Attorney III

Job Description and Duties

This classification is authorized to receive a starting salary rate of $12,046.00 under Pay Scales Section 5.

From heart health and mental wellness to food safety and the prevention of infectious and chronic diseases, our programs and services touch the lives of every Californian, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The California Department of Public Health’s (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 III position on the Public Health Programs (PHP) house counsel team, located in Sacramento.  

The attorney who fills this unique position will have a diverse and challenging case load.  The attorney will advise public health programs within CDPH on complex legal issues involving public health laws, matters of Departmental and programmatic authority, and 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 and advise the Department, and potentially the California Health and Human Services Agency and the Governor’s Office, on Public Health-related legal matters pertaining to his/her assigned Centers, Divisions, Offices, and/or programs.

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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You will find additional information about the job in the .

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 #(523997)  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  View email address on calcareers.ca.gov  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
• A prac tical problem-solving approach and a willingness to consider different ideas and find solutions
• Knowledge of California's privacy laws, California state contracting and administrative laws, and the California's Public Records Act
• Ability to perform complex and sensitive legal work; draft legal opinions; analyze proposed legislation and regulations; negotiate effectively; present legal opinions and recommendations clearly and logically, in both verbal and written form; function reliably and independently; exercise discretion; and complete the work required within strict time requirements, or on an expedited basis

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 optional. It may be included, but is not required.
• Other -

  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, is required and must be included with your application package.

  Please remove any confidential information (e.g.) social security number, date of birth, etc.)

• Other -

  A cover letter is required and must be included with your application package.