Payroll & Benefits Administrator

Essential Functions/Duties/Responsibilities: • Own pre-payroll verification each cycle, confirming new hires, terminations, pay rates, titles, and status changes against approved source documents before payroll is processed. • Maintain the communication protocol between Human Resources, leaders, and payroll, including published cutoff dates for payroll changes and follow-up on incomplete or late submissions before processing deadlines. • Enter approved personnel action forms (PAFs) in UKG once routing and approval are complete. This role does not route or approve personnel actions, preserving separation between approval and system entry. • Process regular and special payrolls accurately and on schedule, including earnings, deductions, taxes, benefit premiums, retirement contributions, commissions, garnishments, reimbursements, and other authorized adjustments. • Review timecards, paid time off, shift differentials, overtime, bonuses, commissions, retroactive changes, and other payroll inputs for completeness, accuracy, appropriate authorization, and compliance with established deadlines. • Work with leaders and team members to resolve missing punches, timekeeping discrepancies, pay questions, and payroll corrections promptly and professionally. • Maintain accurate payroll and benefit records for new hires, status changes, compensation changes, transfers, leaves of absence, and terminations. • Calculate and process paid time off payouts at separation and under applicable policy provisions, verifying balances and approvals before payment. • Complete payroll balancing, validation, and post-payroll review; prepare payroll funding requirements for Finance approval; research and correct variances and document adjustments. • Prepare payroll reports, deduction reports, labor and benefit cost information, and other recurring or ad hoc reports for Human Resources, Finance, leadership, auditors, and authorized external parties. • Prepare reconciliations of payroll liabilities, benefit deductions, retirement contributions, payroll taxes, and other payroll-related accounts for Controller review and to support accurate general ledger reporting. • Coordinate required payroll tax filings, wage statements, unemployment responses, garnishments, levies, child support orders, and other payroll-related notices with the appropriate providers and agencies. • Administer benefit enrollments, changes, and terminations for medical, dental, vision, life, disability, flexible spending, retirement, and other benefit programs. • Process and verify new-hire elections, qualifying life event changes, dependent changes, evidence-of-insurability requirements, beneficiary information, and benefit terminations within required timeframes. • Serve as a primary point of contact for team member questions regarding pay, deductions, benefit eligibility, enrollment, coverage, claims-navigation resources, retirement contributions, and benefit procedures, responding within established service timeframes. • Coordinate annual open enrollment activities, including system setup and testing, team member communications, meetings, election review, carrier submissions, and post-enrollment audits. • Prepare reconciliations of carrier invoices, payroll deductions, eligibility files, and vendor records for Finance review; investigate discrepancies and coordinate corrections with carriers, vendors, Finance, and affected team members. • Support retirement plan administration, including enrollment, contribution changes, loan and distribution coordination, contribution reconciliation, required notices, and audit support. • Administer leaves of absence, including payroll and benefit impacts, premium collection, paid time off, disability benefits, and return-to-work or termination changes, coordinating with the appropriate Human Resources team members. • Provide accurate payroll and benefit data to support required benefit and payroll compliance activities and reporting, including Affordable Care Act reporting, COBRA administration, retirement plan testing and filings, workers compensation payroll information, audits, and required notices. • Maintain payroll and benefits calendars, process documentation, checklists, files, and standard operating procedures to support timely and consistent administration and appropriate internal controls. • Maintain a documented audit trail for payroll and benefit changes, including source documents, approvals, and adjustments, so each transaction can be traced and verified. • Monitor direct deposit and banking changes, confirming each change directly with the team member through an established verification process before payroll is processed. • Conduct periodic audits of UKG payroll data, including pay rates, earning and deduction codes, and tax settings, and coordinate corrections with HR Operations. • Protect the confidentiality and security of payroll, compensation, medical, benefit, banking, tax, and personally identifiable information and provide information only to authorized individuals. • Maintain a payroll exception log and complete a monthly payroll error trend review; identify root causes of recurring errors, process gaps, or service issues and recommend practical improvements to payroll, timekeeping, benefit administration, communications, and team member service. • Stay current on applicable federal and state wage and hour, payroll tax, benefits, privacy, and recordkeeping requirements and assist with maintaining organizational compliance. • Perform other duties as assigned.