Payroll Specialist

We are looking for a Payroll Specialist to support accurate and timely payroll operations for a busy organization in Brighton, Michigan. This role is responsible for managing payroll details with precision, maintaining compliance with wage and tax requirements, and partnering with accounting, operations, and HR to resolve discrepancies. The ideal candidate brings strong payroll experience, excellent organizational skills, and the ability to handle confidential information with care while meeting recurring deadlines.

Responsibilities:

• Administer weekly payroll processing and any supplemental payroll runs, confirming time worked, pay calculations, overtime, leave balances, deductions, and other adjustments before final submission.
• Gather and validate paper and electronic time records from field and office teams, following up with supervisors and project leadership to resolve missing or inconsistent entries.
• Assign payroll hours and related labor expenses correctly across employees, jobs, departments, cost codes, and direct or indirect accounts to support accurate reporting.
• Maintain union-related payroll information, including wage classifications, negotiated rates, fringe amounts, and required remittance documentation, while ensuring alignment with payroll records.
• Prepare certified payroll and prevailing wage documentation for qualifying projects, including support for classification details and fringe benefit reporting.
• Update and safeguard employee payroll data such as tax elections, direct deposit details, garnishments, benefit deductions, and approved compensation changes.
• Reconcile payroll registers, labor allocations, benefit withholdings, and general ledger activity, researching and correcting exceptions in a timely manner.
• Support payroll tax coordination, quarter-end and year-end balancing, W-2 preparation, agency correspondence, and employee status changes in collaboration with HR, the Controller, and external payroll partners.
• Respond to employee payroll questions professionally, maintain confidentiality, and produce recurring payroll, overtime, labor cost, and audit support reports as needed.
• At least 2 years of experience in payroll processing, accounting support, or a closely related function.
• Prior exposure to construction payroll is strongly preferred.
• Ability to review detailed timekeeping records, identify discrepancies, and complete work accurately within weekly processing deadlines.
• Working knowledge of payroll regulations, tax withholdings, wage and hour practices, deductions, and confidential record handling.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel and payroll or accounting software; experience with Foundation Software is a plus.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to work effectively with both field personnel and office staff to resolve payroll issues.
• Experience supporting full-cycle payroll activities, including garnishments, employee record updates, and reporting for a workforce of varying size.