Leaves Specialist

SUMMARY:

Reporting to the Manager, Labor and Employee Relations, the Leaves Specialist is responsible for the administration of the Leave of Absence (LOA) programs, policies and processes, Family Medical Leave (FMLA), worker’s compensation, and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requests for Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) employees. This position requires extensive interaction with employees of all levels, the payroll department and with internal HR partners. The Leaves Specialist oversees leave requests, maintaining leave balances, and providing guidance to employees and management on leave policies and programs.

Essential Functions

• Administers and manages leave programs, including Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and other state-specific leave laws.
• Determines employee eligibility for leave requests and manages leave balances.
• Ensures compliance with federal, state, and local laws regarding leave and accommodations.
• Provides HR consultation and education to all employees, regarding leave and disability policies, laws, and procedures, including Family Medical Leave (FMLA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), worker’s compensation, short—and long-term disability, and all other state/local/municipality laws. Consultations are confidential, sensitive, and can be complex in nature
• Facilitates the interactive process under the ADA between the employee and their supervisor to determine reasonable accommodations. This includes making decisions on reasonable accommodations that will also support business area-specific needs, and escalates issues as needed; Applies attention to detail and critical thinking in reviewing required medical documentation in order to determine eligibility and status of ADA accommodations and make independent decisions
• Processes transactions within PeopleSoft to place employees on leave and return from leave and works with appropriate stakeholders to deactivate and activate employee access while on leave
• Addresses worker’s compensation and ergonomic requests; Works as a liaison to the workers' compensation vendor
• Collaborates with employees, their managers, regarding any absences, leave status and return to work plans
• Develops and distributes communications throughout the leave and accommodation request process, abiding by required deadlines
• Partners with payroll team to validate compensation owed to employees related to leave type and time employed by the firm
• Reports on and analyzes data related to leave and accommodation requests; leverages data to make forward thinking recommendations for the management, administration and design of these programs
• Independently approves and/or denies leave cases based on relevant medical information.

Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources or a directly related field, and a minimum of three years of directly related experience administering leave of absence programs; an equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered.

Required Knowledge

• Federal and state legislation governing human resources activities including Workers’ Compensation, FMLA and ADA/504 laws and regulations.
• Research and investigative methods and practices.

Required Skills and Abilities

• Assuring compliance with regulations and collective bargaining agreements governing leaves of absence policies.
• Interacting with people of different social, economic, and ethnic backgrounds.
• Establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with co-workers, management, union representatives, employees and the general public.
• Working independently and demonstrating initiative.
• Working collaboratively and effectively in a team environment.
• Operating a personal computer utilizing standard and specialized software.

License and Certification Requirements

• Possession of a valid Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Driver's License is required.

Physical Demands of the Work Environment

Work is typically performed in a standard office environment, but will require limited travel to various sites throughout the City of Philadelphia.