Leave Specialist

The Leave Specialist serves as the company’s subject matter expert on federal, state, and local leave of absence programs, including FMLA and related accommodation processes. This role provides guidance to employees and leaders regarding leave eligibility, requirements, and responsibilities; administers leave programs in compliance with applicable laws and company policies; and partners closely with Benefits, Human Resources, and Legal to ensure consistent, compliant leave practices across the organization.

Key Responsibilities

• Serves as the subject matter expert for federal, state, and local leave laws, working in alignment with and under the general guidance of Human Resources and Legal.


• Communicates with and provides guidance to employees and managers regarding leave of absence requests, modified work schedules, and related processes.


• Ensures employees are informed of their rights, responsibilities, and required documentation to qualify for and maintain approved leave.


• Independently evaluates and approves or denies eligibility for FMLA, state specific leaves, other company approved leaves of absence, and related disability inquiries


• Administers, tracks, and maintains all leave of absence records and documentation, ensuring accuracy and compliance with company procedures and applicable laws.


• Drafts and recommends revisions to leave policies and procedures to ensure ongoing compliance with federal, state, and local regulations.


• Identifies process gaps and recommends operational improvements to enhance efficiency, consistency, and employee experience.


• Performs additional duties and projects as assigned.

Qualifications

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources or a related field preferred.


• Three or more years of experience in leave administration, human resources, benefits, or a related function.


• Demonstrated, in-depth knowledge of FMLA, ADA, and other applicable federal, state, and local leave laws.


• Experience working with HRIS systems and leave management systems.


• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, including Excel and Outlook.

Skills and Competencies:

To perform the job successfully, an individual should demonstrate the following competencies to perform the essential functions of this position:

• Problem solving—the individual identifies, resolves problems in a timely manner, gathers and analyzes information skillfully


• Critical thinking—the individual thinks open-mindedly, recognizing and assessing, as needs be, their assumptions, implications and practical consequences to each task given.


• Interpersonal Skills—the individual maintains confidentiality, is open to others’ ideas, exhibits willingness to try new things.


• Oral communication—the individual speaks clearly and persuasively in positive or negative situations, demonstrates group presentation skills and conducts meetings.


• Written Communication—the individual edits work for spelling and grammar, presents numerical data effectively and can read and interpret written information.


• Planning/organizing—the individual prioritizes and plans work activities, uses time efficiently, develops realistic action plans.


• Quality control—the individual demonstrates accuracy and thoroughness and monitors own work to ensure quality.


• Adaptability—the individual adapts to changes in the work environment, manages competing demands and can deal with frequent changes, delays, or unexpected events.


• Dependability—the individual is consistently at work and on time, follows instructions, responds to management direction and solicits feedback to improve performance.


• Safety and security—the individual actively promotes and personally observes safety and security procedures and uses equipment and materials properly.

Work Environment and Physical Demands

The physical demands and working conditions outlined below are representative of those an employee may encounter while performing the essential duties of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be provided to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these duties.

This role primarily involves working in a standard office environment. The employee will regularly:

• Sit for extended periods.


• Use hands and fingers to operate a computer keyboard, mouse, and other office tools.


• Reach with hands and arms in the context of computer use or file handling.


• Communicate verbally and aurally in meetings and phone conversations.

The employee may also:

• Frequently stand and walk throughout the office.


• Occasionally lift or move items weighing up to 50 pounds, such as office equipment, files, or supplies.

The typical noise level in the work environment is moderate—comparable to a standard business office with periodic conversations, phones ringing, and copier or printer use.