Payroll Specialist

Job Description

Job Description

We are looking for a Payroll Specialist to join a transport organization in Cincinnati, Ohio in a contract-to-permanent capacity. This role supports accurate and timely payroll operations for a large employee population while helping resolve pay-related questions with care and consistency. The ideal candidate brings strong payroll processing experience, comfort working with union-related pay rules, and the ability to investigate discrepancies across timekeeping, deductions, and tax records.

Responsibilities:
• Examine timekeeping and attendance records, identify discrepancies, and escalate unresolved concerns to leadership when needed.
• Investigate payroll questions related to employee pay, time entries, system data, and exception items to support accurate compensation.
• Maintain payroll records by entering and updating tax withholdings, direct deposit details, wage garnishments, and child support deductions.
• Support hourly employees by explaining paycheck components, pay calculations, progression steps, and other compensation-related topics.
• Prepare, issue, and monitor manual payroll payments, and provide reporting to management on all off-cycle check activity.
• Reconcile under-collected employee deductions through arrears processing and verify that contractual vacation-related payments are issued correctly.
• Contribute to year-end payroll reporting accuracy, including W-2-related data and required retirement or benefits reporting.
• Administer sick pay activity by reviewing claims, calculating amounts due, maintaining eligibility records, and preparing bi-weekly accrual files for upload.
• Provide cross-functional coverage for other payroll team members and assist with initiatives that improve departmental service, compliance, and performance goals.
• Deliver responsive customer service while fostering a respectful, inclusive, and supportive workplace experience for employees and stakeholders.• 3+ years of payroll experience, including full-cycle payroll processing.
• Experience supporting multi-state payroll operations for large employee populations, ideally 500+ employees.
• Working knowledge of union payroll practices, labor agreement pay provisions, and related reporting requirements.
• Proficiency with payroll systems such as Paycor and strong ability to research and resolve payroll discrepancies.
• Familiarity with payroll taxes, direct deposits, garnishments, child support orders, and deduction administration.
• Ability to prepare accurate reports, manage confidential data, and maintain a high level of attention to detail.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to explain payroll matters clearly to employees and internal stakeholders.