L&I Industrial Relations Agent 4 - Bilingual Spanish

Our Mission: Keep Washington Safe and Working!

Our Values: Customer Focus, One L&I, Respect, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Learning and Growth, Reliability

When hired as bilingual, the top applicant will be required to pass an assessment of the ability to write and speak Spanish fluently. We do not use translating software. Employees with bilingual responsibilities receive a 5% increase in pay.

About the role

As an Industrial Relations Agent 4 in the Employment Standards program, you’ll oversee resolution of complaints filed under the Wage Payment Act as well as enforcing conditions of employment filed under the Industrial Welfare Act. Your knowledge of the Wage Payment Act and Industrial Welfare Act is crucial as you’ll be recommending changes to regulations, administrative policies, operations manuals, and standard work processes. Additionally, this is a supervisory position, so you will be supervising a team of Industrial Relations Agents across the state. This is a bilingual position and you will need to fluently speak, read, and write in English and Spanish in order to communicate with customers as well as translate complaints and documentation.

Responsibilities

• Supervises the activities of industrial relations agents located across the state.
• Has responsibility in implementations of Employment Standards policies, procedures, and program legislation implementation.
• Provides oversight of investigative activities to ensure quality, timeliness, and consistency.
• Sets expectations, conducts mid-year progress reviews, and annual performance evaluations for assigned staff.
• Makes hiring recommendations and administers corrective action as needed.
• Evaluates work for conformity to standard work, completeness, and accuracy.
• Provides technical assistance to assigned staff on complex matters and public relations.
• Holds staff accountable and ensures performance expectations/criteria are established and met by staff.
• Ensures staff’s work is consistent and uniform with established policy and procedures.
• Works with the department communications staff to provide timely information to the public on Employment Standards laws and rules and other related topics.
• Provides technical expertise, support, and direction to direct reports engaged in investigating and enforcing violations of Minimum Wage Act and Industrial Welfare Act. These cases may involve multi-employer worksites, multiple statute violations, legal or politically sensitive investigations where litigation is likely, or cases involving large financial implications.
• Reviews and manages changes to the department’s rules, administrative guidelines, operations manuals, and standard work process for wage and hour related Employment Standards subject areas.

Requirements

A combined total of eight years of education and/or experience, to be used in any combination of education and/or experience. Examples include:

• A combined total of 6 years as an IRA 2 or 3, and 2 years’ experience in labor/employment relations and regulations.
• A Master’s Degree and 2 years’ experience in labor/employment relations and regulations.
• A Bachelor’s Degree and 4 years’ experience in labor/employment relations and regulations.
• An Associate’s Degree and 6 years’ experience in labor/employment relations and regulations.

Additionally required:

• The ability to fluently speak, read, and write in English and Spanish.
• The ability to take action to learn and grow.
• The ability to take action to meet the needs of others.

Qualifications

Desired qualifications include:

• Public sector labor/employment relations and regulations; investigations of complaints of misconduct (criminal or civil); interpretation and explanation of Labor and Industries rules, regulations, policies, and practices regarding employment standards, retaliation, prevailing wage, wage and hour, and child labor laws.
• Leadership experience as a supervisor, lead, project manager, or in coaching, training, mentoring, and providing technical advice to others.
• Working with applications or systems such as Outlook, Excel, Word, CATS, LINIIS, and BEAR.
• Mediation, arbitration, and resolution; the principles, standards, and techniques of personal investigations, rules of evidence, auditing, accounting, and bookkeeping procedures.
• Leading special projects.
• Collaborating with cross-program partners or external agencies.
• Providing presentations regarding complex information to diverse audiences.
• Compiling complex reports.
• Interpreting complex laws, rules, and regulations.
• Process Improvement.
• Change Management.
• Experience managing high productivity teams and heavy caseloads.

Benefits

• Teleworking is permitted part-time with supervisor approval.
• Flexible custom work schedules.
• Eligibility for a generous retirement package for state employees who meet the qualifications.

For this position, teleworking is permitted part-time with supervisor approval. This recruitment is being used to fill a position statewide with the exception of King County. For positions where in-office work is necessary, the frequency of telework will be discussed with the supervisor of the position at the time of offer.