Leave Administrator

YAI•New York City, NY

2d•$65,000 - $75,000•Onsite

About The Position

Under the direction of the Director – Benefits and Leave Administration, the Leave Administrator is responsible for overseeing and managing leaves of absence and reasonable accommodation processes for employees across all states of operation. Receives, processes, tracks and facilitates all necessary follow-ups relating to leaves of absence, conducting reviews to ensure eligibility in accordance with all applicable Federal and State leaves and ensuring appropriate updates in electronic systems. Collaborates with carriers and third-party administrators for disability, COBRA and/or Worker’s Compensation leaves and with YAI employees, managers and HR representatives to obtain updates and information needed to support requests for leaves and reasonable accommodation requests. Leads the reasonable accommodation process, collecting and reviewing documentation to ensure completeness and coordinating with managers and HR representatives to ensure productive dialogue and documentation of determinations. Directly engages with employees on a regular basis to provide information, receive updates, answer questions and discuss sensitive or complex issues, providing excellent service and useful education and resources. Regularly collaborates with the YAI Benefits Team to coordinate an array of benefit-related matters, including changes to benefit eligibility and Worker’s Compensation cases.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources or related field; and
Five (5) years of benefits administration experience, including day-to-day processing and/or administration of employee leaves of absence, worker’s compensation and reasonable accommodation processes; and
Thorough knowledge of Federal and multi-state employment law specifically in the realm of leaves of absence and reasonable accommodations including FMLA, ADA, STD, LTD, EEOC, HIPAA and with state-specific leave laws in New York State, New York City, New Jersey and California; or
Satisfactory equivalent combination of education, experience and/or training.
Excellent interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to effectively navigate difficult and sensitive conversations and clearly explain detailed requirements and to build effective working relationships with staff and external stakeholders at all levels.
Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced environment, appropriately prioritizing a high-volume of inquiries and leaves, to meet all applicable processing and regulatory timelines.
Exceptional organizational skills and high attention to detail.
Strong critical thinking, analytical skills and problem-solving ability, particularly in ambiguous, complex and sensitive situations.
Proficiency with HCM/ERP and leave management platforms, ideally Workday and with Microsoft Office Suite, specifically Outlook, Excel and Word, with ability to quickly learn new electronic systems and programs.
Ability to report on-site to our Manhattan office regularly and to occasionally travel to other YAI locations across the NYC metropolitan area, as requested.
Ability to meet essential physical demands of position, including the ability to sit for extended periods, lift and carry files or documents weighing up to 10 pounds and move around the office.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree and/or professional certification in Human Resources (PHR/SPHR, SHRM-CP/SHRM-SCP, CEBS, etc.)
Experience using Workday HCM, Absence Management and/or Safety Incident modules

Responsibilities

Maintains responsibility for overall management and administration of leaves of absence and reasonable accommodation requests, including day-to-day processing, updates and handling of related inquiries, ensuring employees submit appropriate requests and provide all required documentation in compliance with applicable regulations and timelines for a variety of leaves of absence (FMLA, PFL, CFRA, DBL, etc.).
Stays abreast of relevant laws, regulations and best practices in leaves administration across all states of operation, assisting director with maintaining compliance with all applicable rules and regulations in administration of leaves and coordination of reasonable accommodation requests.
Serves as primary liaison for all YAI Network staff, including managers, HR representatives and applicable carriers regarding employee leaves of absence and accommodations, regularly engaging with staff at all levels and external partners to provide and receive guidance, assistance and information, ensuring adherence to all Federal, State, Local and/or agency requirements and deadlines.
Provides excellent, timely service and useful education and resources to employees requesting information on leaves of absence or accommodations, including contacting employees by email and/or phone to discuss needs, circumstances and/or other sensitive matters surrounding personal or family medical issues or conditions requiring leaves of absence.
Reviews supporting documentation provided by employees for leave of absence and reasonable accommodation requests, making determinations as to whether documentation meets all requirements of and supports specific request, following up with employees to request updates, clarification and/or additional information, as needed; contacts external providers to verify validity of documentation, when applicable.
Collects and tracks leave-related information, receiving and reviewing documentation, processing all leaves of absence and making regular updates in appropriate electronic systems, providing information to applicable insurance carriers and coordinating, approving and confirming details, including receipt of appropriate clearance to return to work, when applicable.
Ensures consideration is given for any applicable leaves of absence for employees based on reason for request and as applicable for state or locality and coordinates with all applicable parties to process concurrent leaves of absence where appropriate (e.g. FMLA and Worker’s Compensation), securing all required documentation for each leave of absence and appropriately storing in electronic leave files, while protecting confidentiality of information.
Leads the administration of reasonable accommodation process for employees cleared to return from leaves of absence with restrictions and/or for other covered disabilities, initiating requests and assisting managers and HR representatives with maintaining adherence to all applicable policies and procedures, including facilitation of productive dialogues regarding accommodations; ensures determination letters are provided to employees by HR representatives and copies are saved in applicable folders.
Identifies and analyzes trends relating to leaves of absence and reasonable accommodations, escalating areas of concern and summarizing findings for director to inform updates to education, practices, processes and/or policies.
Makes recommendations for changes to systems, processes and internal policies to improve quality, consistency, efficiency and effectiveness of leave and reasonable accommodation administration, implementing authorized improvements and ensuring updates to all applicable documentation and information, including Intranet page and ensuring communication of changes to all applicable staff.
Creates and facilitates or recommends education for managers, leadership and HR representatives regarding leaves of absence and reasonable accommodations, including general information and legal requirements and internal policies, procedures and processes.
Provides support for annual and other regulatory reporting (e.g. OSHA 300A), participating in collection, review and compilation of data and/or preparation or distribution of related documentation, as requested.
Participates in planning, development and implementation of new initiatives and updates to policies, procedures or education relating to leaves, reasonable accommodations, Worker’s Compensation and other benefit-related areas, as requested.
Assists with general benefit questions, including benefit eligibility, COBRA and Worker’s Compensation, providing guidance and assistance to employees and managers, directing complex inquiries to appropriate parties for handling and/or participating in coordination of resolutions for related matters with all applicable parties.
Performs other related duties, as assigned.