Leave of Absence Advisor

Milwaukee Tool•Brookfield, WI

11d

About The Position

The Leave of Absence (LOA) Advisor is part of the Human Resources Department and administers the end-to-end process for leave of absence programs. The role supports a positive employee experience and ensures compliance with leave-of-absence and employment laws, including state and federal leaves such as FMLA, ADA, and workers’ compensation. The Advisor makes timely eligibility and case decisions, communicates compliance requirements, and works with employees and managers through the interactive process. The role also supports employee benefits and wellness programming for assigned business units. For benefits, the Advisor analyzes employee participation and creates communication and education campaigns, serves as a subject matter expert on benefit eligibility and service providers, processes site-specific benefit plan invoices, helps resolve vendor funding and payment discrepancies, audits benefit enrollments, assists with the annual 401(k) plan audit, and administers the Educational Assistance Program. For leave administration, the Advisor handles inquiries and intake, assesses needs and eligibility, identifies appropriate leave types, reviews paperwork, explains requirements and responsibilities, and consults on accommodation requests. The Advisor communicates decisions and their impacts on pay and benefits, prepares LOA correspondence, tracks leave usage and documentation, coordinates with Payroll and relevant HR partners, supports return-to-work processes, and produces basic and ad hoc reports. The position also tracks births for Baby Welcome gifts. For wellness, the Advisor coordinates on-site activities, including sourcing vendors, surveying employee interests, and researching trends.

Requirements

At least 3 years of HR experience.
Experience in leave-of-absence administration.
Education equivalent to a bachelor’s degree in Human Resources.
Thorough understanding of FMLA, LOA policies and procedures, workers’ compensation, and ADA/accommodation policies and procedures.
Strong verbal and written communication, interpersonal, and customer service skills.
Ability to maintain confidentiality and exercise good judgment and diplomacy.

Nice To Haves

Previous experience in benefits communication and/or education campaigns.
Previous work experience supporting a manufacturing workforce.

Responsibilities

Analyze employee participation in benefit offerings and create communication and education campaigns to increase participation.
Serve as a subject matter expert on employee benefit eligibility and navigating benefit service providers.
Process site-specific benefit plan invoices and participate in resolving vendor funding and payment discrepancies.
Audit benefit enrollments to ensure the population is properly offered and enrolled in benefits and deductions.
Assist with the annual 401(k) plan audit.
Approve and administer the Educational Assistance Program.
Serve as the first point of contact for leave inquiries, conduct intake, assess caller needs, and respond to emergency situations.
Analyze leave case information, gather relevant information, determine eligibility in alignment with applicable regulations, and identify the appropriate leave type.
Consult on leave inquiries, review paperwork, and educate employees about documentation requirements and employee and employer responsibilities.
Work with employees and managers on accommodation requests and make decisions regarding those requests.
Inform employees about impacts to pay and benefits, leave options, and appropriate resources or self-service tools.
Use internal and external resources to provide accurate, current information to employees in a timely manner.
Draft LOA notifications, approvals, and requests for medical certifications.
Make timely case decisions based on compliance requirements and communicate decisions and ongoing expectations to appropriate parties.
Partner with managers and HR Business Partners on next steps for leaves that have exhausted state, federal, or company entitlements, and recognize when escalation is needed.
Track leave hours used and taken and work with Payroll to ensure accurate pay.
Organize and maintain LOA documentation separately from other personnel records.
Track baby births for ordering Baby Welcome gifts.
Ensure employees return to work and partner with managers to engage in the interactive process.
Run basic reports on upcoming leaves and returns to work, as well as ad hoc reports when needed.
Coordinate on-site wellness activities, including sourcing vendors, surveying employee interests, and researching trends.