JOB
Our Mission: Keep Washington Safe and Working!
Our Values: Customer Focus, One L&I, Respect, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Learning and Growth, Reliability
Who We Are
Labor & Industries (L&I) is a diverse state government agency dedicated to the safety, health, and security of Washington's workers and employers.
The Program Specialist 3 (PS3) is stationed in Tumwater and reports to the Firm Appeals Program Manager.
This position has dual responsibilities managing program resources and operation, and as the Designated Appeals Coordinator which supports organizational-wide program responsibility and assists the Firm Appeals Program Manager with managing program resources and operations within Firm Appeals. Firm Appeals has statewide impact with both internal programs (Audit, Collections, Employer services, and Claims) as well as impact with the external agencies (Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals (BIIA) Attorney General’s Office (AGO) and the public.
This position is the primary L&I contact with the BIAA, AGO, Director’s Office, and Government Affairs for workers compensation premium firm appeals. This position makes independent decisions that impact L&I programs, due process for businesses and employers.
This Program Specialist assists the Firm Appeals Program Manager and is responsible for managing all aspects of program services, which include assigning work (reconsiderations and appeals) to the litigation specialists. In addition, consults with the Firm Appeals Supervisor (Program Specialist 5’s) in the program by providing technical recommendations and solutions for complex programs (training issues and technical questions).
The PS3 handles legislative inquiries researching complex issues and addressing constituent correspondence, internal and external stakeholder inquiries as well as direct replies and also prioritizes program work, manages statistical requests, and reports for the program.
EXAMPLE OF DUTIES
Some of what you will do:
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Manages daily operations of the Firm Appeals program, including but not limited to prioritizing and assigning work assignments for staff (L&I Auditor 5’s/litigation specialists), identify issues for escalation and/or that require addressing, draft and maintains policies and procedures independently, liaisons with outside entities BIIA, and the AGO).
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Makes recommendations to program manager in designing needs, planning, designing and developing program processes that affect Firm Appeals and it’s internal and external customers from Collections, Audit, Employer Services, BIIA & the AGO) that will affect Firm Appeals staff; attends meetings as the program representative.
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Makes recommendations to program manager for complex program issues; recommends alternative solutions to controversial resource conflicts, anticipates potential conflicts and attempts a resolution before problems occur or can escalate.
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Determines and/or recommends priorities and objectives, coordinates and resolves conflicts related to program and activities, structures and administer activities to ensure consistent approaches are utilized within the program. Manages with special project assignments.
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Firm Appeals Translation Coordinator: Manages and receives translation requests from Firm Appeals staff, manages requests with the CSCPS Language Services Coordinator (LSC) to contract for translation of business documents, manages inventory of translated documents for future use.
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Firm Appeals Public Record Request Coordinator: Manages and receives public records requests on behalf of the program. Manages public records requests with L&I’s Public Records Unit for Firm Appeals; gathers responsive documents and converts them to acceptable formats and uploads them to the Public Records Unit portal.
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Assists program manager in developing, improving and/or establishing policies and procedures and standards for the program.
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Reviewing all new protests and determines timeliness status and determining the nature of protests and referring them to other functional units when appropriate (e.g. Employer Services, Audit, Collections, Retrospective Rating, DOSH, Self-Insurance.)
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Prepares timely intake documents for requests for reconsiderations, firm appeals, Superior Court and higher firm appeals, and director’s compromises/Policy 74.05 requests.
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Reviews, analyzes, assembles and submits timely transmittal materials to the BIIA and the AGO in conjunction with appeals whether timely or untimely.
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Determines the assignment type, calculations of timeliness, providing appropriate documentation to determine the proper jurisdiction.
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Directs collection staff to issue abeyance orders and when appropriate, to vacate warrants and levies, maintaining a case inventory tracking system to ensure no protests and/or appeals go unprocessed;
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Is the primary L&I point of contact for employer assessment protests for workers compensation protests & appeals for the Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals (BIIA), the Attorney General’s Office (AGO), and the public.
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Process and assign new reconsiderations, appeals and Director’s Compromise/Policy 74.05 assignments to the Litigation Specialists.
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Identifies public disclosure requests contained in protests interfacing with the Public Disclosure division, identifying and providing documents responsive to public disclosure requests.
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Creates all electronic new assignment program files in the SERV computer program.
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Makes recommendations to program manager for SERV programming requirements and bugs.
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And so much more!
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
Things You Need To Know
To help you maintain a proper work-life balance, teleworking is one of the work schedule options for this position. L&I also offers flexible custom work schedules.
State employees who meet the qualifications will become eligible for a generous retirement package at the end of the employee’s career. Click on the “Benefits” tab to learn more.
At L&I, your voice matters. In addition, L&I is a diverse state agency dedicated to the safety and health and security of Washington's 3.3 million workers. Take a look at this brief video and learn more about why L&I is an employer of choice.
This position is flexible/hybrid, and requires in-office presence as necessary, or as required by the hiring manager (Ex: team meetings, trainings).
The assigned duty station for this position is Tumwater, Washington.
Application process
We will contact the top candidates directly to interview for this position. Because we base the selection on information provided by you, it is in your best interest to identify the knowledge, skills, and abilities that address the mandatory and desirable qualifications described in the announcement.
Please include the following documents with your application:
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A cover letter describing specific qualifications.
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A current resume detailing applicable experience and education.
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A list of at least three professional references with current telephone numbers.
Please do not attach or place any medical information (vaccination status included) within the application, resume, or cover letter. If you do, we will have to reject your application to safeguard others from receiving your confidential information. You will have to remove the confidential information before you can apply again.
To learn more about our hiring process timeline at L&I please visit our L&I recruiting page at Hiring Process at L&I. If you would like to read our website in a language other than English, scroll up to the top of the page to select your language of choice from the banner.
Other Information:
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A job offer is contingent upon completion of a background check that includes a criminal record review.
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For positions requiring travel, you must have a valid unrestricted driver's license and have insurance if driving a privately owned vehicle on state business.
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This position is represented by the Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE).
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Candidates who are offered a job with L&I must possess work authorization that does not require sponsorship by the employer for a visa now or in the future.
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The Department of Labor & Industries complies with the employment eligibility verification requirements of the federal employment eligibility verification form, I-9. The selected candidate must be able to provide proof of identity and eligibility to work in the United States consistent with the requirements of that form on the first day of employment.
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Please note: L&I may use this announcement to fill multiple permanent and/or non-permanent positions.
Did You Know?
Washington is America's Top State to live, play, and work, according to U.S. News (2021). Join the L&I team and enjoy all the Evergreen State has to offer.
In addition to offering a positive balance between life and work, L&I provides one of the most competitive benefits packages in the nation. We also believe your voice matters. We value our employees and their work-life balance by encouraging flexible schedules. L&I is a diverse state agency dedicated to the safety and health and security of Washington's 3 million workers.
Veterans Preference
Applicants wishing to claim Veterans Preference should attach a copy of their DD-214 (Member 4 copy), NGB 22, or signed verification of service letter from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs to their application. Please blackout any personally identifiable data such as social security numbers. For further information, please contact us at
[email protected]
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Employer
L&I employees come from all walks of life. We strive to hire great people from a wide variety of backgrounds. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.
We believe in the importance of recognizing the value each of us contribute to the success of the agency mission. Having a diverse workforce is this agency’s greatest resource of strength and knowledge. It is through the combination of talents and abilities that we can pursue finding effective measures to provide the best customer service. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace for everyone and we strongly mean everyone.
The State of Washington is an equal opportunity employer. Persons with a disability who need accommodation in the application process or testing process, or those needing this announcement in an alternative format, may call 360-902-5700. TTY users should first call 711 to access the Washington Relay Service.
You are welcome to include the name and pronoun you would like to be referred to in your materials, and we will honor this as you interact with our award-winning diverse and inclusive organization.
For more Information
If you have any questions regarding this announcement, program, or the agency please contact April Sharp.
