Leave of Absence & Benefits Specialist

The Leave of Absence & Benefits Specialist is a member of the employee benefits group within the HR department. This role works regularly with the Sr.

Benefits Manager, VP of Total Rewards, HR team, and various department and regional managers within the organization. The Leave of Absence & Benefits Specialist is responsible for the day-to-day case management of employees on various leaves of absences and assisting with benefits related questions, planning, and administration.

Responsibilities :

• Work with managers to identify employees on leaves of absences and coordinate the proper leave process including FMLA, ADA and other state approved leaves with our third-party Leave & Disability vendor.
• Identify needs for reasonable accommodations under the ADA, facilitate the interactive process and make, implement and monitor recommendations
• Track federal, state and municipal paid sick leave regulations and ensure compliance
• Advise employees on leave process, eligibility and completing necessary documentation
• As needed, review leave documentation and make decisions on next steps in the leave case.
• Frequently communicate with employees and managers regarding management of on-going leave, disability and accommodation cases.
• Work with HR team to make employment decisions related to leaves and accommodations.
• Prepare and complete certain data files related to leave and time off.
• Partner with Payroll to ensure appropriate management of disability payment s and benefits.
• Lead ongoing meetings with various HR teams to discuss the status of leave, disability and accommodation cases.
• Participate in other meetings related to the health and safety of employees.
• Lead case reviews with outside counsel as necessary.
• Assist in the process of filing Long-Term disability, accident and death claims.
• Manage the leave vendor to ensure compliance with our plans and that they are meet performance guarantees and service level agreements.
• Work with the Health and Safety team to coordinate Worker’s compensation claims.
• Able to handle sensitive information and maintain confidentiality with employee claims.
• Act as backup for administration of Health & Welfare programs.
• Manage vendor and communications related to the Employee Assistance program.
• Support compliance to benefits and leave management in regards to pertinent federal and state regulations, filing, and compliance requirements.

Benefits Administration Responsibilities :

• Contribute to new leader onboarding training specific to leave and benefits.
• Analyze time off policies and make recommendations for necessary changes .
• Prepare and distribute communications to employees regarding benefits and support benefit questions and concerns.
• Communicate regularly with benefits broker and leave / benefit vendor contacts.
• Review and process monthly benefit invoices.
• Other duties as assigned.

Requirements :

• Ability to work onsite 3 days / week
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience
• 5+ years' experience in leave of absence administration and experience working with employee accommodations
• 2+ years' experience with employee benefits administration
• Experience managing large population of hourly employees across the United States, including California, New York and New Jersey
• Knowledge of Federal, State and local regulations related to Leaves, HR, ADA and FMLA
• Experience with ADP system and Oracle
• Strong computer skills including advanced experience in MS Excel and MS Word
• Excellent written and verbal communication along with customer service skills
• Caring, empathetic and business minded approach to decisions
• Ability to develop employee communications and draft policies
• Ability to think strategically and continually review and improve processes

Preferred Requirements :

• Certification in Leave, Disability, Accommodations and / or Benefits : (CPDM, CLMS, CEBS)
30+ days ago