State of Maryland

An Unemployment Insurance (UI) Claim Center Specialist Trainee is the entry level of work in a Claim Center within the Division of Unemployment Insurance involving the independent adjudication of potentially disqualifying unemployment insurance issues. Employees in this classification do not supervise other positions.

Employees in this classification receive close supervision from an UI Claim Center Specialist Supervisor I or other designated supervisory personnel.

Positions in this classification are evaluated by using the classification job evaluation methodology.  The use of this method involves comparing the assigned duties and responsibilities of a position to the job criteria found in the Nature of Work and. Examples of Work sections of the class description.

The UI Claim Center Specialist Trainee, UI Claim Center Specialist I and UI Claim Center Specialist II are differentiated on the basis of the degree of supervisory control exercised by the supervisor over these employees. The UI Claim Center Specialist Trainee learns to performs duties under close supervision.  The UI Claim Center Specialist I performs duties under close supervision at times and general supervision at other times depending on the complexity of the specific duty being performed.  The UI Claim Center Specialist II performs the full range of duties and responsibilities under general supervision.

Attends training sessions and observes experienced UI Claim Center Specialists in order to develop the necessary skills to independently conduct fact finding interviews;

Learns to conduct fact-finding interviews to obtain factual information from claimants, employers and others in order to determine entitlement to Unemployment Insurance benefits;

Learns to document and summarize pertinent supporting information;

Learns to determine whether a disqualification is warranted in accordance with the annotated Unemployment Insurance Law of Maryland, Code of Maryland Regulations and Unemployment Insurance Directives and the penalty to be imposed, if appropriate;

Learns to render timely decisions to claimants and employers, based on the information obtained, citing the legal basis for the determination;

Learns to detect, investigate and resolve issues involving fraudulent claims for benefits and associated overpayments;

Learns to explain and informally interpret UI laws to employers, claimants and others;

Learns to obtain work and wage information from claimants and employers to establish an accurate work history and earnings record;

May perform bilingual services;

May take and process claims as necessary;

Performs other related duties.

Ability to learn the information and concepts contained in the Annotated Unemployment Insurance Law of Maryland, Title 8 and the Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR), Title 9, Subtitle 32 and Unemployment Insurance Directives;

Ability to learn the information contained in policies, precedents, directives and instructions pertaining to specific areas of adjudication;

Ability to learn English usage and grammar;

Ability to use standard office equipment, such as personal computer, printer, telephone, photocopier, fax machine and calculator;

Ability to learn departmental policies and procedures;

Ability to use tact and discretion when communicating verbally and in writing with internal and external customers;

Ability to elicit sufficient and pertinent information concerning the facts of a situation and to record this information in a clear, concise and logical form;

Ability to apply the reasoning contained in Unemployment Insurance laws, precedents, policies, directives and instructions to arrive at valid conclusions;

Ability to exercise sound and impartial judgment in analyzing information and making decisions;

Ability to write clear and concise decisions;

Ability to organize daily work plans to minimize backlog;

Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with Unemployment Insurance Claim Center Associates, Unemployment Insurance Claim Center Specialists, Unemployment Insurance Claim Center Specialist Supervisors and Administrators.

Education:   Graduation from an accredited high school or possession of a high school equivalency certificate.

Experience: One year of experience in unemployment insurance claims taking; or gathering information used to render determinations related to unemployment insurance contributions.

Notes:

1. Candidates may substitute four years of general clerical experience on a year-for-year basis for the required education.

2. Candidates may substitute the possession of a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university for the one year of experience in taking unemployment insurance claims.

3. Candidates may substitute U.S. Armed Forces military service experience as a non-commissioned officer in Human Resources Management classifications or Human Resources Management specialty codes in the unemployment insurance claims or contributions field of work on a year-for-year basis for the required experience.

Class specifications are broad descriptions covering groups of positions used by various State departments and agencies. Position descriptions maintained by the using department or agency specifically address the essential job functions of each position.

This is a Skilled Service classification in the State Personnel Management System.  All positions in this classification are Skilled Service positions.  Some positions in Skilled Service classifications may be designated Special Appointment in accordance with the State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 6-405, Annotated Code of Maryland.

This classification is assigned to Bargaining Unit G, Engineering, Scientific and Administrative classes.  As provided by the State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 3-102, special appointment, temporary, contractual, supervisory, managerial and confidential employees are excluded from collective bargaining.  Additionally, certain executive branch agencies are exempt from collective bargaining and all positions in those agencies are excluded from collective bargaining.

Employees in this classification are eligible to receive overtime compensation. An employee who works more than the normal workweek is entitled to be compensated for that overtime, as provided by the State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 8-305.

This classification is one level in a Non-Competitive Promotion (NCP) series. NCP promotions are promotions by which employees may advance in grade and class level from trainee to full performance level in a classification series.  In order to be non-competitively promoted to the next level in a NCP series, an employee must: 1) perform the main purpose of the class, as defined by the Nature of Work section of the class specification; 2) receive the type of supervision defined in the class specification and 3) meet the minimum qualifications of the classification.