Analyst Leave and Benefits

Position Summary

The Benefits & Leave of Absence Analyst acts as the subject matter expert and end-to-end owner of the organization's leave of absence program. This role is responsible for administering all short-term disability, long-term disability, paid family leave, personal leaves, and medical leaves while ensuring full compliance with FMLA, ADA, corporate policies, and federal, state, and local regulations.

Key Responsibilities

• End-to-End Leave Administration: Serve as the primary point of contact for employees, managers, and HR partners throughout the entire leave life cycle (intake, documentation, status updates, return-to-work, and accommodation).
• Regulatory Compliance: Maintain expert knowledge of FMLA, ADA/ADAAA, USERRA, worker's compensation, and state-specific leave laws (e.g., PFL/PFML programs). Ensure strict adherence to statutory timelines, notice requirements, and confidentiality guidelines (HIPAA).
• Interactive Process & ADA Accommodations: Facilitate the ADA interactive process for employees seeking workplace accommodations or leave extensions. Partner with HR Business Partners, Legal, and managers to assess requests, draft documentation, and determine reasonable accommodations.
• Vendor & Claims Management: Partner with third-party administrators (TPAs), disability carriers, and state agencies to process claims, track approvals/denials, and reconcile payroll integration for paid leave programs.
• Payroll & Benefits Coordination: Collaborate with Payroll to ensure accurate pay integration (STD, LTD, state benefits, PTO top-off) and coordinate benefit premium payments for employees on unpaid leave.
• Process Improvement & Reporting: Maintain leave data accuracy within the HRIS. Generate analytics on leave trends, duration, and return-to-work metrics to identify operational improvements and update policies.

Qualifications

• Experience: Minimum of 3–5 years of dedicated experience managing end-to-end leaves of absence and ADA interactive processes within an HR or Total Rewards team.
• Legal Knowledge: Deep functional expertise in FMLA, ADA, and multi-state statutory leave mandates.
• Systems: Proficiency with HRIS platforms (e.g., UKG, ADP, Workday) and integrated leave tracking systems.
• Skills: Excellent dispute-resolution and communication skills, with a high degree of empathy and discretion when handling sensitive employee issues.

Preferred Qualifications

• Certified Leave and Absence Management Specialist (CLMS) or Certified Disability Management Specialist (CDMS) credential.
• Experience managing multi-state leave programs in high-growth or distributed workforce environments.