Benefits & Leave Administrator

Benefits & Leave Administrator

Islandia, NY, USA

Requisition Number

16568

Location

Corporate Human Resources-00103

Job Description

About Whitsons

At Whitsons, we are passionate about creating a positive workplace experience where our team members feel supported, valued, and empowered to succeed. As a family-oriented organization and industry leader, we are committed to fostering a culture of service, collaboration, and professional growth.

Position Summary

Whitsons is seeking a detail-oriented and customer-focused HR Administrator – Leave of Absence & Benefits to join our Human Resources team. In this role, you will serve as a trusted resource for employees, helping them navigate benefits programs, leave of absence matters, and important HR processes with confidence and ease. You will play a key role in ensuring an exceptional employee experience by providing responsive support, maintaining accurate records, and ensuring compliance with applicable federal, state, and local regulations.

This position is responsible for the day-to-day administration of employee benefits and leave programs across the organization and serves as a primary point of contact for team members regarding benefits, leaves, and related HR transactions. Additionally, this role will provide direct support to the Benefits Manager, assisting with benefits administration initiatives, employee communications, reporting, and ongoing program management.

If you are passionate about helping employees, thrive in a fast-paced environment, and enjoy balancing compliance with exceptional customer service, we encourage you to apply and grow your career with Whitsons.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS, RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES

Leave of Absence Administration

• Administer all leave programs, including the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), state family leave, Paid Family Leave (PFL), short- and long-term disability, ADA-related leave, military leave, and other company-sponsored leave programs, ensuring timely, consistent , and compliant handling from the initial request through return to work or separation.

• Serve as the primary point of contact for employees and managers regarding leave requests, eligibility requirements, and return-to-work processes.

• Coordinate leave administration with third-party administrators, benefit carriers, payroll, managers, and employees.

• Track leave usage, maintain required documentation, and ensure timely communication throughout the leave lifecycle.

Benefits Administration

• Support the Manager, Benefits in the day-to-day administration of employee benefits programs including medical, dental, vision, life insurance, disability, flexible spending accounts, health savings accounts, retirement plans, and voluntary benefits.

• Support the annual open enrollment process, including communications planning, employee orientation sessions, election audits, and post-enrollment reconciliation; verify and reconcile monthly premium statements and billing for all group plans.

• Process benefit enrollments, qualifying life event changes, terminations, and annual open enrollment activities.

• Coordinate with benefit carriers, brokers, and vendors to resolve employee issues and ensure accurate plan administration.

• Provide backup support for the administration of the Company's Benefit technology platforms, assisting with system maintenance, data management, reporting, user support, and vendor coordination as needed.

• Support the administrative and financial aspects of Benefits and HR Operations, including processing invoices, reconciling benefit plan billing, and partnering with Payroll and vendors to resolve discrepancies and ensure accurate reporting.

• Maintain HRIS data integrity through timely uploads, data entry, audits, and system updates, ensuring employee records, benefits information, and organizational data remain accurate and current.

Compliance and HR Administration

• Ensure compliance with applicable employment laws and regulations related to benefits, leave administration, COBRA, ACA, HIPAA, ERISA, and other relevant requirements.

• Maintain confidential employee information and records in accordance with company policies and legal requirements.

• Assist with audits, reporting requirements, and annual compliance activities.

• Prepare routine reports, metrics, and analysis related to benefits and leave administration.

• Partner closely with Payroll, Human Resources Business Partners, Talent Acquisition, and external vendors to ensure seamless employee experience.

Special Projects and General Support:

• Provide support on a variety of HR operations and administrative matters as needed.

• Adapt to evolving organizational priorities by taking on special assignments and interim responsibilities as requested.

Medical, dental, vision, and 401K with company match

Paid time off

Pay Rate: $31.25–$33.65/hour (approximately $65,000-$70,000 annually)

Requirements

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS AND COMPETENCIES

Education:

• Associate’s degree in human resources, Business Administration, or a related field required; bachelor’s degree preferred.

Experience:

• Minimum of 2-3 years of Human Resources, Benefits Administration, or Leave of Absence Administration experience.

• Knowledge of federal and state employment laws related to benefits and leave administration.

• Experience administering FMLA, ADA, state leave programs, disability benefits, and employee benefit plans.

• Experience working with HRIS and payroll systems.

Skills and Competencies

• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and critical thinking skills with a customer service mindset

• Ability to influence, build trust, and collaborate across departments.

• Excellent organizational and project management skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.

• High attention to detail, professionalism, and discretion in handling sensitive information.

• Ability to handle sensitive and confidential information with discretion.

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office 365, including Excel, Word, and Outlook

WORK ENVIRONMENT AND OTHER DETAILS:

Expected Hours of Work:

This is a full-time non-exempt position. Days and hours of work are generally Monday – Friday 8:00 am – 5:00 pm.

Travel Requirements:

This position typically does not require travel.

Physical Demands of the Job:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the team member is frequently required to sit, stand, walk, talk, and hear; use hands and fingers to feel, handle, or operate objects, tools, or controls; and reach with hands and arms. The employee is occasionally required to lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision and the ability to adjust focus.

Work Environment:

The work is performed primarily in a company or home-office setting. The noise level in the company work environment is moderate. The duties listed above are intended only as illustrations of the various types of work and duties that may be performed. The omission of specific statements of duty does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, or a logical assignment to the position, and the Company reserves the right to add additional duties or modify existing duties.

The job description does not constitute an employment agreement between the Company and employee and is subject to change by the Company as the needs of the Company and requirements of the job change. Employee’s signature below constitutes an employee’s understanding of the requirements, essential functions, and duties of the position.

Work Schedule

Generally Monday through Friday, 8am-5pm

Supervisor

Christine Russo

Salary Target

$31.25–$33.65/hour