Payroll & Benefits Specialist

About the role

Under supervision, Payroll & Benefits Specialist provides essential support to the department by performing a wide range of administrative, compliance, and operational functions. This role is responsible for processing payroll, benefits administration, administering onboarding and offboarding procedures, maintaining accurate employee records, supporting internal communications, and ensuring compliance with applicable federal and California state employment laws. The Payroll & Benefits Specialist exercises a high degree of confidentiality, accuracy, critical thinking, and organizational skills.

Responsibilities

• Leads the full-cycle payroll process.
• Processes bi-weekly payroll accurately and on schedule, including reviewing timekeeping data, resolving discrepancies, and obtaining required approvals.
• Audits payroll for accuracy; coordinates funding, tax filings, and general ledger coding with accounting; and maintains payroll records in compliance with applicable requirements.
• Ensures compliance with federal, state, and local payroll regulations.
• Serves as the first point of contact for employee HR inquiries, escalating complex issues to HR management.
• Supports human resources compliance activities including required reporting, employee development/training tracking, and audit preparation.
• Schedules candidates for orientation, serves as the primary onboarding point of contact, and coordinates the full onboarding workflow including IT provisioning and relevant departmental notifications.
• Distributes and processes new hire paperwork and required notices; sets up employees in HRIS with accurate compensation, benefits, and tax data; and ensures timely benefit plan enrollment.
• Administers employee leaves of absence, including FMLA, CFRA, PDL, ADA accommodations, USERRA, bereavement, and company-sponsored leaves, while serving as the primary point of contact for employees and managers. Issues required notices, maintains leave documentation and HRIS records, coordinates pay treatment with payroll, and responds to correspondence from state agencies and insurance carriers.
• Partners with managers on return-to-work planning, modified duty, and ADA/FEHA interactive process requirements, and updates practices to remain compliant with changing leave laws.
• Administers benefit programs in coordination with carriers, brokers, and third-party administrators, including enrollments, qualifying life event changes, terminations, COBRA notifications, and open enrollment activities.
• Serves as the primary employee resource for benefits questions, claims navigation, education, and communications, and partners with brokers and carriers on plan design and renewals.
• Maintains benefits compliance and accuracy through monthly audits, invoice reconciliation, ACA tracking, affordability calculations, and reporting support.
• Administers the full offboarding process for all separations, ensuring final paychecks are issued in compliance with all state labor code timing requirements. Generates and distributes separation documents, coordinates property return and system access deactivation, maintains separation records in HRIS, and conducts or coordinates exit interviews.
• Maintains complete personnel files in compliance with relevant regulations and manages retention schedules accordingly.
• Processes and audits all employee changes in HRIS and related systems, verifies proper authorization, and supports internal and external compliance audits with documentation preparation and follow-up.
• Produces and distributes the monthly HR newsletter and maintains current content on HR intranet pages, bulletin