Disability Specialist in Valhalla, New York at Westchester Medical Center

Distinguishing Features of the Class: Under general supervision, the Disability Specialist is responsible for the effective management and tracking of all non-occupational leave of absence activity for Westchester County Health Care Corporation. Responsibilities include individual case management for affected employees, establishment of ongoing communications with employees, managers and appropriate health care providers to provide a thorough understanding and documentation of individual circumstances, and preparing a variety of reports for management review, ensuring that case management and documentation is in compliance with federal, state and hospital requirements. Supervision is not a responsibility of this position.

Examples of Work:

Monitors, tracks and maintains all records related to non-work related absences;

Reviews absence data, processes all requests for non-occupational leaves, and monitors all absences of seven or more days;

Conducts follow-up activities with employee, supervisor and health care provider regarding receipt of required documentation for initial leaves, extensions, and returns from leave;

Acts as case manager and interfaces with employee, supervisor, and Occupational Health Department on a regular basis ensuring all steps are taken to guarantee that the target return to work date is met;

Guarantees strict HIPAA compliance for all protected health information for all employees;

Evaluates leave of absence requests and supporting documentation for completeness, content and eligibility, and analyzes, and applies organizational leave of absence policies and procedures and federal and state laws to employee leave requests;

Informs employees by telephone and/or written correspondence of the documentation required to process their leave, required timeframes and leave status, describes the leave process and employee responsibilities in detail, and provides a leave checklist to eligible employees to ensure compliance;

Ensures adherence to return to work protocol outline, including scheduling appointments and contacting employee with date and time of Occupational Health Department appointment;

Monitors and reviews leave of absence reports for expired leaves, and distributes communications regarding leave status and expected return to work dates;

Makes recommendations for resolution of the leave, provides current information on FMLA regulations, and follows up with communication to employees, supervisors, cost center managers, Labor Relations, Payroll, Benefits, outside agencies, and health care providers, as appropriate;

Provides weekly and quarterly absence reports to aid in identifying absences that require monitoring and intervention and training and education, and prepares weekly leave metric and trending reports;

Compiles medical information for clinician review to validate the leave based on the Official Disability Guidelines for employers and health care providers;

Refers complex questions and cases to higher level staff, as appropriate;

Maintains individual employee leave files with data from various sources relating to time off, medical certification, legal opinions, office notes and out of work rosters;

Ensures the timely processing and required documentation of employee transactions such as FMLA eligibility, civil service leave reporting and terminations under section 73 of the NYS Civil Service Law;

Recommends and participates in quality improvement activities for the department, and collaborates with other departments for quality improvement initiatives relative to the leave process;

Provides quality customer service, and proactively identifies and resolves customer issues;

Ensures all protocols, policies and procedures are in compliance with organizational policies and procedures, collective bargaining agreements, Workers' Compensation Board, accreditation standards, New York State Department of Health, federal laws, and all other applicable regulatory agencies;

Effectively uses automated systems to perform work assignments;

Performs related duties as assigned.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Abilities and Attributes: Thorough knowledge of federal and state laws and organizational rules and policies regarding workplace absence and disability designations; thorough knowledge of ADA regulations and compliance requirements; knowledge of regulations and policies governing confidentiality and the release of information; ability to express oneself clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing; tact; good judgment; physical condition commensurate with the demands of the position.

Minimum Acceptable Training and Experience: Satisfactory completion of 60 credits* and three years of experience that involved the processing of FMLA and other employee leaves, and the maintenance of time and leave documentation.

*Special Note: Education beyond the secondary level must be from an institution recognized or accredited by the Board of Regents of the New York State Education Department as a post-secondary, degree-granting institution.