Payroll Specialist

Payroll Specialist

At Morris Furniture Company, our values represent our distinctive core beliefs-the Morris way of doing business. Our mission is "Making Homes Great" and we bring our mission to life through our values of: Professionalism, Quality, Ownership, Collaboration, Fun, and Integrity.

Purpose: The Payroll Specialist is responsible for managing and processing the organization's payroll functions, ensuring the accurate and timely processing of payroll for all employees, including wages, bonuses, deductions, and taxes. This role supports compliance with federal, state, and local payroll regulations, maintains payroll records, and collaborates with human resources, accounting, and other internal and external partners to resolve discrepancies and improve payroll processes.

General Description of Duties:

• Ensures payroll accuracy by auditing employee data, status changes, time/attendance, pay calculations, deductions, taxes, compliance, and final payroll outputs.
• Maintains payroll related general ledger entries; prepares month-end, quarterly, and year-end reports; and supports audit activities as needed.
• Processes employee status changes, including hires, terminations, and updates to compensation or job status, ensuring accuracy and compliance.
• Supports the accurate and timely preparation, calculation, and processing of all bonus & commission payments to ensure completeness and compliance.
• Administers the precise calculation, processing, and auditing of health insurance benefits, pension/retirement deductions, 401(k) company match programs, and profit-sharing distributions.
• Ensures that payroll-related transactions are processed in compliance with external and internal policies.
• Performs tasks to track and accurately calculate all pay details and earning codes.
• Oversee the secure storage of all paper I-9 documents and payroll files; conduct regular internal audits to maintain 100% regulatory compliance and minimize organizational risk.
• Oversee the accurate processing of payroll data modifications, updating employee profiles for contact changes, tax withholdings, and direct deposit details.
• Collaborates with Human Resources to accurately process employee wellness benefits deduction changes, Leave of Absence, and other payroll adjustments across each pay cycle.
• Reviews and processes payroll adjustments, including off-cycle payroll processing when needed.
• Fields and responds to payroll inquiries and resolves discrepancies in a professional and timely manner.
• Maintains up-to-date knowledge of federal, state, and local regulations - including but not limited to FLSA, IRS, and FICA guidelinesto ensure fully compliant payroll administration practices.
• Coordinates facility security administration by issuing employee building access via key fobs, alarm codes, and door codes; ensures the alarm company call list is kept up to date for each location.
• Assists with new hire onboarding, greeting new hires for orientation, and verifying I9 documents.
• Coordinates 401(k) life cycle events by processing plan enrollments, loan repayments, distribution requests, and plan status updates for terminated employees.
• Audits payroll and benefits data to maintain ACA compliance, tracking employee hours for healthcare eligibility and ensuring accurate year-end reporting.
• Prepares and distributes Payroll KPI reporting.
• Participates in special projects within the Payroll and Human Resources teams to drive continuous operational improvement.

Qualifications:

• Previous payroll processing experience required.
• Assist with multiple, ongoing, and high priority assignments at the same time.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and organizational abilities.
• High attention to detail and accuracy.
• Ability to handle sensitive and confidential information.

Requirements:

• Preferred Associate's Degree in Accounting, Finance, Human Resources, Organization Development, Business, or related field; or equivalent combination of experience and education.
• 2 - 4 years of experience in payroll or a related field.
• Knowledge of payroll laws and regulations (FLSA, tax compliance, wage and hour laws).
• Proficient in MS Office software.
• Preferred experience using an HRIS, or Payroll Management Systems/Software.

Work Requirements: 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 employee is regularly required to stand, sit, use hands to finger, talk, and hear. Specific visual abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, and the ability to adjust focus. Employee is occasionally required to lift, push, pull, and/or move up to 50 pounds.

This job description is not a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employees. The Company reserves the right to update or modify job descriptions at any time without notice.