Payroll & Benefits Specialist
Riser Fitness · Costa Mesa, CA · 3 wk ago
On-siteInformation TechnologyFull-time
We need to output only HTML fragment with headings for sections: About the role, Responsibilities, Requirements, Qualifications, Skills, Benefits, Pay, Schedule. Only include sections that have real specific content. We must not repeat job title. Must not include Job ID etc. Must remove boilerplate, EEO, etc. Must preserve all substantive info.
We need to parse the posting.
Content:
Position Summary: description.
The Day-to-Day: list of duties.
Multi-State Payroll Knowledge: list.
Benefits & Retirement Plan Support: list.
Leave & Employee Lifecycle Knowledge: list.
Is this you? (requirements/experience)
Preferred Qualifications
Rewards & Benefits: list of benefits.
We need to map to sections.
Probably:
- About the role: Position Summary + maybe description of role.
- Responsibilities: The Day-to-Day + Multi-State Payroll Knowledge + Benefits & Retirement Plan Support + Leave & Employee Lifecycle Knowledge.
- Requirements: "Is this you?" (mandatory qualifications)
- Qualifications: Preferred Qualifications
- Skills: maybe mention Intermediate Microsoft Excel skills, HRIS, analytical, etc. Could be part of Requirements but we can separate.
- Benefits: Rewards & Benefits list.
- Pay: Not mentioned explicitly; no pay info. So we should NOT include Pay section.
- Schedule: The posting says on-site, full-time, Monday through Friday. That's schedule info. So we can include Schedule section with that detail.
We must not include filler like "commensurate with experience". Not present.
We must not include boilerplate EEO etc. Remove that.
We must preserve all substantive info.
Let's extract.
Position Summary paragraph:
"We are seeking an experienced Payroll & Benefits Specialist to join our rapidly growing, multi-state organization. This on-site, full-time, Monday through Friday role reports to the Payroll & Benefits Manager and focuses primarily on payroll processing across multiple states, with an emphasis on state-specific wage-and-hour and tax requirements. Benefits responsibilities will initially be limited to backup support, but candidates should understand how benefit deductions, including pre-tax, post-tax, and retirement plan deductions, interact with payroll. This position is ideal for a self-starter who understands the mechanics behind payroll, not simply how to enter information into a system. The right person is comfortable with complex pay calculations, regular rate of pay, state-specific final pay rules, multi-state payroll taxes, and varying state requirements; takes ownership of researching discrepancies rather than passing them along; and knows when an issue should be escalated. They should also enjoy working on a collaborative team and adapt well as our processes, systems, and priorities evolve."
That's about the role.
Responsibilities: The Day-to-Day list bullet points.
Let's capture each bullet:
- Support end-to-end payroll processing for employees across multiple states.
- Review payroll data for accuracy, including regular hours, overtime, double time, bonuses, commissions, premiums, shift or class-based compensation, deductions, reimbursements, and other earnings, identifying potential errors or compliance concerns before payroll is finalized.
- Calculate regular rate of pay and apply it to overtime and other premium pay calculations.
- Review timekeeping records and work with managers to resolve missing punches, discrepancies, and payroll exceptions.
- Process payroll-related employee changes provided by Human Resources, including compensation changes, transfers, job changes, tax elections, and direct deposit updates.
- Set up and maintain state tax withholding for new hires, relocations, and employees working across state lines.
- Process final checks in accordance with each state’s final pay timing requirements, along with off-cycle payrolls, manual checks, corrections, retroactive adjustments, and other special transactions.
- Research payroll discrepancies and employee concerns through resolution, escalating complex matters or compliance concerns to the Payroll & Benefits Manager when appropriate.
- Respond to employee and manager payroll questions in a timely and professional manner.
- Maintain accurate payroll records and supporting documentation, and assist with routine payroll audits and data validation.
Multi-State Payroll Knowledge bullet points:
- Maintain and apply working knowledge of payroll and wage-and-hour requirements across the states where we operate, including California, such as:
- Daily and weekly overtime and double time rules
- Regular rate of pay
- Meal and rest period premiums
- Final pay timing and calculation requirements
- Paid sick leave
- Vacation/PTO treatment
- Wage statement requirements
- State-specific payroll deductions and other jurisdictional considerations
- Apply established company policies and compliance guidance accurately during payroll processing.
- Recognize how payroll requirements differ by jurisdiction and maintain a working knowledge of federal, state, and local payroll tax concepts.
Benefits & Retirement Plan Support bullet points:
- Understand how benefit elections flow through payroll, including pre-tax and post-tax deductions and their impact on taxable wages.
- Understand basic retirement plan payroll deductions, including employee deferrals and employer contributions.
- Provide backup support for routine benefits administration and benefits-related payroll questions under the direction of the Payroll & Benefits Manager, including during high-volume periods such as open enrollment.
- Access benefit carrier systems to review coverage or enrollment information, escalating discrepancies to the Payroll & Benefits Manager for resolution.
Leave & Employee Lifecycle Knowledge bullet points:
- Understand common employee leave types and recognize when leaves, status changes, or terminations have payroll implications or require additional review or escalation.
- Work collaboratively with Human Resources to ensure payroll-impacting employee changes are reflected accurately and on time.
Is this you? (requirements):
- 4+ years of progressive, hands-on payroll experience in a multi-state environment, including at least 2 years of direct California payroll processing.
- Strong working knowledge of state wage-and-hour requirements, with demonstrated experience calculating regular rate of pay and processing final checks across multiple states.
- Experience working with overtime, double time, premium pay, additional earnings, deductions, and payroll corrections.
- Working knowledge of pre-tax and post-tax deductions, plus a basic understanding of retirement plan deductions and contributions, payroll taxation, and how leave types affect payroll.
- Intermediate Microsoft Excel skills, including formulas, lookups, filtering, sorting, and working with payroll datasets.
- Experience working within an HRIS and/or payroll platform.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills and exceptional attention to detail, with the ability to research discrepancies and spot when something does not look correct.
- Ability to manage firm payroll deadlines and competing priorities.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills and the ability to maintain confidentiality with employee, payroll, compensation, and benefits information.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience with Rippling Payroll and/or Rippling HRIS (highly preferred).
- Experience in a rapidly growing, multi-location organization.
- Experience supporting payroll audits and reconciliations.
- Experience with hourly populations and multiple compensation structures.
Rewards & Benefits (Benefits):
- Medical, dental, and vision kick in the first of the month after you're hired, including plan options with $0 deductibles.
- We offer both Anthem & Kaiser plan options!
- Employer-paid Life, AD&D, and Short-Term & Long-Term Disability Coverage
- 401(k) retirement plan with employer matching, supporting long-term financial security
- Paid Time off, including vacation and sick time, to support rest, recovery and work-life balance
- Monthly communication allowance
- Free, confidential counseling and wellness resources for you and your household through our Employee Assistance Program
- Our Nava Benefits App puts your plan info and live advocates in your pocket, 24/7
Schedule: on-site, full-time, Monday through Friday.
Pay: not mentioned, so omit.
Now we need to output HTML fragment with
for sections: About the role, Responsibilities, Requirements, Qualifications, Skills, Benefits, Pay, Schedule. Only include sections that have real specific content. We must not repeat job title. Must not include Job ID etc. Must remove boilerplate, EEO, etc. Must preserve all substantive info.
We need to parse the posting.
Content:
Position Summary: description.
The Day-to-Day: list of duties.
Multi-State Payroll Knowledge: list.
Benefits & Retirement Plan Support: list.
Leave & Employee Lifecycle Knowledge: list.
Is this you? (requirements/experience)
Preferred Qualifications
Rewards & Benefits: list of benefits.
We need to map to sections.
Probably:
- About the role: Position Summary + maybe description of role.
- Responsibilities: The Day-to-Day + Multi-State Payroll Knowledge + Benefits & Retirement Plan Support + Leave & Employee Lifecycle Knowledge.
- Requirements: "Is this you?" (mandatory qualifications)
- Qualifications: Preferred Qualifications
- Skills: maybe mention Intermediate Microsoft Excel skills, HRIS, analytical, etc. Could be part of Requirements but we can separate.
- Benefits: Rewards & Benefits list.
- Pay: Not mentioned explicitly; no pay info. So we should NOT include Pay section.
- Schedule: The posting says on-site, full-time, Monday through Friday. That's schedule info. So we can include Schedule section with that detail.
We must not include filler like "commensurate with experience". Not present.
We must not include boilerplate EEO etc. Remove that.
We must preserve all substantive info.
Let's extract.
Position Summary paragraph:
"We are seeking an experienced Payroll & Benefits Specialist to join our rapidly growing, multi-state organization. This on-site, full-time, Monday through Friday role reports to the Payroll & Benefits Manager and focuses primarily on payroll processing across multiple states, with an emphasis on state-specific wage-and-hour and tax requirements. Benefits responsibilities will initially be limited to backup support, but candidates should understand how benefit deductions, including pre-tax, post-tax, and retirement plan deductions, interact with payroll. This position is ideal for a self-starter who understands the mechanics behind payroll, not simply how to enter information into a system. The right person is comfortable with complex pay calculations, regular rate of pay, state-specific final pay rules, multi-state payroll taxes, and varying state requirements; takes ownership of researching discrepancies rather than passing them along; and knows when an issue should be escalated. They should also enjoy working on a collaborative team and adapt well as our processes, systems, and priorities evolve."
That's about the role.
Responsibilities: The Day-to-Day list bullet points.
Let's capture each bullet:
- Support end-to-end payroll processing for employees across multiple states.
- Review payroll data for accuracy, including regular hours, overtime, double time, bonuses, commissions, premiums, shift or class-based compensation, deductions, reimbursements, and other earnings, identifying potential errors or compliance concerns before payroll is finalized.
- Calculate regular rate of pay and apply it to overtime and other premium pay calculations.
- Review timekeeping records and work with managers to resolve missing punches, discrepancies, and payroll exceptions.
- Process payroll-related employee changes provided by Human Resources, including compensation changes, transfers, job changes, tax elections, and direct deposit updates.
- Set up and maintain state tax withholding for new hires, relocations, and employees working across state lines.
- Process final checks in accordance with each state’s final pay timing requirements, along with off-cycle payrolls, manual checks, corrections, retroactive adjustments, and other special transactions.
- Research payroll discrepancies and employee concerns through resolution, escalating complex matters or compliance concerns to the Payroll & Benefits Manager when appropriate.
- Respond to employee and manager payroll questions in a timely and professional manner.
- Maintain accurate payroll records and supporting documentation, and assist with routine payroll audits and data validation.
Multi-State Payroll Knowledge bullet points:
- Maintain and apply working knowledge of payroll and wage-and-hour requirements across the states where we operate, including California, such as:
- Daily and weekly overtime and double time rules
- Regular rate of pay
- Meal and rest period premiums
- Final pay timing and calculation requirements
- Paid sick leave
- Vacation/PTO treatment
- Wage statement requirements
- State-specific payroll deductions and other jurisdictional considerations
- Apply established company policies and compliance guidance accurately during payroll processing.
- Recognize how payroll requirements differ by jurisdiction and maintain a working knowledge of federal, state, and local payroll tax concepts.
Benefits & Retirement Plan Support bullet points:
- Understand how benefit elections flow through payroll, including pre-tax and post-tax deductions and their impact on taxable wages.
- Understand basic retirement plan payroll deductions, including employee deferrals and employer contributions.
- Provide backup support for routine benefits administration and benefits-related payroll questions under the direction of the Payroll & Benefits Manager, including during high-volume periods such as open enrollment.
- Access benefit carrier systems to review coverage or enrollment information, escalating discrepancies to the Payroll & Benefits Manager for resolution.
Leave & Employee Lifecycle Knowledge bullet points:
- Understand common employee leave types and recognize when leaves, status changes, or terminations have payroll implications or require additional review or escalation.
- Work collaboratively with Human Resources to ensure payroll-impacting employee changes are reflected accurately and on time.
Is this you? (requirements):
- 4+ years of progressive, hands-on payroll experience in a multi-state environment, including at least 2 years of direct California payroll processing.
- Strong working knowledge of state wage-and-hour requirements, with demonstrated experience calculating regular rate of pay and processing final checks across multiple states.
- Experience working with overtime, double time, premium pay, additional earnings, deductions, and payroll corrections.
- Working knowledge of pre-tax and post-tax deductions, plus a basic understanding of retirement plan deductions and contributions, payroll taxation, and how leave types affect payroll.
- Intermediate Microsoft Excel skills, including formulas, lookups, filtering, sorting, and working with payroll datasets.
- Experience working within an HRIS and/or payroll platform.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills and exceptional attention to detail, with the ability to research discrepancies and spot when something does not look correct.
- Ability to manage firm payroll deadlines and competing priorities.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills and the ability to maintain confidentiality with employee, payroll, compensation, and benefits information.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience with Rippling Payroll and/or Rippling HRIS (highly preferred).
- Experience in a rapidly growing, multi-location organization.
- Experience supporting payroll audits and reconciliations.
- Experience with hourly populations and multiple compensation structures.
Rewards & Benefits (Benefits):
- Medical, dental, and vision kick in the first of the month after you're hired, including plan options with $0 deductibles.
- We offer both Anthem & Kaiser plan options!
- Employer-paid Life, AD&D, and Short-Term & Long-Term Disability Coverage
- 401(k) retirement plan with employer matching, supporting long-term financial security
- Paid Time off, including vacation and sick time, to support rest, recovery and work-life balance
- Monthly communication allowance
- Free, confidential counseling and wellness resources for you and your household through our Employee Assistance Program
- Our Nava Benefits App puts your plan info and live advocates in your pocket, 24/7
Schedule: on-site, full-time, Monday through Friday.
Pay: not mentioned, so omit.
Now we need to output HTML fragment with headings and - for lists,
for prose.
We should combine some sections.
Potential sections:
- About the role: use paragraph(s) from Position Summary.
- Responsibilities: combine The Day-to-Day, Multi-State Payroll Knowledge, Benefits & Retirement Plan Support, Leave & Employee Lifecycle Knowledge. Could be one big list but maybe separate subheadings? Not allowed; only headings from list. Could embed sublists within responsibilities? But we must use
- for any list of duties/requirements/benefits. Could have multiple
under same heading.
Simplify: Under Responsibilities heading, we can have multiple groups each preceded by a describing category? But instructions: Use
- for any list of duties/requirements/benefits, and
for prose. It doesn't forbid having prose before lists. So we can have a
intro then
for each category.
But we must not create extra headings not in list. So we keep only one Responsibilities heading.
Similarly Requirements heading for mandatory qualifications.
Qualifications heading for preferred qualifications.
Skills heading: maybe we could extract skills like Intermediate Microsoft Excel, HRIS, analytical, communication, etc. But those are already in Requirements. Could still create Skills section but might duplicate. Better to put those under Requirements or Skills. Since we have both Requirements and Qualifications sections, we can put the mandatory experience under Requirements, and the preferred under Qualifications. Skills could be things like Intermediate Microsoft Excel, HRIS, analytical, communication. But they are already in Requirements. To avoid duplication, we could put them under Skills and keep Requirements focused on experience years etc. However instructions: Preserve ALL substantive information; do NOT invent or summarize away detail. So we must keep all info somewhere. If we split, we must not lose any.
We could have:
- About the role (prose)
- Responsibilities (lists of duties)
- Requirements (experience years, knowledge, etc.)
- Skills (specific skills like Excel, HRIS, analytical, communication)
- Benefits (list)
- Schedule (prose)
Qualifications maybe we can treat as "Preferred Qualifications" under a heading Qualifications.
Thus we have sections: About the role, Responsibilities, Requirements, Skills, Benefits, Qualifications, Schedule.
Check if any section empty: we have content for each.
Now we need to ensure we don't include Pay.
Now craft HTML.
We'll need to escape any special characters? Not needed.
Let's draft.
About the role
We are seeking an experienced Payroll & Benefits Specialist to join our rapidly growing, multi-state organization. This on-site, full-time, Monday through Friday role reports to the Payroll & Benefits Manager and focuses primarily on payroll processing across multiple states, with an emphasis on state-specific wage-and-hour and tax requirements. Benefits responsibilities will initially be limited to backup support, but candidates should understand how benefit deductions, including pre-tax, post-tax, and retirement plan deductions, interact with payroll. This position is ideal for a self-starter who understands the mechanics behind payroll, not simply how to enter information into a system. The right person is comfortable with complex pay calculations, regular rate of pay, state-specific final pay rules, multi-state payroll taxes, and varying state requirements; takes ownership of researching discrepancies rather than passing them along; and knows when an issue should be escalated. They should also enjoy working on a collaborative team and adapt well as our processes, systems, and priorities evolve.
Responsibilities
Payroll processing and administration:
- Support end-to-end payroll processing for employees across multiple states.
- Review payroll data for accuracy, including regular hours, overtime, double time, bonuses, commissions, premiums, shift or class-based compensation, deductions, reimbursements, and other earnings, identifying potential errors or compliance concerns before payroll is finalized.
- Calculate regular rate of pay and apply it to overtime and other premium pay calculations.
- Review timekeeping records and work with managers to resolve missing punches, discrepancies, and payroll exceptions.
- Process payroll-related employee changes provided by Human Resources, including compensation changes, transfers, job changes, tax elections, and direct deposit updates.
- Set up and maintain state tax withholding for new
- for lists,
for prose. We should combine some sections. Potential sections: - About the role: use paragraph(s) from Position Summary. - Responsibilities: combine The Day-to-Day, Multi-State Payroll Knowledge, Benefits & Retirement Plan Support, Leave & Employee Lifecycle Knowledge. Could be one big list but maybe separate subheadings? Not allowed; only headings from list. Could embed sublists within responsibilities? But we must use
- for any list of duties/requirements/benefits. Could have multiple
- under same heading.
Simplify: Under Responsibilities heading, we can have multiple
- for any list of duties/requirements/benefits, and
for prose. It doesn't forbid having prose before lists. So we can have a
intro then
- for each category.
But we must not create extra headings not in list. So we keep only one Responsibilities heading.
Similarly Requirements heading for mandatory qualifications.
Qualifications heading for preferred qualifications.
Skills heading: maybe we could extract skills like Intermediate Microsoft Excel, HRIS, analytical, communication, etc. But those are already in Requirements. Could still create Skills section but might duplicate. Better to put those under Requirements or Skills. Since we have both Requirements and Qualifications sections, we can put the mandatory experience under Requirements, and the preferred under Qualifications. Skills could be things like Intermediate Microsoft Excel, HRIS, analytical, communication. But they are already in Requirements. To avoid duplication, we could put them under Skills and keep Requirements focused on experience years etc. However instructions: Preserve ALL substantive information; do NOT invent or summarize away detail. So we must keep all info somewhere. If we split, we must not lose any.
We could have:
- About the role (prose)
- Responsibilities (lists of duties)
- Requirements (experience years, knowledge, etc.)
- Skills (specific skills like Excel, HRIS, analytical, communication)
- Benefits (list)
- Schedule (prose)
Qualifications maybe we can treat as "Preferred Qualifications" under a heading Qualifications.
Thus we have sections: About the role, Responsibilities, Requirements, Skills, Benefits, Qualifications, Schedule.
Check if any section empty: we have content for each.
Now we need to ensure we don't include Pay.
Now craft HTML.
We'll need to escape any special characters? Not needed.
Let's draft.
- Support end-to-end payroll processing for employees across multiple states.
- Review payroll data for accuracy, including regular hours, overtime, double time, bonuses, commissions, premiums, shift or class-based compensation, deductions, reimbursements, and other earnings, identifying potential errors or compliance concerns before payroll is finalized.
- Calculate regular rate of pay and apply it to overtime and other premium pay calculations.
- Review timekeeping records and work with managers to resolve missing punches, discrepancies, and payroll exceptions.
- Process payroll-related employee changes provided by Human Resources, including compensation changes, transfers, job changes, tax elections, and direct deposit updates.
- Set up and maintain state tax withholding for new
About the role
We are seeking an experienced Payroll & Benefits Specialist to join our rapidly growing, multi-state organization. This on-site, full-time, Monday through Friday role reports to the Payroll & Benefits Manager and focuses primarily on payroll processing across multiple states, with an emphasis on state-specific wage-and-hour and tax requirements. Benefits responsibilities will initially be limited to backup support, but candidates should understand how benefit deductions, including pre-tax, post-tax, and retirement plan deductions, interact with payroll. This position is ideal for a self-starter who understands the mechanics behind payroll, not simply how to enter information into a system. The right person is comfortable with complex pay calculations, regular rate of pay, state-specific final pay rules, multi-state payroll taxes, and varying state requirements; takes ownership of researching discrepancies rather than passing them along; and knows when an issue should be escalated. They should also enjoy working on a collaborative team and adapt well as our processes, systems, and priorities evolve.
Responsibilities
Payroll processing and administration:
- groups each preceded by a
describing category? But instructions: Use
- for any list of duties/requirements/benefits, and
- for any list of duties/requirements/benefits. Could have multiple