The Benefits & Leave Specialist role is responsible for directly impacting the LifeCenter Northwest employee experience and compliance through benefits and leaves programs. This position will partner closely with Payroll, People Resources (PR), organizational leaders, and third-party vendors to administer benefits and leave programs, provide employee education, and support employees with benefit utilization.
Requirements
- Partner closely with PR team to create, deliver and innovate process improvements, policies, procedures, and various initiatives.
- Develops, maintains, and continuously improves LifeCenter benefit and leave programs, including tools, templates, and leader resources to support consistent application and ease of use across the organization.
- Leads the end-to-end Open Enrollment process annually including building and/or modifying benefit plan set up in the HRIS, communications, meeting facilitation, etc.
- Monitors benefits plans and administration for compliance with applicable laws.
- Manages 403(b) program administration and employee education, including serving as a member of the 403(b) Internal Management Committee.
- Performs audits of payroll deductions and benefits data for accuracy.
- Partners with broker and internal teams to manage benefit plans and resolve issues.
- Monitors ACA reporting within HRIS and ensures ACA checklist completed for annual 1095 completion.
- Partners with the PR team for management of FMLA and State leave programs.
- Administers end-to-end leave processes, including eligibility determination, documentation, communication, and return to work coordination.
- Advises managers and employees on leave laws and interaction with PTO, disability, and workers' compensation.
- Oversees the return-to-work process for employees returning from extended leave.
- Facilitates other leave requests, which may include accommodation requests under the ADA.
- Administers other company time-off programs as assigned in accordance with internal policy and applicable laws.
- Oversees tracking and reporting of leave usage, monitoring for trends and flagging leaves that may have more organizational impact than others.
- Serves as subject matter expert and provides guidance on all aspects of multi-state and federal leave mandates as well as company leave policies and benefits.
- Drafts and/or recommends revisions to company leave policies to ensure compliance with federal, state, and local laws and regulations.
- Coordinates with Payroll to ensure use of paid time benefits and leave codes is reflective of the actual leave schedule and collaborate on the true-up and reconciliation process when the employee returns to work.
- Assists employees with Short Term Disability and Long-Term Disability questions and claims.
- Partners with PR team on Wellness Program administration, challenge and content creation, guest speakers, etc.
- Partners with PR team on leave and benefit needs for employees on Worker’s Compensation
- Maintains complete and accurate records of leave and accommodation requests in accordance with specified legal requirements and documentation of best practices.
- Provides PR leadership with reporting on leave usage, impacts to retention, staffing, or other considerations.
- Maintains confidentiality of medical documentation and records.
- Reviews and monitors benefits and leave programs for out of donation service area (DSA) requests and approved relocations out of DSA. Raises compliance concerns for review.
Benefits
- Medical, dental, vision, basic life insurance, accidental death & dismemberment insurance, long-term disability insurance, and travel accident insurance
- Option to enroll in supplemental or voluntary plans, including life insurance, short-term disability, accident insurance, hospital indemnity, critical illness coverage, and pet insurance
- 403(b) program with employer match of up to 7%
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
- Quarterly Wellness Reimbursement
- Paid holidays
- 119 hours of PTO annually (to start)
- Health Time Off hours
- Paid living donor leave
- Two weeks paid jury duty leave after 6 months of service
- Three weeks of paid parental leave after one year of service is complete
