (if you are former military).  Also please submit an SF-15, if applicable.  Please submit materials via fax to (202)693-8477 or email to gatesman.valerie@dol.gov by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on May 31, 2011.  Please indicate the announcement number in your resume.

For more information about this opportunity, please click on the link below:

U.S. Dept. of Labor SCEP Posting

Sports, Race, and the Law: A Reflection on Their Politics and Their Power

By NLLSA’s North Atlantic Regional Director, who studies human rights law because professional sports did not work out for him.

United States Olympians Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, Mexico.  Also pictured is Australian Olympian Peter Norman who has an intriguing and little known role in support of the Black Power salute. Image source: http://i.infoplease.com/images/blackpower.jpg.

The New York Yankees have an organizational payroll that dwarves that of the Kansas City Royals…and the city of Kansas City.

Lord Stanley’s Cup was not awarded in 2004 for the first time since 1919 after the first “lockout” of an entire season for any professional sport in North America, which includes six Canadian cities.

The Rooney family may still sell their Pittsburgh Steelers franchise if a suitable bidder is found. The management of the Philadelphia Eagles signed Michael Vick despite public protests after his conviction and incarceration for involvement in dog fighting – and #7 jerseys have never sold better.

Cleveland was witness to their sports apocalypse with last summer’s airing of “The Decision”. “The Answer” is in question last seen playing in Turkey. Carmelo is finally a Knick, and CP3 may be joining him and Amar’e next season…if there is a season.

Sports are a business. Players work for owners. Fans cheer for laundry.

Of course, sports are also an integral part of society, a reflection of a collective value of competition and excellence. Of course, players compete for the quest of a championship, for the love of the game. Of course, fans root for their favorite teams, cherish their hometown heroes.

But, in the end, neither society’s values, players’ drive, nor fans’ loyalty compute in the marginal costs of managing a sports league – especially those of the magnitude seen in the United States.

The professional soccer leagues in Europe, and their multi-billion dollar teams, occupy comparable strata of financial clout. Yet, only in the United States have four professional sports leagues – Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Hockey League (NHL), the National Football League (NFL), and the National Basketball Association (NBA) – taken such a hold of markets in cities as financially disparate as Tampa Bay and Toronto with teams as financially disparate as those playing in Nashville and New York.

“I’m a Negro who speak up”, explained Carlton Chester Gilchrist [1]. Known as “Cookie”, Gilchrist was a 260-pound, six-foot three-inch record-setting fullback during the glory days of the American Football League (AFL). A lesser-known fact is that Gilchrist was also a labor organizer during the darkest days of the Civil Rights Movement. Gilchrist led the boycott of the 1965 AFL Championship Game that was to be hosted in New Orleans, Louisiana. Gilchrist organized dozens of top players, of color as well as white, to force the AFL to move the game from the city, which operated under unwritten Jim Crow policies.

Gilchrist’s initiative prompted other athletes to utilize the expanding celebrity of professional sports figures toward political ends. The silent protests by Tommie Smith and John Carlos during the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City were not spontaneous. They had been coordinated by other “athletes in revolt” as termed by former athlete and current professor Harry Edwards – the man who introduced the author of this post to the field of Sociology once upon a time.

Meanwhile, Muhammad Ali was stinging like a bee, becoming the flamboyant icon for such revolting sports figures and the pariah of the fearsome black athlete. His struggle against the United States government and popular media is well documented. Only recently has his courage and leadership been recognized by those who stripped him of this medal and robbed him of four years of his prime. Was it an evolution of heart by those who previously sought to banish him or the realization that “The Greatest” was no longer a threat, physically nor popularly. Ali, in the past fifteen years, had taken on a role as corporate spokesperson for companies seeking to get out from under racial discrimination litigation, namely The Coca-Cola Company. Nonetheless, his vibrant and unapologetic militancy, on matters of race, religion, and class, solidified athletes of color as figures who could be cheered on the court and feared in the street. After changing his name from Cassius Clay, Ali would taunt his foes, both inside and outside the ring, with his rope-a-dope line: “What’s my name, fool!”

Today, sports, race, and the law continue to intersect in ways more visible than decades prior. Last year, the Phoenix Suns, the NBA franchise in Arizona, offered a rare gesture of political solidarity by wearing jerseys that read “Los Suns”, Spanish for plural Suns, for their game against the San Antonio Spurs soon after Arizona’s state legislature had passed a bill that deputized local law enforcement as immigration officials and promoted racial profiling. Some saw the Suns’ move less as a political stand and more as economic opportunism to gain the favor of a booming Latino population in the metropolitan area. Nonetheless, the organization’s voice was an unexpected one in the polarizing debate where members of the Suns team and management made public comment against the legislation known as SB1070, including starting point-guard and two-time NBA Most Valuable Player, Steve Nash*.

In response to SB1070, immigrant rights advocates have also lobbied the MLB to relocate this summer’s All-Star Game from Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, to a city that will not sanction the reasonable suspicion stoked by local Maricopa County Sheriff, Joe Arpaio. MLB’s soon-to-be highest paid player and current Saint Louis Cardinals first baseman, Albert Pujols, has joined a series of other Latino and Latin American players and managers, such as the always outspoken coach of the Chicago White Sox, Ozzie Guillen, in repudiating the Arizona law and its copycat initiatives.

History repeats itself in Arizona where in 1990 the NFL rescinded its awarding of Super Bowl XXVII to Tempe, Arizona and relocated the nation’s most-watched televised event to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. This controversial decision was made as a consequence of the state’s unwillingness to observe the new federal holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

This type of outspoken support by professional sports industry was not as evident in 2006 when millions marched throughout the country after the introduction of HR4437 by Representative Sensenbrenner from Wisconsin. Today, however, Wisconsin has taken center court in the fight of organized labor to retain their right to collectively bargain – a measure which impacts documented citizens as well as those currently undocumented seeking naturalization. In this fight, Wisconsin’s fabled NFL team and current Super Bowl champion, the Green Bay Packers, has voiced their support for state public employees. In recent weeks, Packer players, including former Heisman Trophy-winner and Defensive Player of Year, Charles Woodson, have spoken out against Wisconsin Governor Walker and for the rights of workers. The Packers, unlike the other 31 NFL teams, is the NFL’s only cooperative-owned franchise.

Fitting, if not strategic, that NFL players would take such a stand. Players, through their now dissolved union, the NFL Players Association (NFLPA), are currently in the midst of a lockout after negotiations for a collective bargaining agreement with their employer, the NFL, failed.

The NFL, the nation’s highest grossing professional sports league of the nation’s most popular sport, is coming off an unprecedented season of revenue in terms of attendance and television ratings. After a steady climb in popularity, the NFL has overtaken Major League Baseball as a league financial model and football has overtaken baseball as “America’s Pastime”. The current dealings and stalemates between owners, as management, and players, as workers, have been closely followed in popular press. Players are seeking the preservation of free agency and transparency in profit sharing while owners are seeking reduction of health care coverage and an expanded eighteen game season. The result of these negotiations impacts the looming negotiations of the NBA owners and its union of players, the National Basketball Player’s Association.

Athletics intersect with the law and labor relations with the inevitable companions of race and class. This is true in college athletics where efforts at organizing student athletes have been met with sequestering of athletes and threats of litigation by the National College Athletics Association (NCAA). While the racial integration of sports, amateur and professional, is celebrated by today’s generation of fan, athlete, and owner – with the exception of Donald Sterling of the Los Angeles Clippers – much integration remains to be seen in professional sports ownership where only one of the roughly 120 professional franchises is owned by a person of color – Michael Jordan of the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats.

The fundamental issue, as always, is power – to employ staff, to televise games, to build stadiums, to relocate franchises, and to buy and sell athletes. It is a power that athletes, despite their multi-million dollar contracts and endorsement deal, cannot exert, rendering them “forty million dollar slaves” [2]. It is a power that fans, despite our multi-million dollar investment and support, cannot exert, rendering us the followers of those same forty million dollar slaves. This is true of all athletes and all fans – white, citizen, or otherwise – for sports is a business.

* Nash is Canadian and an immigrant himself – of the “brain gain” variety, of course.

[1] Zirin, Dave, A People’s History of Sports in the United States, New Press (2009).

[2] Jackson, Scoop, “NBA Power Shift? Don’t Blame Players”, ESPN.com (March 1, 2011).

_________________________

Camilo A. Romero is a second-year student at NYU School of Law and serves as NLLSA’s North Atlantic Regional Director.