State of Maryland

A Workers' Compensation Rehabilitation Trainee is the entry level of work identifying, investigating, and coordinating the evaluation and monitoring of compensable and non‑compensable workers' compensation claims that qualify for vocational rehabilitation services.  Employees in this classification ensure that workers filing claims receive vocational rehabilitation services required under the Workers' Compensation Commission law.  Employees in this classification do not supervise other positions.

Employees in this classification receive close supervision from a Workers' Compensation Rehabilitation Supervisor.

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 specification.

The Workers' Compensation Rehabilitation Trainee and the Workers' Compensation Rehabilitation Specialist are differentiated on the basis of the degree of supervisory control exercised by the supervisor over these employees.  The Workers' Compensation Rehabilitation Trainee learns to perform duties under close supervision; while the Workers' Compensation Rehabilitation Specialist performs the full range of duties and responsibilities under general supervision. 

Receives training in Workers' Compensation Commission procedures;

Learns to identify, from reports and claims filed with the Workers' Compensation Commission, those that appear to be appropriate for vocational rehabilitation;

Learns to determine if suitable rehabilitation services are being provided to injured workers and, when appropriate, refers both compensable and non compensable cases to the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation;

Learns to review the reports of injury and medical reports of cases that have been deemed to be compensable under workers' compensation law and to identify the type of rehabilitation services that are most applicable in each case;

Learns to coordinate vocational evaluation testing of compensable cases with the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation or with private providers and to review the evaluation reports;

Learns to determine if a services provider has given the vocational tests most suitable to each claimant;

Learns to review and approve stipulated rehabilitation services plans;

Learns to refer claimants to public or private vocational rehabilitation services according to Commission or court orders;

Learns to monitor periodic reports, that insurers are required to submit, to ensure that claimants are receiving the rehabilitation services that were negotiated or were mandated by a court or the Commission;

Participates in workshops and seminars and learns to conduct training sessions for the purpose of informing rehabilitation services providers, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation personnel, attorneys, insurance companies and other business organizations about the requirements of workers' compensation laws and regulations;

Assists in maintaining a list of the rehabilitation services providers that are required to register with the Commission;

May learn to assist supervisor in scheduling meetings with all parties when there is a disagreement about the adequacy of the rehabilitation services plan being offered to the claimant;

Performs other related duties.

Knowledge of the theory, practice and interpretation of vocational, educational and psychological testing;

Knowledge of statistics;

Ability to communicate effectively;

Ability to learn the nature of organic and functional disabilities;

Ability to learn to evaluate the validity and reliability of test results;

Ability to use percentiles, correlations, and standard deviation concepts in learning to analyze assessments of clients;

Ability to learn the way a specific disability affects vocational skills and abilities;

Ability to learn what rehabilitation services are available in the community and their applicability to a variety of disabilities;

Ability to learn medical and legal terminology pertaining to accidental injuries and to disabilities;

Ability to learn workers' compensation and vocational rehabilitation laws and regulations;

Ability to learn to moderate disputes between claimants, insurers, and rehabilitation service providers;

Ability to learn to review medical reports of disabilities and understand the effect the described disability has on the workers' vocational skills and abilities;

Ability to learn to investigate and determine the duties, physical demands, training and experience required for the occupations existing in a worker's local job market;

Ability to learn to determine which workers can benefit from vocational rehabilitation services;

Ability to learn to secure the cooperation of employers, service providers, workers, and others in devising and implementing rehabilitation plans.

Experience: Four years of experience in vocational rehabilitation involving case management, counseling, job placement, therapy or the review of claims for vocational rehabilitation services.

Notes:

1. Candidates may substitute the possession of a Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in special education, counseling and guidance, psychology or a closely related field that includes testing and statistics for the required experience.

2. Candidates may substitute U.S. Armed Forces military service experience as a commissioned officer in Workforce Research and Analysis classifications or Workforce Research and Analysis specialty codes in the Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare 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 not assigned to a bargaining unit, as indicated by the designation of S (Supervisor), M (Manager), T (Agency Head), U (Board or Commission Member), W (Student), X (Used by Agency or Excluded by Executive Order), or Z (Confidential).  As provided by State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 3-102, special appointment, temporary, contractual, supervisory, managerial and confidential employees are excluded 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 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 levels 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 in 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.