Payroll Specialist

Job Summary:

We are seeking a highly organized and detail-oriented Payroll Specialist to oversee our company’s payroll operations. You will be responsible for the end-to-end processing of payroll, ensuring compliance with all local, state, and federal regulations. The ideal candidate possesses a strong financial aptitude, proficiency in modern payroll software, and the ability to handle sensitive information with confidentiality. The Payroll Specialist processes bi-weekly payroll for exempt and non-exempt employees utilizing the ADP Workforce Now system. The individual is responsible for the accuracy of payroll.

Minimum Requirements:

Education-

• High School Diploma Required.
• Associate or bachelor’s degree in accounting preferred.

Training & Experience-

• Five years of payroll experience or a combination of work experience and subject matter education preferred.

Licenses; Certificates; Special Requirements-

• NA

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities-

• Experience with ADP Workforce Now.
• Bilingual English and Spanish preferred, including the ability to communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Word and Excel.
• Professional-level writing and verbal communication skills.
• Well-developed interpersonal skills and professional demeanor, with an ability to interact with employees and others at any level within the organization.
• Ability to handle sensitive and confidential information with extreme professionalism. 
• Ability to learn and apply departmental or Company policies, procedures, and rules. 
• Ability to learn and apply Federal, State, and local laws, codes and regulations pertaining to human resources. 
• Ability to work independently in the absence of supervision. 
• Ability to work independently and within a team.
• Ability to establish and maintain co-operative working relationships with employees, managers, and Company leadership.
• Solid understanding of Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), payroll taxes, and general accounting principles.

Travel-

• Regional Travel - Rarely (0-15%) 
• Overnight Travel - Rarely (0-15%) 

Tools & Equipment-

Computer, printer, telephone, facsimile. 

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

• Reviews regularly timecards for missing punches, approvals, or discrepancies.
• Checks timecards for completeness and accuracy and coordinates corrections with supervisors and managers. 
• Ensures that payroll is accurate and processed on a timely basis.
• Provides quick resolution to payroll discrepancies. Research discrepancies effectively, make appropriate corrections, and respond promptly to inquiries from managers and employees. 
• Make 401 (k) payments and adjustments.
• Develops and distributes custom payroll reports.
• Ensure Payroll Action Forms are processed accordingly, including but not limited to new hires, transfers, and promotions.
• Reconciles benefits payments, including but not limited to life insurance and Voluntary employee deductions.
• Reconciles temporary agency invoices.
• Audits timecard approvals by employees.
• Reviews and processes payments to adhere to state regulations and company policies. 
• Calculates overtime, pay rate differential, and other applicable special pay calculations. 
• Places to stop payments and direct deposit reversals as needed. 
• Prepares and balances pay data and manual adjustment batches.
• Calculating and processing manual checks as needed. 
• Validates payroll preview data using various reports and Excel templates and completes corrections prior to transmission. 
• Audit employee expense reports in SAP Concur for completeness and compliance prior to reimbursement through ADP
• Maintain employee training records by updating the E-Compliance system with completed safety training information.
• Process Travel Request Form (TRF) for Signatures from the Dept Head and Final form from the CEO.
• Reconcile and submit records for every payroll 
• Maintains effective working relationships with other departments. 
• Assists with handling employee questions.
• Calculates retroactive pay adjustments. 
• Assist managers and employees with timecard procedure inquiries and training. 
• Calculates paid time off accrual adjustments. 
• Add New Team Members on Time Clock and/or ADP.
• Assist Team Members with any ADP issues. 
• Act as liaison with outside payroll vendors for accurate and timely payroll processing, problem resolution, and error corrections; participates in the evaluation of payroll system products and companies and makes recommendations for changes. 
• Maintains orderly payroll records in compliance with state and federal record retention laws. 
• Performs and assists with other payroll and accounting-related duties as assigned.
• Maintains a very high level of ethics and confidentiality of payroll and personnel information.

Other Duties & Responsibilities:

• Collaborate with other staff to support and enable the department to meet overall goals and objectives.
• Supports the Human Resources department with special projects.
• Perform other duties as required.

Working Conditions: (The working environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.)

Office Environment - Constantly (67-100%)

• Refrigerated Environment (35° – 45 °) - Rarely (0-15%) (Non-essential)
• Freezer Environment (0° – 32 °) - Rarely (0-15%) (Non-essential)
• Driving Motor Vehicle - Rarely (0-15%) (Non-essential)

Physical Demands:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that an employee must meet to successfully perform the essential functions of the job.

This is largely a sedentary job. While performing the duties of this position, the employee is required to sit for long periods of time, often in front of a computer screen. The employee performs heavy computer use (keyboard and mouse), occasional light lifting (less than 15 lbs), standing, walking, and stair climbing. 

Mental Demands:

Comprehension

• Ability to understand, remember, and apply oral and/or written instructions or other information.
• Ability to understand, remember, and communicate routine, factual information.
• Ability to understand complex problems and to collaborate and explore alternative solutions.
• Ability to understand opposing points of view on highly complex issues and to negotiate and integrate different viewpoints.

Organization

• Ability to organize thoughts and ideas into understandable terminology.
• Ability to organize and prioritize own work schedule on short-term basis (longer than one month)

Reasoning and Decision Making

• Ability to apply common sense in performing job.
• Ability to make decisions which have moderate impact on immediate work unit.
• Ability to make decisions which have significant impact on the immediate work unit and monitor impact outside immediate work unit.
• Ability to make decisions which have significant impact on the department’s credibility, operations, and services.

Communication

• Ability to understand and follow basic instructions and guidelines
• Ability to complete routine forms, use existing form letters, and/or conduct routine oral communication.
• Ability to compose letters, outlines, memoranda, and basic reports and/or to orally communicate technical information.
• Ability to communicate with individuals utilizing a telephone; requires the ability to hear and speak effectively on the phone.
• Ability to express or exchange ideas by means of the spoken word, communicating orally with others accurately, loudly, and quickly.
• Ability to make informal presentations, inside and/or outside the organization. Speaking before groups.

Mathematics

• Ability to count accurately
• Ability to add, subtract, multiply, divide, and to record, balance, and check results for accuracy
• Ability to compute, analyze, and interpret numerical data for reporting purposes