Employee Relations Specialist – Leave & Compliance

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in United States.

📋 Description

• Act as the initial contact for employee relations issues.

• Perform preliminary evaluations and routine investigations, ensuring documentation is maintained, while collaborating with the Director of People Operations on intricate or high-risk situations.

• Provide guidance to managers regarding performance discussions, attendance, accommodations, and the application of policies.

• Oversee the complete administration of leaves of absence across all operational states, including FMLA, CFRA, PDL, and state-paid leave programs.

• Collaborate with payroll and benefits vendors for leave administration.

• Manage the interactive process for workplace accommodations.

• Take ownership of the multi-state compliance calendar, which includes postings, state registrations, new-hire reporting, wage and hour obligations, EEO-1, and California pay data reporting.

• Keep track of legislative and regulatory changes, translating them into updates to policies and processes.

• Ensure I-9 records and personnel file standards are audit-ready.

• Oversee the execution of onboarding and offboarding processes.

• Serve as a backup to the payroll administrator.

• Maintain the integrity and reporting of HRIS data, including metrics on headcount, turnover, and compliance.

• Operate, test, and maintain automated workflows within the HRIS and related tools.

• Assist in the creation of new workflows and pinpoint manual processes for automation.

• Manage the employee handbook and policy library, collaborating with the Director on updates and rollouts.

⛳️ Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field (or equivalent professional experience).

• Minimum of 4 years of progressive HR generalist experience, with direct responsibility for employee relations intake and leave administration.

• Demonstrated experience in multi-state HR, with a solid understanding of California employment law, including wage and hour regulations, protected leaves, and accommodation requirements.

• Experience in administering HRIS platforms and generating reports from them.

• Comfortable navigating configured workflows, rules, and integrations, with a capacity to quickly learn new systems.

• Proven track record of enhancing a manual or repetitive process through improved system utilization.

• Established ability to manage highly sensitive issues with discretion, sound judgment, and thorough documentation.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

• Capability to juggle overlapping deadlines in compliance, leave, and employee relations workstreams.

• Valid work authorization for the country of application.

• PHR, SHRM-CP, or equivalent HR certification (desirable).

• Experience in healthcare, medical-legal services, or another regulated multi-state environment (desirable).

• Familiarity with Rippling or workflow automation tools beyond basic HRIS capabilities (desirable).

🏝️ Benefits

• Remote work opportunities.

• Equal Opportunity Employer dedicated to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace.

• Accommodations available during the application or interview process.

• Exposure to benefits administration and support during open enrollment (desirable/role experience).