The Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) provides services to individuals with developmental disabilities in New York State. The Employee Relations Office (ERO) represents the Agency in the administration of collective bargaining agreements with more than 20,000 state employees. ERO and the Labor Relations representatives administer the statewide disciplinary processes for OPWDD employees, including evaluating evidence, writing Notices of Discipline, and representing OPWDD at Arbitration. The LR representative answers and resolves grievances, provides support to human resources professionals and other managers, and may provide relevant training on topics such as performance evaluation, administering grievances, counseling and discipline. ERO is responsible for the administration of bargaining unit contract agreements with multiple public employee unions representing the Agency's employees.
Under the supervision of the Assistant Director of Employee Relations, the Human Resources Specialist 2, Labor Relations may be responsible for duties including but not limited to the following:

• Managing the Labor Relations operations of one regionally-located Developmental Disabilities Service Operations Offices (DDSOO) across the State,

• Conducting investigations into employee misconduct,

• Reviewing and analyzing investigative reports, issuing Notices of Discipline,
• Representing and advocating for OPWDD at disciplinary hearings and resolving disciplinary cases through settlement or binding arbitration,
• Providing support and advice to supervisors and Human Resources professionals,

• Working with union representatives to resolve workplace issues, including policy and contract interpretation,

• Participating in Agency-level and labor management meetings and subcommittees.

NOTE: This position requires occasional travel statewide