Payroll Specialist

About ECC :

Elgin Community College serves over 9,000 students at every stage of their educational journeys, including university transfer programs, career and technical education, continuing education classes, and adult basic education.

As a community, we pride ourselves on nurturing a welcoming campus where every person-students, staff members, faculty members, and campus visitors-feels valued.

The work of each ECC employee is central to the college's mission, and as an employer, the college fosters a positive environment through professional challenges, excellent benefits, and opportunities for recognition and camaraderie.

Work Schedule :

Monday - Friday 8AM - 5PM

Rate of Pay :

This position is a grade 13 with a minimum of $47,571 and a midpoint of $63,428. Salary offer will be commensurate with the education / experience, in alignment with the College's compensation philosophy, and the current CBA, if applicable.

FLSA Status : Non-exempt

Non-exempt

Grant Funded : Job Summary :

Job Summary :

An employee in this classification performs work of moderate difficulty by assisting the Director of Payroll with the college's payroll operations.

Work is distinguished by the ability to be the primary Payroll contact for all internal and external customers and will provide training and troubleshooting assistance to users of the HR / Payroll / Time & Attendance systems.

Direction is received by the assigned manager

Required Knowledge, Skills & Abilities :

• Associates degree with a minimum of three years of payroll processing and related payroll operations experience, or equivalent combination of training and experience.
• Considerable knowledge of integrated software systems that are used for time & attendance and payroll processing.
• Working knowledge of the principles, best practices and regulations of Payroll operations.
• Working knowledge of and the ability to interpret and apply laws, policies, procedures, and collective bargaining provisions.
• Considerable analytical skills to conduct analysis, develop recommendations and problem solve.
• Considerable skill in the use of the Microsoft Office Suite, including but not limited to Word, Excel, Access, Powerpoint and Publisher.
• Considerable skill in organizing work to meet established deadlines while maintaining a high level of attention to detail.
• Considerable skill in interpersonal interaction to be applied to a variety of individuals with differing education, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds and to establish supportive, respectful and collaborative relationships while staying consistent with compensation policy and practice.
• Considerable skills in communicating clearly and effectively verbally and in writing with the ability to integrate information in the completion of assignments.
• Working skills to understand, interpret, apply, and explain payroll policies and procedures.
• Working skill in operating a personal computer, applicable software and peripheral equipment as well as learning and adapting to new and updated programs and technology.
• Must be available to work a flexible schedule, including evenings and weekends when required by the department's needs.

Desired Knowledge, Skills & Abilities :

1. Payroll processing and related payroll operations experience, within a union environment.

2. Working knowledge of Ellucian Colleague

3. Working knowledge of Workforce time and attendance software

4. Certified Payroll Professional

Essential Duties :

1. Provide superior customer service to approximately 1,600 employees, including those within four different bargaining units.

Serve as a resource to interpret and educate employees and managers regarding payroll-related provisions of applicable State and Federal laws, organizational policies and procedures, and collective bargaining agreements.

Service is also provided to external stakeholders, such as ECC's vendors / providers, auditors, former employees, and governmental agencies.

2. Assist users of the college's HR / Payroll / Time & Attendance systems with questions and troubleshoot issues (e.g., data modifications required to accommodate retroactive position changes) including analyzing problems, identifying root causes, testing workarounds, and determining or recommending corrective actions that need to be taken to ensure accuracy of data.

3. Assist Assignment Contracts (ACO) users to ensure proper linking of faculty contracts, run the bi-weekly batch import of faculty contracts into the HR / Payroll system, and process all necessary adjustments to stipend start dates, end dates, number of payments, funding source or general ledge numbers.

Balance contract amounts against wage payments to identify overpayments, communicate overpayments to employees, process withholdings from future wages to recoup overpayments, and maintain an up-to-date log indicating the status of each overpayment.

Determine what, if any, manual adjustments are necessary and process them in Colleague to ensure employees' annual wage / tax withholding records are accurate.

4. Run batch processes for the Payroll department such as weekly eTime data import, leave accruals, leave cut-offs / rollovers, and updates to other benefit / deduction cost records, such as salary deferral limits.

Research issues / errors encountered during the batch processes and determine or recommend any necessary corrective actions to be taken.

5. Responsible for developing and completing procedures required to accurately monitor, process, and report all special exceptions to the regular payroll procedures, such as paying a 3rd shift differential to full-time SSECCA employees, increased COMP accrual limits for SSECCA and MAP employees, retroactive FFCRA and HB1167 paid leave time awards, etc.

• 6. Review all HR / Payroll forms and operating procedures for accuracy and compliance with policies / procedures / laws / union contract provisions;
• interpret policies, laws and union contract provisions to interpret and accurately apply them to wage payments / withholdings;
• process payment forms, new hire information, tax withholdings, direct deposit transactions, wage deductions, and leave plans relevant to employees' positions;

and prepare accurate calculations for wage garnishments, child support withholdings, tax-deferred contribution elections, etc.

This requires expertise in the Federal and State laws of Wage Payments and Collections, New Hire Reporting, Child Support Enforcement, Fair Credit Reporting Act, Illinois Pension Code, etc.

7. Assist with the bi-weekly audit of payroll transactions to ensure compliance with policies, procedures, laws, and collective bargaining agreement provisions as well as accuracy of data.

May need to monitor and adjust payroll production timelines, as necessary, to accommodate high volume periods, college closures, and to meet regulatory deadlines.

8. Process and / or coordinate the work of a student worker or other staff person to complete all necessary changes to employees' payroll-related records upon notice of change in position classification, pay status, withholdings / deductions, leave plans, wage rates / payments and banking information.

Calculate necessary adjustments for retroactive wage / benefit deduction changes and determine correct way to process the adjustments (e.

g., via PPGS during the pay cycle or via EPAJ outside of the pay cycle).

9. Responsible for the development and posting of Payroll-related information to my.elgin.edu.

10. After each payroll, reconcile and submit all required wage and withholdings reports and the funds are remitted to the relevant agencies in a timely matter.

11. Respond to all requests for information or documentation from internal and external customers in a timely manner (e.g.

court-ordered wage garnishments, individual tax levies, IL Department of Employment Security earnings verifications, subpoenas, State Universities Retirement System earnings certifications, and FHA / HUD / VA mortgage verifications).

Work closely with the Finance office and external auditors to respond to requests for information and provide detailed data via standard or custom-designed reports, spreadsheets, and / or paper documents.

12. Assist with the preparation and distribution of quarterly and year-end payroll reporting to ensure accurate and timely tax filings, explain to employees the effect of tax and wage withholdings, process W-4 forms, assist with annual W-2 processing and reporting, maintain all payroll records in compliance with Federal and State statutes.

13. Maintains an understanding of the work of colleagues to effectively provide backup and / or support for co-workers during times when the division is short-staffed or experiencing an increased volume of work.

14. Maintains required training, licensure and / or certifications

15. Maintains confidentiality of privileged information and adheres to applicable privacy laws

16. Demonstrates sensitivity, understanding and respect of diverse populations within the workplace.

17. Maintains an understanding of the work of colleagues to effectively provide backup and / or support for co-workers during times when the division is short-staffed or experiencing an increased volume of work.

18. Adheres to department guidelines for attendance and punctuality

Other Duties :

1. Perform other duties as assigned which pertain to the job description.

2. Ability to work a flexible schedule which includes days / evenings / weekends as needed by the department

Physical Demands :

Sedentary Work : Exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally and / or negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects, including the human body.

Sedentary work involves sitting most of the time. Jobs are sedentary if walking and standing are required only occasionally and all other sedentary criteria are met.

Visual Acuity :

• Position requires close visual acuity to perform activities (i.e. preparing / analyzing data and figures; transcribing; viewing a computer monitor;
• extensive reading; visual inspection involving small defects, small parts, and / or operation of machines; using measurement devices;

and / or assembly or fabrication parts at distances close to the eyes).

Work Environment : Quiet conditions.

Quiet conditions.

Environmental Conditions :

Typical office or administrative conditions (i.e. not substantially exposed to adverse environmental conditions).

Current SSECCA Union Member Information :

The initial posting date for this position is 07 / 29 / 2024. Elgin Community College Support Staff Association (SSECCA) members that apply by 08 / 06 / 2024 and meet the posted minimum qualifications will receive full consideration.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement :

Elgin Community College does not discriminate, or tolerate discrimination, against any member of its community on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex / gender / gender identity, age, religion, disability, pregnancy, veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation, or any other status protected by applicable federal, state or local law in matters of admissions, employment, or in any aspect of the educational programs or activities it offers.

In addition, Elgin Community College provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities to ensure equal access and equal opportunities with regard to employment practices, educational opportunities, and programs and services.

If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the College's EEO / AA Officer.

Determinations on request for a reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.