Attorney

Job Description and Duties

This classification is authorized to receive a starting salary rate of $8,846.00 under Pay Scales Section 5.

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH), Office of Legal Services (OLS) is seeking an attorney to support and represent the Department’s programs on a variety of matters. This is a Permanent, Full-Time Attorney position on the Public Health Program (PHP) house counsel team, located in Sacramento. We support CDPH and its programs in working to protect and improve the health of Californians.

This Attorney will advise public health programs within CDPH on legal issues involving public health laws, matters of departmental and programmatic authority, compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements for the conduct of state business, including those for contracting, information management, public records disclosure, open meeting laws, privacy laws, administrative hearing processes, litigation support and such other legal issues as may arise. The Attorney will also research, develop, and draft legislative language, regulations, and transactional documents.

The incumbent works under the direction of an Assistant Chief Counsel (ACC) of the PHP team within the OLS.

In July 2025, the State of California implemented the Personal Leave Program (PLP) 2025. This program temporarily reduces employees’ monthly base pay in exchange for paid leave credits. This position is subject to PLP 2025 and will have a monthly base pay reduction of 4.62% in exchange for 8 hours of leave credits through October 2026. The salary ranges shown on this job posting do not reflect the salary reduction.

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Working Conditions

Telework Information :

This position may be eligible for telework. The amount of telework permitted is at the discretion of the Department and is subject to change, consistent with CDPH’s Telework Program. All employees who telework are required to be California residents in accordance with Government Code 14200. Candidates who reside outside of the state of California may be interviewed; however, the selected candidate must have a primary residency in the state of California prior to appointment (and continue to maintain California residency) as a condition of employment. Failure to meet this requirement may result in the job offer being rescinded.

Travel may be required for this position. Reimbursement for travel takes into consideration an employee’s designated headquarters, as reflected in the duty statement, and is subject to regulations and bargaining unit contract provisions. All commute expenses to the designated headquarters office will be the responsibility of the selected candidate.

The headquarters office location for this position is identified in the attached duty statement.

Special Requirements

For experience/education to qualify during the application screening process, and to ensure that minimum qualifications can be determined, applicants should include all employment history on the Employment Application (STD 678) and/or Resume, including detailed job descriptions, hours worked per week , and start/end dates (MM/DD/YYYY) . Application packages without this information will experience delayed processing times and your eligibility for this position may be impacted.

A completed State application (STD. 678) and any other relevant documents (e.g., unofficial transcript, copy of degree, resume, etc.) should be submitted electronically via your CalCareers Account. Please reference Job Control #524215 and indicate the basis of your eligibility in the Examination(s) or Job Title(s) section. SROA and surplus candidates should submit a copy of their letter with their application. Please remove any confidential information (i.e., social security number, date of birth) from your documents prior to submission.

Complete Application Packages (including your Examination/Employment Application (STD 678) and applicable or required documents) must be submitted to apply for this Job Posting. Application Packages may be submitted electronically through your CalCareers Account at Submitting an electronic application through your CalCareers account is strongly recommended since electronic applications will be received/processed faster than other methods of filing. Please submit only one application.

If you are unable to submit your application electronically through your CalCareers account, please email [email protected] for assistance and a CDPH Human Resources Division staff member will contact you to assist with the online application process or, a hard copy application package may be submitted through an alternative method as explained in the How to Apply section below. When submitting your application in hard copy, a completed copy of the Application Package listing must be included.

Desirable Qualifications

In addition to evaluating each candidate's relative ability, as demonstrated by quality and breadth of experience, the following factors will provide the basis for competitively evaluating each candidate:

• Excellent analytical, research, and communication skills (both written and oral)
• Demonstrated ability to prioritize workload and manage multiple projects with short term deadlines
• Practical problem-solving approach
• Willingness to consider different ideas and find solutions
• Knowledge of California’s privacy laws, state contracting and administrative laws, and Public Records Act
• Ability to perform difficult legal work, draft legal opinions, analyze proposed legislation and regulations, negotiate effectively, and present legal opinions/recommendations clearly and logically in both verbal and written form

Benefits

Benefit information can be found on the CalHR website and the CalPERS website.

Required Application Package Documents

The following items are required to be submitted with your application. Applicants who do not submit the required items timely may not be considered for this job:

• Current version of the State Examination/Employment Application STD Form 678 (when not applying electronically), or the Electronic State Employment Application through your Applicant Account at All Experience and Education relating to the Minimum Qualifications listed on the Classification Specification should be included to demonstrate how you meet the Minimum Qualifications for the position.
• Resume is required and must be included.
• Other - Writing Sample : A recent writing sample, written within the last three years and of no more than 10 pages, showing the complexity of issues you’ve worked on.
• Other - A Cover Letter is required and must be submitted with your application package. Applications received without a Cover Letter may be rejected.