Three hundred new jobs at ODJFS to benefit out-of-work Ohioans, OCSEA members

Dec. 14, 2009 - In what OCSEA is calling a great thing for unemployed and under-employed Ohioans and the public employees who serve them, it was announced last week that the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services will add 300 full-time and intermittent positions to the payroll.

The agency and union have been working closely to iron out the details regarding the position increase. Both believe these added employees will help address significant workload increases as the result of double digit unemployment numbers and the recent extension of unemployment benefits.

Federal funding, not General Revenue Funds, will pay for these positions. Two hundred positions will be placed in the agency’s Office of Local Operations and 100 positions will be in the Office of Unemployment Compensation

Per the OCSEA contract, lateral and promotion appointments will be offered to internal applicants first. However, after existing ODJFS employees are placed, the remaining positions will be offered to OCSEA members who are on the recall/reemployment list and then to unemployed workers whose unemployment benefits have ended or are due to end soon.

Local Operations, which registers and processes unemployment claims, will see 120 full-time permanent positions (70 Call Center jobs and 50 processing center jobs) and 80 intermittent positions. Unemployment Compensation, which adjudicates unemployment claims, will see 69 Claim Examiner 4 positions, two Claims Specialist 1s, two Claims Specialist 2s, seven manager positions and 20 intermittent positions.

OCSEA has been meeting with the agency to ensure that the contractual rights of OCSEA members are not violated and to help expedite the process. The union has also asked for an up-to-date and accurate recall/reemployment list to maximize job matches with laid off members.

“Our members have really felt the pinch of this economy,” said OCSEA/ODJFS Assembly President Tommy Jones. “Whether they’ve been impacted by a layoff or by increased workloads, they need some relief. I’m hopeful these new positions will give them the relief they need.”   

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