Employee Relations Specialist

Employee Relations Specialist

Under minimal direction and exercising substantial independent discretion, the Employee Relations Specialist level I or level II (depending on experience), performs advanced professional level work in support of a wide variety of Human Resources activities within the Company with significant emphasis on employee and labor relations contract management and administration, grievance administration, performance management, discipline administration, employment law compliance, and worker health and safety.

Examples of Job Duties

• Administers or serves as Company HR subject matter expert for compliance with one or more of the following legal required programs: federal drug testing program, CDL/medical card management, Family and Medical Leave, ADA, and other related programs. Exercises case management responsibility in situations involving conflict or overlap between statutes, contract provisions, Company policies and procedures, such as responding to a return-to-work request of an individual covered by ADA, and Family Medical Leave: review documents and guides; researches; interviews employees, appropriate venders, resources, manager, and other relevant people; initiates and takes action to resolve the issue with the manager's assistance.
• Ensures compliance with labor laws, regulations and organizational policies.
• Interpret, explain, and apply terms of Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA); explain contract terms, past practices, and Human Resource related policies and procedures to employees and managers. Facilitate contract changes and exceptions to the contract with the Union when in the Company's best interests. Educate managers on fundamentals of progressive discipline, due process requirements, and complaint and grievance procedures. Advises and leads managers with employee or work unit reallocations or reorganizations which involve changes in bargaining unit work, job classification, staff realignment, or other similar issues which require union involvement or union notification in accordance with the CBA.
• Independently, or in partnership with the manager, conducts fact-finding investigations on the full range of employee performance issues, alleged misconduct, and complaints and grievances, regularly including issues involving the potential for discipline (e.g., suspension, demotion, etc.) or termination or issues that may involve filing with outside compliance agencies such as the State of Alaska Labor and Workforce Development, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Alaska Commission on Human Rights, or a court of law. Fact-finding requires identification and interviewing of potential witnesses, collection and analysis of relevant documents and material, identification of violations, education of managers on policy and the CBA; evaluation of findings and determination of appropriate outcome, preparation and delivery of investigative and disciplinary and/or dismissal reports and letters.
• Development and implementation of programs to enhance employee satisfaction, engagement and retention.
• Participate in identification of Human Resource related training needs and resources; develop focused, formal structured training materials, modules and courses on professional Human Resource topics; revise and update existing materials; deliver courses in-person or in a Microsoft Teams setting.
• Facilitate meetings with subject matter experts and decision-makers to gather information and solicit recommendations for new or revised policies and procedures; draft new or revised standard operating procedures with consideration of the needs of the Company and all others involved.
• Engage in a proactive and interactive process with the Union, employees and managers to resolve issues prior to grievances. Resolve conflicts when appropriate by obtaining Union concurrence, developing LOAs, MOUs, or grievance resolutions. Process grievances ensuring compliance with the CBA defined timelines and ensuring appropriate involvement of affected departments and managers. Lead grievance meetings, record information presented and write Step response to grievance filing based upon research and Company position. Educate managers on grievance facts, issues, strengths and weaknesses. Record facts presented at grievance meeting and draft Company response. Recommend resolutions that effectively resolve issues while protecting the business interests of the Company. When appropriate, represent the Company in grievance meetings and the preparation/testimony for arbitration or outside court filings.
• Administer contracts with outside vendors in areas of expertise as assigned, such as FMLA or drug testing. Negotiate vendor agreement scope of work, monitoring billing and costs, communicate and resolve any issues between the Company and the vender, monitor compliance of the vender to Company policies and outside regulations. Develop processes within areas of expertise.
• Other duties as required.

Competency Statement(s)

• Detail Oriented - Ability to pay attention to the minute details of a project or task.
• Initiative - Ability to make decisions or take actions to solve a problem or reach a goal.
• Judgment - The ability to formulate a sound decision using the available information.
• Autonomy - Ability to work independently with minimal supervision.
• Conflict Resolution - Ability to deal with others in an antagonistic situation.
• Leadership - Ability to influence others to perform their jobs effectively and to be responsible for making decisions.
• Decision Making - Ability to make critical decisions while following company procedures.
• Problem Solving - Ability to find a solution for or to deal proactively with work-related problems.
• Assertiveness - Ability to act in a self-confident manner to facilitate completion of a work assignment or to defend a position or idea.
• Negotiation Skills - Ability to reach outcomes that gain the support and acceptance of all parties.

Minimum Qualifications

Education Required

Bachelor's Degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a closely related field. Equivalent education, experience, and training may be substituted for the degree requirement on a year-for year basis.

Experience Required

Two (2) to four (4) years of progressively responsible professional level human resources experience in one or more of the following areas: application and interpretation of collective bargaining agreements, investigations, development or implementation of human resources policies and procedures, application of employment laws (e.g., ADA, EEO, FMLA, FLSA, OSHA, etc.), grievance processing or administration. Equivalent education and training may be substituted for experience on a year-to-year basis.

Computer Skills

Demonstrated proficiency working with the Microsoft Office Suite, to include Word, Excel, Access, Outlook and PowerPoint.

Preferred

Experience using Workday HCM

Additional Requirements

• Considerable knowledge of federal, state and local regulations/laws in all human resources and employment law related areas.
• Considerable knowledge of principles and practices of labor contract administration, grievance handling, labor law practices, state and federal statutes and regulations regarding employment matters such as FLSA, EEO, Human Rights, and ADA.
• Considerable knowledge of the process and procedures for collecting, analyzing, summarizing and relaying information, which is confidential, complex and sensitive.
• Skill in analyzing complex issues and situations, drawing logical conclusions and following through with viable solutions and courses of actions.
• Ability to maintain effective working relationships with a wide variety of individuals.
• Ability to lead group discussions and to deal firmly and tactfully with employees, managers, and others.
• Ability to work effectively under pressure.
• Ability to effectively communicate complex data and information to a variety of individuals.

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