Leave Administration Lead

About the role

The Leave Administration Lead and Benefits Lead – Leave Administration positions at Oxy are responsible for managing and administering the company’s leave programs, including Short Term Disability, Paid Family Leave, FMLA, state leaves, and coordination with Workers Compensation. These roles involve advising HR practitioners and employees, reviewing leave requests, and ensuring compliance with federal, state, and company policies.

Responsibilities

• Timely responds to leave requests submitted to the center by HR Practitioners and field medical professionals via phone and email.
• Advises field HR Practitioners, employees, and managers on the terms of Oxy’s leave programs and applicable Federal and state law.
• Use discretion to answer questions, interpret the program documents, approve and deny leave requests in compliance with program documents and applicable Federal and state law.
• Provides required paperwork for all leave types to requesting employees in the most time efficient and cost-effective manner ensuring timely delivery to meet the individual applicant’s delivery needs.
• Reviews submitted requests to the center to determine if sufficient information is available to determine eligibility under company paid STD, State Disability and FMLA.
• Accurately calculate benefit entitlements always considering the benefit look back period.
• Responds to customer service issues within required timeframes.
• Pro-actively communicates issues within Best Practice guidelines, consistently meeting Performance goals.
• Consults With Field HR Representatives On Eligibility and application of Oxy’s policies
• Interpretation of SPD’s Federal and state regulations related to Short-term Disability, Family Medical Leaves, Long-term Disability, Paid Pregnancy, Bonding and Family Care leaves
• Supervise and train the Senior Benefits Coordinator – Leave Administration to assist with communication, processing and tracking of leave requests.
• Guarantee requirements to ensure the applicant receives leave paperwork in time to return to Occupational Health for review.
• Manage leaves that are concurrent with Short Term Disability and Workers' Compensation.
• Manage intermittent and continuous leaves of absences.
• Accurately and thoroughly document claim file actions and conversations in company Customer Relations Management (CRM) system.
• Responsible and accountable for maintaining and protecting personal health information. Must maintain a high level of confidentiality and abide by HIPPA rules and regulations.
• Help to create supporting documents for all leave programs (STD, FMLA and New Paid Family Leave).
• Develops and presents training curriculum related to Leave Administration to new HR Staff members.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s Degree in HR or equivalent; combination of work experience and education will be considered; three to five years of related benefits administration experience
• Overall Related Experience; 5 to 10 years progressive experience in HR as Benefit/Leave Administration/401k Specialist
• Experience in leave of absence administration, benefits administration, 401k administration and HR consulting
• Professional written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills
• Strong Reading, Writing, And Arithmetic Skills Required
• Ability to interpret and administer policy/plan provisions
• Ability to gather, analyze and organize data to make educated decisions
• Ability to identify critical issues and exercise independent judgment
• Strong organizational skills and attention to details
• Excellent time management skills, with the ability to prioritize and multi-task, and work under shifting deadlines in a fast-paced environment
• Spelling, grammar, proofreading and editing skills
• Exceptional customer service skills with ability to receive and provide information with clarity, courtesy and tact
• Willingness to take initiative and to follow through on projects
• Thorough knowledge of MS-Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access)
• HRIS data entry experience
• Experience using web based programs
• Knowledgeable as to full array of employee benefits (i.e., insurances, leave, retirement, worker's compensation, overtime pay, etc.)
• Ability to work and communicate effectively with all levels of management and coworkers, as well as external contacts
• Commitment to “internal client” and customer service principles
• Basic knowledge of ERISA preferred
• Knowledge of federal and state laws pertaining to leaves of absence