Labor Department Associate Community Services Representative

State of Connecticut - Department of Labor; Wethersfield (CT); On-site; USD 55,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

The State of Connecticut - Department of Labor is seeking a Labor Department Associate Community Services Representative for the UI Special Programs Unit in Wethersfield, CT. The role focuses on adjudications, wage data review, and program support for unemployment insurance and related services.

The position requires substantial experience in counseling and employment services, with responsibilities spanning hearings, client outreach, and program development.

Qualifications

• Six (6) years of technical level experience in counseling, employment placement, veterans employment and training support services, public contact work, human service programs, community action programs, job service, unemployment insurance or employment and training functions.

Responsibilities

• Conducts basic level adjudications including assessing possibility of applying “special base period” provision and obtaining all relevant information and documentation.
• Conducts hearings applying pertinent laws, regulations and precedent decisions and issuing a ruling regarding delay of benefits due to receipt of disqualifying income.
• Ascertains facts, analyzing and ruling with regard to general availability for work and adequacy of efforts to find suitable work.
• Develops facts and performs all pertinent research necessary to recommendation of fraud including imposition of penalty weeks if warranted or non‑fraud including repayment waiver.
• Conducts separation hearing for interstate claimants.
• Provides basic career development counseling services for clients who are vocationally untracked or have significant barriers to employment.
• Makes field visits to locate and contact special populations and farm workers who are not being reached and have significant barriers to employment.
• In consultation with a Labor Department Business Services Specialist participates in marketing of services and programs to employers within a region including providing apprenticeship services to individuals and employers.
• Develops on‑the‑job training programs.
• Develops customized job training programs which meet specialized employer needs.
• Provides consulting services with regard to training needs, resources and standards.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Oral and written communication

Analytical skills

Lead teams

Research and documentation

Job description

Introduction

The State of Connecticut, Department of Labor (CTDOL) is recruiting a Labor Department Associate Community Services Representative in our UI Special Programs unit located in Wethersfield, CT.

Position Highlights

• Full-time, 40 hours per week
• First (1st) shift
• Monday - Friday

The Role

This position is in our UI Special Programs unit. The UI Special Programs Unit (UISPU) administers a variety of programs related to Unemployment Insurance (UI). They are one of the primary support units for UI activity statewide, particularly for the Agency’s Consumer Contact Center and Adjudications staff. Also, UISPU is responsible for the Shared Work program, Social Security Verifications, Name Mismatch, Dependency, Child Support, Alien, and administers the Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) program.

The unit is responsible for securing wage information and determining monetary eligibility in regard to unemployment benefits for former military (UCX) and federal (UCFE) employees; employees having wages in more than one state (Combined Wage); and employees who qualify to use a special base period because they had been on Workers’ Compensation or disability leave during the normal base period.

The unit is also responsible for transferring Connecticut wage information for those employees having combined wage eligibility in other states. In addition, when appropriate, UISPU staff issue monetary redeterminations to UI claimants. They are also responsible for posting Child Support deductions to the Benefit Payment system so that money can be withheld from a UI payment(s) and forwarded to the custodial parent.

The UI Special Programs Unit provides support to the Adjudications Unit by reviewing Appeals decisions related to the unemployment compensation program and with the usability of base period wages for Alien claims for the purpose of making a UI claim.

The candidate appointed at Labor Department Associate Community Services Representative level must serve at least one year in that class- performing work in the target area before qualifying for promotion to Labor Department Resource Associate. Appointment to Labor Department Resource Associate classification is contingent upon successful performance of duties and availability of funding.

What’s In It For You

• Professional growth and paid professional development opportunities.
• A healthy work-life balance to all employees.
• State of Connecticut is an eligible Public Service Loan Forgiveness employer, meaning you may be eligible to have qualifying student loan forgiveness after 10 years of service.

Selection Plan

In order to be considered for this job opening you must be a current State of CT employee of the agency listed above for at least six (6) months of full‑time service or full‑time equivalent service, absent any applicable collective bargaining language, and meet the Minimum Qualifications as listed on the job opening. You must specify your qualifications on your application.

Purpose of Job Class (Nature of Work)

In the Department of Labor this class is accountable for performing specialized client services in the areas of adjudications, career development counseling, outreach, apprenticeship and/or job training programs or a specialized operational support function.

Examples of Duties

• Conducts basic level adjudications including assessing possibility of applying “special base period” provision and obtaining all relevant information and documentation;
• Conducts hearings applying pertinent laws, regulations and precedent decisions and issuing a ruling regarding delay of benefits due to receipt of disqualifying income;
• Ascertains facts, analyzing and ruling with regard to general availability for work and adequacy of efforts to find suitable work;
• Develops facts and performs all pertinent research necessary to recommendation of fraud including imposition of penalty weeks if warranted or non‑fraud including repayment waiver;
• Conducts separation hearing for interstate claimants.
• OR
• Provides basic career development counseling services for clients who are vocationally untracked or have significant barriers to employment;
• Makes field visits to locate and contact special populations and farm workers who are not being reached and have significant barriers to employment.
• OR
• In consultation with a Labor Department Business Services Specialist participates in marketing of services and programs to employers within a region including providing apprenticeship services to individuals and employers;
• Develops on‑the‑job training programs;
• Develops customized job training programs which meet specialized employer needs;
• Provides consulting services with regard to training needs, resources and standards.
• OR
• Assists and participates in activities such as program development, automation support, monitoring and evaluation, training and/outral assistance to field staff in various program areas;
• Assists in developing training programs in assigned functional areas;
• Participates in monitoring programs and activities for completeness, compliance with legal mandates, fiscal requirements, efficiency and customer satisfaction;
• Assists in analyzing impact of state and/outral legislation and regulations on departmental programs and procedures;
• Assists in development of procedural manuals and memoranda.
• OR
• Performs specialized and highly technical tasks in one or more operational support functions of claims examination, benefit payment control and merit rating;
• Researches and analyzes wage date to determine and perform corrective action;
• Determines compliance of work and procedures with applicable laws, regulations and policy;
• Determines successorship and waivers of liability;
• Segregates payrolls;
• Presents complex appeals to Appeals Division;
• Reviews and resolves claims under complex special programs;
• Makes monetary disqualification determinations in areas such as education employees, aliens and claimants receiving workers compensation;
• Reviews appeals on wage usage;
• Reviews American Job Center recommendations and decisions relating to fraud to ensure compliance with regulations;
• Reviews fraud audits prior to first notification;
• May serve as a team leader.
• Assists in training employees of lower grade;
• May serve as a team leader;
• May speak before groups;
• Performs related duties as required.

Knowledge, Skill and Ability

• Considerable knowledge of a specialized area of job service, unemployment insurance or employment and training functions including pertinent laws, regulations, policies and procedures;
• Knowledge of job service, unemployment insurance and employment training agency programs;
• interviewing techniques and principles;
• employment problems of special groups and behavioral problems hindering employment;
• interpersonal skills;
• oral and written communication skills;
• analytical skills;
• Considerable ability to understand, apply and explain relevant laws, regulations, policies, programs and procedures;
• Ability to establish cooperative relationships with staff, employers, diverse client population and the public;
• make decisions;
• use automated systems;
• maintain good public relations;
• lead teams;
• create and maintain case management records.

Minimum Qualifications - General Experience

Six (6) years of technical level experience in counseling, employment placement, veterans employment and training support services, public contact work, human service programs, community action programs, job service, unemployment insurance or employment and training functions.

Minimum Qualifications - Substitutions Allowed

• College training may be substituted for the General Experience on the basis of fifteen (15) semester hours equalling one‑half (1/2) year of experience to a maximum of four (4) years for a Bachelor's degree.
• For state employees one (1) year of experience as a Labor Department Community Services Representative may be substituted for the General Experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working independently with minimal supervision
• Experience analyzing adjudications and appeals decisions
• Experience with the Shared Work program
• Experience with a Special Base Period claim
• Experience with the Alien program
• Experience training staff

Special Requirements

• Incumbents in this class assigned to veterans program positions will be required to meet the qualifications set forth in Title 38, i.e., must be veterans, preferably disabled veterans, or other qualified, eligible persons. Any employee who bumps a Labor Department Associate Community Service Representative in a veterans program position must meet the eligibility requirements under Title 38.
• Incumbents in this class assigned to Migrant & Seasonal Farm Worker (MSFW) Outreach positions will be required to meet the qualifications set forth in 20 CFR 653.107(a)(3)(i)(ii).
• Incumbents in this class may be required to speak a foreign language.
• Incumbents in this class may be required to travel.

Conclusion

AN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

The State of Connecticut is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and strongly encourages the applications of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities.

Acknowledgement

As defined by Sec. 5-196 of the Connecticut General Statutes, a job class is a position or group of positions that share general characteristics and are categorized under a single title for administrative purposes. As such, a job class is not meant to be all‑inclusive of every task and/or responsibility.