Special Investigator

Overview

Job Description And Duties
The Department of Industrial Relations is looking for inquisitive and detail-oriented investigators to join the Department’s legal team. This Special Investigator position is located in the Office of the Director Legal Unit (OD Legal), in the Oakland office. Special investigators in this unit support the work of attorneys by investigating workers' compensation cases involving the Uninsured Employers Benefits Trust Fund (UEBTF), the Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund (SIBTF), and the Death Without Dependents Fund (DWD).

Investigators may also conduct investigations related to civil litigation, public works coverage issues, administrative enforcement proceedings related to employee/independent contractor classification issues (AB 5/AB 2257), and other projects that may arise in the Legal Unit.

Job Description And Duties
The Department of Industrial Relations is looking for inquisitive and detail-oriented investigators to join the Department’s legal team. This Special Investigator position is located in the Office of the Director Legal Unit (OD Legal), in the Oakland office. Special investigators in this unit support the work of attorneys by investigating workers' compensation cases involving the Uninsured Employers Benefits Trust Fund (UEBTF), the Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund (SIBTF), and the Death Without Dependents Fund (DWD).

Investigators may also conduct investigations related to civil litigation, public works coverage issues, administrative enforcement proceedings related to employee/independent contractor classification issues (AB 5/AB 2257), and other projects that may arise in the Legal Unit.

Responsibilities

• Special Investigators conduct investigations and perform research using various online databases and resources, including Clear, Accurint, Lexis and Westlaw, among others, request and review public records, and conduct research using a variety of other resources, including locating witnesses and conducting telephone interviews.
• This is not a field position; all investigative work is done from the office.
• Review legal documents, conduct careful and thorough investigations to find relevant evidence and background information; locate and interview potential witnesses; gather documentary evidence; and prepare correspondence, subpoenas, discovery forms, and other simple legal pleadings.
• For each investigation, prepare a full written report that is well-organized, concise, and informative, with conclusions and recommendations as needed.

Duty Statement
This posting may be used to fill future vacancies in accordance with 2 CCR 249.3.

Qualifications

• To be considered for this Special Investigator opportunity, applicants must be either reachable on an employment list, have transfer eligibility or have reinstatement eligibility.
• To take the exam and gain employment list eligibility, please access the exam bulletin:
• Effective July 1, 2025, certain Bargaining Units and Excluded State employees are subject to a salary reduction under the Personal Leave Program 2025 (PLP 2025). See CalHR for details.

Working Conditions

This position is located at the Department of Industrial Relations, Office of the Director-Legal Unit, 1515 Clay Street, Suite 701, Oakland, CA 94612. It is a full-time position headquartered in an office environment in a 22-story state office building. The unit is currently located on the 7th floor. Employees have their own offices, work at desks, and are required to work extensively on computers for drafting letters and other documents, research, email, file review, training, and other purposes.

Teleworking part-time may require sharing offices.

Special Requirements

A Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) must be submitted with your application. The SOQ will serve as documentation of your ability to present written information clearly and concisely. The SOQ must be typed, double spaced, in Arial 12 pt. font, and be no more than two pages in length. Please notate “Statement of Qualifications” and your name in the upper left corner.

A resume will not be accepted as an alternative to the SOQ. Applications submitted without an SOQ will not be…