Payroll Specialist (Manhattan)

Position Summary

The Payroll Specialist will assist with all aspects of payroll production including, end-to-end payroll processing to ensure employees are paid accurately and on time. Core duties include reviewing timesheets, calculating wages and tax withholdings, managing deductions, and resolving pay. This position has no supervisory responsibilities.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Payroll Processing

• Assist with the preparation, administration, review, and verification of biweekly payroll.
• Review and verify employee timecards and submitted hours in the ADP time-tracking system prior to payroll processing.
• Ensure payroll information is accurate, complete, and submitted within established deadlines.
• Reconcile payroll totals and balance all payroll batches prior to transmittal.
• Collaborate with the Payroll team to review payroll previews and ensure successful payroll submission.
• Prepare tax breakdowns for manual checks, as needed.
• Coordinate stop payments, check reversals, and other payroll adjustments as necessary.

Employee Payroll Administration

• Set up and verify payroll information for new hires, including tax withholding profiles, direct deposit information, and salary details.
• Process employee changes, including banking information, address changes, tax withholding adjustments, salary changes, transfers, and terminations.
• Process final paychecks, including accrued PTO payouts and severance payments, in accordance with company policies and applicable requirements.
• Reconcile and monitor PTO accruals.
• Verify and monitor compliance with applicable NYC, New York State, and New Jersey protected sick-time requirements.
• Calculate vacation and other applicable employee payouts.
• Calculate and process retroactive pay adjustments.
• Prepare employment verification letters for appropriate review and approval.
• Maintain accurate and confidential employee payroll records.

Reporting

• Run ADP reports and other payroll-related reports as assigned, including quarterly inactive employee reports and other routine reporting.
• Assist with payroll reconciliations, audits, and reporting requirements as needed.

Employee Support and Other Duties

• Conduct the payroll portion of new-hire orientation, as needed.
• Respond to payroll inquiries in a courteous, professional, and timely manner, following the established three-part greeting standard.
• Handle miscellaneous employee payroll requests and provide appropriate assistance or escalation.
• Assist with special projects and process-improvement initiatives.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.
• Maintain strict confidentiality when handling employee payroll and personal information.
• Follow all applicable HIPAA compliance protocols and organizational policies at all times.

Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor’s degree preferred; equivalent relevant payroll experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.

Experience

• 2–5 years of hands-on payroll processing experience required.
• Experience with ADP Enterprise is preferred but not required.
• Experience processing biweekly payroll in a high-volume or multi-state environment is a plus.

Certifications

• Fundamental Payroll Certification (FPC) or Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) certification is strongly preferred.

Technical Skills

• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Excel and spreadsheet-based applications.
• High proficiency with enterprise payroll and HRIS systems.
• Strong mathematical and analytical skills.
• Ability to accurately perform payroll calculations, reconciliations, and adjustments.