Payroll Specialist

Payroll Specialist

The Payroll Specialist is responsible for accurately processing a weekly payroll for employees, ensuring compliance with federal, state, and local regulations. This role involves analyzing payroll data, preparing reports, and addressing payroll-related issues. The ideal candidate has strong analytical skills, attention to detail, and experience with payroll software.

Join a 100% employee-owned company where reliability, accountability, and teamwork matter as much as payroll expertise. We're looking for a payroll professional who enjoys a structured, deadline-driven environment, takes ownership of their work, communicates proactively, and values being part of a collaborative HR team. Success requires exceptional reliability, sound judgment, proactive communication, personal accountability, and a commitment to supporting both payroll operations and the broader HR team. If you're someone who takes pride in getting payroll right every week and enjoys supporting teammates beyond payroll, we'd love to hear from you.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: The Payroll Specialist will be responsible for the following, as well as the handling of other key HR functions and tasks as needed/assigned:

Payroll Processing:

• Prepare and process weekly multi-state/multiple entity payroll for 700+ employees, including salaried, hourly, and Union Workers. Ensures compliance with company policies, union agreements, and federal/state regulations.
• Enter and maintain information in HR/Payroll system. May include employee terminations, commissions, bonus payments, Union deductions, time adjustments, etc.
• Ensure accurate calculation of wages, overtime, deductions, and benefits.
• Enter and monitor wage assignments and garnishments to ensure accurate processing and payment by payroll services provider.
• Review timesheets, wage computation, and other information to detect and reconcile payroll discrepancies.
• Issue or reissue physical replacement checks due to payroll errors or terminations.
• Maintain Payroll and HR system tables including deduction calculations and Update payroll calendars
• Research and analyze payroll processes and suggest restructuring for efficiency and improving workflow. Resolve any process defects and weaknesses. Fine tune procedures to help maintain proper internal controls and increase payroll accuracy and efficiency.
• Interface with payroll processing provider to resolve database and payroll processing issues.
• Assist with year-end tasks, including annual payroll balancing reports and W-2 processing tables.

Key HR Functions:

• Although the core function of this position will be payroll processing, this employee will be involved in multiple other key HR tasks.

Union Reporting:

• Prepare and submit monthly union reports, including contributions for health, pension, and other benefits as stipulated in union agreements. Balance to payroll reports and issues payments to appropriate entities.
• Ensure accurate tracking of union dues and remittances to the appropriate union organizations.
• Lead periodic required Union audits.
• Maintain appropriate job titles, salary grades, and deduction calculations in software system to ensure compliance with Union Collective Bargaining Agreements.
• Serve as point of contact for union representatives and respond to inquiries regarding reporting and payments.

Compliance and Reporting:

• Maintain compliance with federal, state, and local payroll laws and regulations.
• Review payroll service tax documents, such as quarterly and annual reports for accuracy and timely filing.

Data Management:

• Monitor system to ensure accurate payroll records, including employee information, tax exemptions, and direct deposit details.
• Monitor new employee onboarding in HR system, including I9 processing and verification, and enter additional information that is not included in employee self-service onboarding into employee HR/Payroll records.
• Maintain HR and Payroll systems tables, including deduction tables for appropriate calculation rates.
• Maintain software to ensure accuracy of paid time off accruals per non-Union and Union paid time off programs.
• Generate regular payroll and union-specific reports for internal stakeholders, including finance and senior management. Reconciles payroll-related general ledger issues.

Audit and Analysis:

• Conduct regular audits to ensure Data Base integrity and accuracy; identify discrepancies; research cause and offer solutions for resolving inaccuracies.
• Analyze payroll data to provide insights and recommendations to management.
• Prepare ad-hoc HR and payroll reports and analyze as needed.

Employee Support:

• Address and resolve payroll-related inquiries and issues from employees.
• Instruct employees and managers on payroll policies and procedures.

QUALIFICATIONS:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE:

To be successful in this role, the ideal candidate will demonstrate hands-on payroll processing experience, sound judgment, strong attention to detail, and the ability to consistently meet critical deadlines while maintaining strict confidentiality.

Required Qualifications:

• Demonstrated hands-on experience processing multi-employee payroll from payroll preparation through final payroll completion, including payroll balancing, payroll adjustments, payroll reconciliation, and responding to employee payroll inquiries.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple concurrent priorities while consistently meeting critical payroll deadlines in a structured, deadline-driven environment.
• Demonstrated ability to exercise sound judgment and maintain the highest level of confidentiality when working with payroll, compensation, benefits, and employee information.
• Experience processing multi-state payroll required; experience processing union payroll is strongly preferred.
• Working knowledge of payroll laws and regulations, including wage and hour requirements, payroll taxes, garnishments, and payroll reporting.
• Experience using an integrated HRIS/payroll system. UKG experience is preferred.
• Strong proficiency with Microsoft Office, including intermediate Excel skills.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills with exceptional attention to detail.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to work collaboratively in a small HR team environment.
• Demonstrated reliability, personal accountability, and commitment to meeting deadlines.
• Ability to learn additional HR operational responsibilities and contribute to the overall success of the HR department.
• Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) certification is a plus but not required
• Ability to pass background check and drug screen.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals. Ability to write routine reports and correspondence, as well as the ability to speak effectively before groups of customers or employees of the organization is needed.

MATHEMATICAL SKILLS: This position requires the ability to calculate figures and amounts such as discounts, interest, proportions, percentages, area, circumference, and volume.

COMPUTER SKILLS: Excellent computer skills including Microsoft Office. Experience in payroll software; UKG payroll a plus.

REASONING ABILITY : Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in oral or written form. Ability to use sound judgment and problem-solving skills.

ATTENDANCE DEMANDS: The attendance demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Attendance is required Monday through Friday within normal business hours as established by Management. This position requires consistent attendance and punctuality with appropriate coverage when away. Once fully trained, this position has the potential to work according to a hybrid schedule. The hybrid work schedule will be based upon department needs, quality of work performed, as well as the demands of the unique workload at any given point of the year.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS: 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 accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; walk and stand; use hands, handle, or feel; and required to speak, read, and hear English. The employee frequently is required to reach with hands and arms. The employee is occasionally required to climb or balance; and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include ability to adjust focus.

WORK ENVIRONMENT: The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.