Deputy City Attorney - Worker Protection Team - City Attorney's Office (8177) - City and County of San Francisco

Appointment Type: Permanent Exempt (PEX) position; individuals who are appointed to Exempt Positions are appointed at the pleasure of their appointing officer and are considered to be "at-will."

• Application Opening: September 26, 2024
• Application Deadline: Continuous, earliest close 5:00 p.m. Thursday, October 10, 2024
• Compensation Range: $147,914- $259,142
• Recruitment ID: REF45140B

About the Office

The San Francisco City Attorney’s Office is an innovative, nationally recognized municipal law office working to protect and advance the rights and interests of the City and County of San Francisco and its residents. With over 340 talented and dedicated employees, the Office provides exceptional legal services to the City’s Mayor, Board of Supervisors, officials, and departments. Our work empowers City leaders with effective, responsive, and creative legal solutions and representation so they can deliver critical public services, and our affirmative advocacy enhances the lives and wellbeing of San Francisco’s residents and visitors.

The Office recognizes that diversity in the backgrounds, identities, ideas, and lived experiences of our employees enriches our workplace and enhances our work. We aspire to recruit, employ, retain, and promote talented individuals representing the full spectrum of our community, and welcome all candidates, including candidates of any race, religion, national origin, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, and age, and candidates with disabilities. We have a clear vision: to be the place where a diverse mix of people want to come and stay, grow professionally, and find purpose and engagement, and where all employees feel welcomed and respected for their full authentic selves, and valued for their work and contributions to the Office and the City. To learn more about the Office’s efforts to provide an inclusive workplace where employees feel they belong and can meaningfully contribute, please visit: https://www.sfcityattorney.org/aboutus/dei/

The Office offers a hybrid remote work schedule for eligible employees, with three days onsite and up to two days remote.

To learn more about the City Attorney’s Office please visit: https://www.sfcityattorney.org/

About the Worker Protection Team

The mission of the Worker Protection Team is to protect the rights of workers in San Francisco and California with an emphasis on combatting systemic business practices that exploit marginalized workers. Building on the Office’s longstanding leadership in affirmative litigation, the Team investigates and litigates instances of wage theft, employee misclassification, and other abusive workplace practices. The Team also advises and supports the City’s Office of Labor Standards Enforcement (OLSE), which enforces more than two dozen local workplace protection ordinances, including ordinances that establish rights to a minimum wage, paid sick leave. paid parental leave, and healthcare benefits. The Team also drafts relevant legislation and amicus briefs, and performs other duties consistent with the Team’s mission.

The Team is currently comprised of two attorneys, a legal assistant, and a one-year Law Fellow. The Team works closely with other attorneys and professional staff in the Office.

Deputy City Attorney Position and Responsibilities

Attorneys on the Worker Protection Team pursue affirmative investigations and civil litigation, and represent OLSE in administrative matters. They handle all aspects of their investigations and cases, including case assessment, litigation strategy, client communication and coordination, conducting and responding to discovery, all motion practice, settlement evaluation and negotiation, trial, and appeal. Attorneys will develop novel legal strategies to combat exploitative employment practices and work directly with witnesses and workers on sensitive matters. Attorneys will also assist in advising and supporting OLSE with contracting, promulgating regulations, and other matters. Attorneys may draft legislation and amicus briefs, and perform other tasks as assigned. To ensure broad outreach to identify illegal practices and develop new cases, attorneys are expected to represent the Office in public forums and work collaboratively with other public agencies and community organizations, including outside regular business hours.

The successful candidate will work in collaboration with all members of the Team and other professionals in the Office.

Minimum Qualifications

• Licensed to practice law in California

Desired Qualifications

• Four or more years of civil litigation experience, preferably in labor or employment law on behalf of workers in California state courts
• Demonstrated commitment to litigating or advocating on behalf of workers or other marginalized groups
• Deep knowledge of California employment laws
• Ability to manage and appropriately balance an active caseload of litigation, administrative matters, and advice work
• Excellent oral and written communication and advocacy skills
• Ability to assume responsibility quickly and work independently and efficiently
• Desire and ability to work successfully as part of a team
• Ability to exercise good judgment, multi-task, and meet deadlines
• Strong interpersonal skills and a positive attitude
• Ability to adjust to last minute assignments and workload increases with agility
• Commitment to valuing diversity and contributing to an inclusive working and learning environment

Salary and Benefits

The Deputy City Attorney position has a 16-step salary scale ranging from $147,914 to $259,142. The successful applicant is appointed to a salary step based on years of experience as a lawyer. The City offers robust health, retirement and other benefits. For more information please visit: https://sfdhr.org/benefits-overview. Attorneys are represented by the Municipal Attorneys Association. Information about compensation and benefits is available by entering Classification Code 8177 at https://careers.sf.gov/classifications/.

Application

To apply for this position, please submit your resume and cover letter. Applicants who advance in the selection process must submit at least two references and at least two writing samples including at least one significant and substantive filed brief.

Verification

Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. If education verification is required, information on how to verify education requirements, including verifying foreign education credits or degree equivalency, can be found at https://sfdhr.org/how-verify-education-requirements”

Note: Falsifying one’s education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco.

All work experience, education, training and other information substantiating how you meet the minimum qualifications must be included on your application by the filing deadline. Information submitted after the filing deadline will not be considered in determining whether you meet the minimum qualifications.

Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed City and County of San Francisco application.

Applications completed improperly may be cause for ineligibility, disqualification or may lead to lower scores.

Selection Procedures

The selection process will include evaluation of applications in relation to minimum requirements. Applicants meeting the minimum qualifications are not guaranteed advancement to the interview. Depending on the number of applicants, the Department may establish and implement additional screening mechanisms to comparatively evaluate the qualifications of candidates. If this becomes necessary, only those applicants whose qualifications most closely meet the needs of the Department will be invited to participate in the next stage of the selection process. The stated desirable qualifications may be considered at the end of the selection process when candidates are referred for hiring. 

Additional Information Regarding Employment with the City and County of San Francisco:

• Information About the Hiring Process
• Conviction History
• Employee Benefits Overview  
• Equal Employment Opportunity 
• Disaster Service Worker
• ADA Accommodation
• Veterans Preference
• Right to Work
• Copies of Application Documents
• Diversity Statement

HOW TO APPLY

Applications for City and County of San Francisco jobs are only accepted through an online process. Visit https://careers.sf.gov/ and begin the application process.

• Select the “Apply Now” button and follow instructions on the screen

Applicants may be contacted by email about this recruitment and, therefore, it is their responsibility to ensure that their registered email address is accurate and kept up-to-date. Also, applicants must ensure that email from CCSF is not blocked on their computer by a spam filter. To prevent blocking, applicants should set up their email to accept CCSF mail from the following addresses (@sfgov.org, @sfdpw.org, @sfport.com, @flysfo.com, @sfwater.org, @sfdph.org, @asianart.org, @sfmta.com, @sfpl.org, @dcyf.org, @first5sf.org, @famsf.org, @ccsf.edu, @smartalerts.info, and @smartrecruiters.com).

Applicants will receive a confirmation email that their online application has been received in response to every announcement for which they file. Applicants should retain this confirmation email for their records. Failure to receive this email means that the online application was not submitted or received.

Human Resources Analyst Information: If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please send your inquires to Asa Nojd, HR Analyst, at asa.nojd@sfcityatty.org.

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.