New York State Department of Civil Service Announces Open-Competitive Examination Open to the Public

Labor Services Representative Trainee 1

*Due to the size of the candidate population for this test date, you may be assigned to either a morning or afternoon session on Saturday, April 8, 2017, Sunday, April 9, 2017, or Saturday, April 15, 2017 to take your test. Your admission notice will tell you where and when you are scheduled to appear. You cannot request a day or time in advance or change your scheduled day or time. If you do not receive your admission notice by April 5, 2017, see "ADMISSION TO EXAMINATION" below.

Appointees who work in the five boroughs of New York City or in Nassau, Suffolk, Rockland, or Westchester Counties will receive an additional $3,026 annual downstate adjustment. Appointees who work in Dutchess, Orange, or Putnam Counties will receive an additional $1,513 annual mid-Hudson adjustment.

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Minimum Qualifications

On or before April 8, 2017, you must have a bachelor���s degree.

In addition for No. 26-245: a bachelor���s degree AND one of the following requirements:

Either 1. you must be a Veteran of the U.S. Armed Services who served on active duty for over 180 days for purposes other than training (unless you were released from active duty because of a service-connected disability) and received a discharge other than dishonorable. A copy of your DD-214 will be required at the time of interview;

Or 2. you must be the spouse of a person in the U.S. Armed Services who died of service-connected disabilities, the spouse of certain active duty individuals forcibly detained or listed as missing in action, or the spouse of a 100% disabled Veteran;**

Or 3. you must have served as a member of a reserve component in the U.S. Armed Services under an order to active duty during a period of war or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge is authorized and received a discharge other than dishonorable.**

**Your eligibility must be verified by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs at the time of interview.

Anticipated Eligibility: If you expect to meet the educational requirements for any of the above examinations by September 1, 2018, you can be admitted to the test but cannot be considered for appointment until you submit proof of successful completion of the educational requirements to the New York State Department of Labor.

Advanced Placement: Appointees to these positions will serve a two-year traineeship. However, if beyond meeting the minimum qualifications you have one year of full-time experience as described below, you may be appointed directly to the Trainee 2 level, reducing the length of the traineeship by one year. If you have two years of full-time experience as described below, you may be appointed directly to the journey level. You must inform the Department of Labor of this experience at time of interview. Advanced placement appointments are at the discretion of the hiring agency.

The following is qualifying experience required for Advanced Placement:

1. Providing employment, reemployment, training and labor market services to job seekers, employers, unions and other interested parties. These activities must include one of the following areas: conducting interviews to evaluate the nature of services desired, obtaining employment histories, identifying barriers to employment and developing solutions to such barriers, providing information about workforce development and training programs and related grants, or reviewing and evaluating workforce development and training services��� applications; OR
2. Examining unemployment insurance (UI) claims issues and making determinations to resolve complex or unusual problems related to eligibility for UI benefits; OR
3. Performing one of the following tasks related to the UI hearing and appeals processes: reviewing and processing remands and adjournments; reviewing and processing party statements, replies and extension requests for appeals; reviewing cases submitted for UI hearings to ensure that they meet quality guidelines, and revising determinations that fail standards; OR
4. Working for businesses that provide third party administration or employment, recruitment or staffing agencies and perform any of the following: assist employers in developing outreach, recruitment and hiring strategies; or assisting jobseekers by matching their skills, education, experience and professional interests to available employment opportunities; OR
5. Assisting employers in complying with mandatory unemployment insurance registration, reporting and contribution requirements; or representing employers in presenting cases for unemployment insurance appeal hearings.

IMPORTANT: Unless waived, you must pay the non-refundable processing fee. For information on fee waivers, visit https://www.cs.ny.gov/examannouncements/types/oc/appinfo.cfm#Fee. It is important that you verify that you entered the correct examination number and title on your online or paper application prior to submitting. If you apply online, you should immediately review your email confirmation notice to verify that you applied for the correct examination. If you do not receive a confirmation number after submitting your online application, your application was NOT received by the Department of Civil Service. No late applications will be accepted after the filing deadline has passed.

Notes

1. Your degree must have been awarded by a regionally accredited college or university or one recognized by the NYS Education Department as following acceptable educational practices. If your degree was awarded by an educational institution outside the United States and its territories, you must provide independent verification of equivalency. You can write to the Examination Information Desk of the NYS Department of Civil Service for a list of acceptable companies who provide this service. This information can also be found on the Internet at http://www.cs.ny.gov/jobseeker/degrees.cfm. You must pay the required evaluation fee. If you are applying on the Internet, you must mail the independent verification of equivalency to the NYS Department of Civil Service, Albany, New York 12239. Attention: S2-SER.
2. Transition examinations are also being held for these positions. The New York State Department of Labor has the option of making appointments from either the transition lists or the open-competitive lists. If you meet the requirements for both examinations, you may file for both, following application processing instructions.
3. Language Proficiency: The written test will be held in English. If you pass and are considered for appointment to one of the language parenthetics, you will be required to demonstrate your Chinese, Creole, Korean, Polish, Russian, or Spanish language proficiency at a level that will ensure your ability to perform properly the duties of the position. Only enough candidates to fill current vacancies will be called to the proficiency test.
4. If you submit an application for any of the Language Parenthetic exams or No. 26-245 Local Veterans��� Employment Representative parenthetic exam, an application will automatically be submitted for No. 26-242 Labor Services Representative Trainee 1 at no additional cost.
5. Appropriate part-time and volunteer experience, which can be verified, will be accepted on a prorated basis.
6. New York State residence is not required.

The Positions

These positions exist in the New York State Department of Labor in many locations throughout the state. All of the traineeships are two (2) years in duration. Trainees who successfully meet standards after completion of the first year are advanced to Labor Services Representative Trainee 2, $42,833. Upon successful completion of the second year, you would be advanced to the full performance title of Labor Services Representative and (Parenthetics) (G-16), $47,796 without further examination.

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Duties

As a Labor Services Representative Trainee 1, you would be trained, under supervision, to assist customers and provide services to the public in accordance with quality and quantity standards mandated by various laws, rules, and federal regulations. You would learn how to interview and elicit information from customers to ascertain services appropriate to meet their needs. Such services could include: eligibility determination for unemployment insurance benefits, making determinations regarding overpayments and forfeit penalties, reviewing cases submitted for unemployment insurance hearings, referral to employment opportunities and/or training programs, or various alternative services available from the Department of Labor and other public and private agencies. You would use computer applications and keyboarding skills to accomplish many of these activities.

As a Labor Services Representative Trainee 1 (Chinese/Creole/Korean/Polish/Russian/Spanish Language), you would perform the same duties as above and would be expected to serve customers who speak the respective languages.

As a Labor Services Representative Trainee 1 (Local Veterans��� Employment Representative), you would perform the same duties as described above for the benefit of eligible Veterans, transitioning service members, and other eligible persons. You would provide and facilitate a full range of employment and training services and advocate for Veterans with business-, industry-, and community-based organizations. Limited out-of-state training will be required.

Important: The Department of Civil Service and other state agencies may communicate with you through email correspondence. This may include the notification of your examination results and canvassing you for interest in appointment. It will be important for you to keep your email address, phone number and mailing address current by logging into https://www.cs.ny.gov/home/myaccount.

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Subject of Examination

There will be a written test which you must pass in order to be considered for appointment. The written test is designed to test for knowledge, skills, and/or abilities in such areas as:

1. Preparing written material - These questions test for the ability to present information clearly and accurately, and to organize paragraphs logically and comprehensibly. For some questions, you will be given information in two or three sentences followed by four restatements of the information. You must then choose the best version. For other questions, you will be given paragraphs with their sentences out of order. You must then choose, from four suggestions, the best order for the sentences.
2. Understanding and interpreting written material - These questions test for the ability to understand and interpret written material. You will be presented with brief reading passages and will be asked questions about the passages. You should base your answers to the questions only on what is presented in the passages and not on what you may happen to know about the topic.
3. Working and interacting with others - These questions test for the ability to accomplish work and maintain professional relationships with others in the workplace. Each question presents a situation and a number of possible approaches for handling it. Question topics may include working with supervisors and coworkers; interacting with members of the public; handling conflict; and managing workplace demands and priorities. The questions are not specific to any job title or place of work.

Your final score must be 70 or higher in order to pass. Rank on the eligible list will be determined after adding any wartime Veterans' and Civil Service Law Section 85-a credits to your final passing score.

Test Guide

A Guide to the Written Test for the Professional Career Opportunities (PCO) and Related Examinations is available on the Department website at http://www.cs.ny.gov/testing/statetestguides.cfm.

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How To Apply

If you do not receive a number after submitting your online application, your application was NOT processed.

Additional Information

New York State is an Equal Opportunity Employer

It is the policy of the State of New York to provide for and promote equal opportunity employment, compensation, and other terms and conditions of employment without discrimination on the basis of age, race, color, religion, disability, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, veteran or military service member status, marital status, domestic violence victim status, genetic predisposition or carrier status, or arrest and/or criminal conviction record unless based upon a bona fide occupational qualification or other exception.

Appointment to many positions in State government require candidates to undergo an investigative screening. This may include a thorough character investigation, a Federal Bureau of Investigation Criminal Record History Check, a Child Abuse Registry clearance, or other similar procedures. Candidates may be fingerprinted and may be required to pay any necessary fees for that procedure. Depending on the nature of the job, the criminal convictions discovered, or any falsified or omitted information revealed, the investigative findings may bar appointment or result in removal after appointment.

Eligibility for Employment

You must be legally eligible to work in the United States at the time of appointment and throughout your employment with New York State. If appointed, you must produce documents that establish your identity and eligibility to work in the United States, as required by the federal Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, and the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Religious Accommodation

Most written tests are held on Saturdays. If you cannot take the test on the announced test date, due to a conflict with a religious observance or practice, check the box under “Religious Accommodation.” We will make arrangements for you to take the test on a different date (usually the following day).

Reasonable Accommodations in Testing

It is the policy of the Department of Civil Service, in accordance with the New York State Human Rights Law and the Americans with Disabilities Act, to provide qualified persons with disabilities equal employment opportunity and equal opportunity to participate in and receive the benefits, services, programs, and activities of the Department. It is the policy of the Department to provide such persons reasonable accommodations and reasonable modifications as are necessary to provide equal opportunity. Persons with disabilities who require an accommodation to participate in an examination must note this on their application. Further information is available from the Test Administration Unit of the Department of Civil Service. In the Albany area, call 518-457-2487. Outside of the Albany area, call toll free at 1-877-697-5627. For TDD services, call NY Relay at 711 (requires a fee) or 1-800-662-1220.

Admission to Examination

Notice to appear for the test may be conditional as review of applications may not be made until after the test. If you have not received your notice to appear for the written test three days before the date of the test, call 518-474 6470 in the Albany area or toll free at 1-877-697-5627.

Multiple Examinations Scheduled for the Same Day

If you have applied to take a written test announced by either one or several local jurisdictions (county, town, city) scheduled to be held on the same test date as this written test, you must notify each of the local jurisdictions no later than two weeks before the test date to make arrangements for taking all tests at one test site. All tests will be held at the state examination center. For your convenience, contact information for all local civil service agencies is available on our website at: http://www.cs.ny.gov/jobseeker/local.cfm

Cell Phones or Electronic/Communication Devices at the Test Site

Do not bring cell phones, beepers, headphones, or any electronic or other communication devices to the test site. The use of such devices at the test site in the test room, hallways, restrooms, building, grounds, or other areas could result in your disqualification.

S2/TA1 SER-dah
Issued: 1/20/2017

This announcement is subject to amendment or cancellation without notice. Do not copy it, or post it to any other site, but link to it instead.

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