Payroll Specialist

JOB SUMMARY: The Payroll Specialist is responsible for accurate, timely, and compliant payroll processing across multiple business units, legal entities, payroll schedules, and systems. The position performs detailed payroll audits and reconciliations; processes employee changes, deductions, taxes, union requirements, garnishments, and payroll adjustments; and investigates payroll discrepancies through resolution. The Payroll Specialist partners with HR, Benefits, Finance, business-unit contacts, employees, vendors, and regulatory agencies to ensure payroll information is complete, properly authorized, and processed in accordance with established deadlines and controls. The role also supports payroll centralization, system implementations, acquisitions, process documentation, cross-training, and continuous improvement initiatives while maintaining the highest level of confidentiality and data integrity. ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES: Process payroll accurately and on time across multiple divisions and payroll schedules. Performs detailed pre- and post payroll audits, including validation of hours, earnings, deductions, taxes, and net pay. Identify payroll exceptions, investigate root causes, document findings, and coordinate timely corrections with HR, Benefits, Finance, managers, and business-unit contacts. Support payroll tax administration across multiple federal, state, and local jurisdictions, including tax deposits, reconciliations, agency notices, registration or account setup, and year-end reporting. Support union payroll administration, including wage and fringe rate updates, reciprocity requirements, union deductions, benefit remittances, audit support, and collective bargaining agreement requirements (Union reporting). Prepare certified payroll reports as needed. Process garnishments according to legal requirements. Manage payroll changes including new hires, terminations, and pay rate changes. Prepare and validate payroll registers for management review. Develop, maintain, and follow payroll SOPs, processing checklists, reconciliation tools, calendars, responsibility matrices, and supporting documentation. Participate in payroll centralization, acquisition integration, system implementation, testing, parallel payrolls, and payroll-frequency conversion activities. Maintain confidentiality of sensitive payroll information. MINIMUM AND/OR PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS: EDUCATION: Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Business Administration, Human Resources, or related experience. EXPERIENCE: 2+ years of progressively responsible payroll processing experience . Experience processing payroll for multiple legal entities, business units, states, and pay frequencies. Experiences performing payroll audits, reconciliations, balancing and payroll register validation. Experience with union payroll, prevailing wages, certified payrolls, and union benefit reporting strongly preferred. Experience supporting payroll taxes, garnishments, retirement deductions, benefits deductions, and year-end processing. Experience with payroll system conversions, acquisitions, implementations, parallel testing, or payroll centralization preferred. Experience with UKG preferred. CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS : NONE SKILL REQUIREMENTS: HRIS/payroll systems knowledge. Strong payroll audit, reconciliation, and variance-analysis skills. Strong Excel skills, including lookup functions, pivot tables, data validation, reconciliation formulas, and analysis of large datasets. Experience in a multi-union environment. Working knowledge of federal, state, and local wage-and-hour and payroll-tax requirements. Strong attention to detail and accuracy. Ability to manage competing payroll deadlines and transition between routine processing, urgent corrections, audits, implementations, and special projects. . Ability to interpret collective bargaining agreements, wage sheets, prevailing-wage requirements, and payroll-related legal orders. Analytical and problem-solving skills. Strong communication and multitasking abilities. PHYSICAL DEMANDS 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. This position is a largely sedentary role; however, some filing is required. This would require the ability to lift files, open filing cabinets and bend or stand, as necessary. WORK ENVIRONMENT: This job operates in both an office and a field environment. Must be able to sit and/or stand for extended periods of time. REASONABLE ACCOMODATION: Reasonable accommodation will be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential job functions unless doing so presents an undue hardship on the Company’s business operations. OTHER DUTIES: Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice. Employees understand the above job description and agree to comply with and be subject to its conditions. Employee further agrees this job description does not alter his/her at-will employment status. Employees understand the Company reserves the right to delegate, remove, expand or change all responsibilities. Employees acknowledge that he/she can fulfill the above duties with or without reasonable accommodation.