BENEFITS and HR SPECIALIST

Mary Cariola Center•City of Rochester, NY

1d•$24 - $28

About The Position

This role supports the administration of employee leave programs, including paid and unpaid leaves of absence, FMLA, short term disability, long term disability, NYS paid family leave, and workers’ compensation. The specialist will interpret and administer company policies and procedures, educating and counseling employees and managers on policy and legal compliance related to employee leaves and return to work requirements. This position interfaces with employees, insurance carriers, third-party administrators, vendors, and internal departments to ensure accurate reporting and information flow. The role also involves assisting employees with benefits questions and transactional support, supporting the Benefits Manager with vendor invoices and audits, and assisting with the enrollment administration for medical, dental, and vision insurance plans. Additionally, the specialist will maintain employee discipline records, track Motor Vehicle Record checks, support wellness initiatives, and ensure proper light duty assignments for returning employees. Maintaining data in the Human Resources Information System (UKG) and Time and Attendance system (Workforce Management) is crucial, as is staying current with regulatory changes concerning leave programs. Support for unemployment claims, pre-screening candidates, processing background checks, and providing onboarding backup are also key responsibilities. The role requires understanding and using relevant vendor systems for background screening and maintaining current driving status for employees. Finally, the specialist will support communication of compensation adjustments, handle turnover reporting, assist with HR projects, and maintain documentation and confidentiality of HR records.

Requirements

Associate’s degree in business, Human Resources or related field and three years of Human Resources experience is required.
Adept in understanding HRIS system (UKG) and other vendor technology systems and/or a willingness to learn.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree with a minimum of two years of Human Resource experience is preferred.
Preferred experience includes: managing leave cases (FMLA, STD, NYS PFL) and workers’ compensation claims.

Responsibilities

Supports the administration of employee leave programs including paid and unpaid leaves of absence, FMLA, short term disability, long term disability, NYS paid family leave and workers’ compensation.
Interprets and administers company policies and procedures and educates and counsels employees and managers on policy and legal compliance related to employee leaves and return to work requirements.
Interfaces with the employee, insurance carrier and third-party administrators and vendors, attendance office, nursing staff and the employee’s supervisor as necessary to make sure all required information is reported.
Assist employees with benefits questions and provides them with benefits transactional support.
Supports Benefits Manager with monthly vendor invoices, audits, and administration.
Assists in the enrollment administration procedures for medical, dental and vision insurance plans, processing enrollments and de-enrollments quickly and accurately. Assists with other benefit plan enrollment procedures as needed.
Maintains Employee Discipline spreadsheet; creates and distributes reports to Supervisors as needed.
Performs and tracks all Motor Vehicle Record checks for Agency and School Program as required.
Assists with the implementation and sustainability of company wellness/wellbeing initiatives as identified.
Interfaces with appropriate supervisors and managers to ensure proper light duty assignments are secured for employees who are returning to work with restrictions/accommodations.
Maintains data in Human Resources Information System (UKG) and Time and Attendance system (Workforce Management) and leave tracking as appropriate and in timely manner, meeting required deadlines.
Maintains working knowledge and keeps current with regulatory changes concerning various leave program laws and regulations.
Provides support to the HR Supervisor for unemployment claims.
As needed/requested, pre-screens direct care candidates from both UKG and Indeed, identifying those to move forward for interview. May communicate with potential candidates to dialogue about the hiring process.
Process and manage background checks for interns, volunteers and new hires.
Provide onboarding backup to the Human Resource Specialist for onboarding appointments.
Understands and uses relevant vendor systems for all required background screening (MetroData, Criminal Background, LENs, etc.).
Interfaces with hiring managers and recruiters with results of background screenings.
Maintains current driving status for all relevant employees and sends monthly lists of drivers to program heads.
Supports the communication of any agency increase or compensation adjustments.
Responsible for turnover reporting and tracking.
Supports HR projects as assigned.
Maintains documentation as required and creates and distributes reports as necessary.
Demonstrates flexible and efficient time management and ability to prioritize workload.
Maintains confidentiality of all Human Resource records and information; ensures that all rules and regulations concerning confidentiality and retention of documents are followed.
Adept in understanding HRIS system (UKG) and other vendor technology systems and/or a willingness to learn.
Additional duties as assigned.