Opinion ID: 766384
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Rehabilitation Counselors

Text: 52 We turn finally to KRCC's claim that the rehabilitation counselors at Caney Creek are supervisors because they supervise the rehabilitation assistants. The job titles for the positions in question--rehabilitation counselor and rehabilitation assistant--would suggest, without more, some supervisory role for a counselor over an assistant. But it is the record evidence concerning their respective functions and their relationship to one another that is determinative. 53 When a patient enters the facility, a rehabilitation counselor evaluates the patient's needs and develops a comprehensive treatment plan, with the ultimate goal of helping the patient to become self-sufficient. This plan and any changes made to it must be approved by a psychiatrist. If the plan is approved, it is carried out on a daily basis primarily by the rehabilitation assistants. 54 The job description for rehabilitation counselors does not explicitly reference supervisory responsibilities; however, it states that the counselors [m]ay provide direction to assigned Rehabilitation Assistants and service provision to residents. Counselors must hold a bachelor's degree in a human services field; or an LPN certificate, together with 2 to 4 years of experience; or an associate's degree in nursing without licensure. 55 Rehabilitation counselors do not have any hiring responsibilities. If a counselor observes an assistant acting inappropriately, the counselor discusses the matter with the assistant and tries to resolve the issue without resort to any formal procedures. If that approach fails, in order to resolve the issue the counselor prepares an incident report, but the counselors do not have any disciplinary authority beyond the incident report. The rehabilitation counselors do not have the authority to transfer assistants between units, and have no authority to address a rehabilitation assistant's grievances. 56 The rehabilitation counselors do not schedule the assistants. Each morning, the counselors meet with the assistants and the assistants volunteer for particular tasks. A counselor may also ask an assistant to work for a shorthanded unit. The assistants report to the counselors at informal team meetings as to how a patient is progressing or participating in the program. 57 The job description form for rehabilitation assistants specifies that they report to a Treatment Assistant or a Treatment Coordinator. If a rehabilitation assistant has a problem with a patient, he contacts the counselor, and after a back and forth discussion, the counselor tells the assistant what to do. An assistant might also handle a problem with a patient on his own and then notify the proper person after the fact. The only educational requirement is a high school diploma or GED. 58 The standards we have applied to the registered nurses apply with equal force to the rehabilitation counselors for determining whether the counselors are supervisors. The rehabilitation counselors must (1) have the authority to engage in one of the activities enumerated in section 152(11), (2) use independent judgment in that activity, and (3) do so in the interest of the employer. See Grancare, 137 F.3d at 375. 59 At KRCC, the primary function of the rehabilitation counselor is to design a patient treatment plan. This does not, of itself, involve any supervisory authority. Neither does the working relationship between the counselors and assistants imply any supervision of the work of the assistants by the counselors. The counselors do not hire or fire the assistants, and they do not assign the assistants to particular units or patients. The fact that the assistants carry out the provisions of the treatment plans designed by the counselors does not suggest that the counselors are supervisors. The record reflects more of a cooperative relationship between the rehabilitation counselors and rehabilitation assistants, with each performing a distinct but complementary function. Therefore, we hold that substantial evidence supports the NLRB's decision that the rehabilitation counselors are not supervisors and therefore to include them in the bargaining unit.