Payroll Technician

Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

In addition to a competitive compensation structure, Palomar College also offers an extremely generous benefits package.

The estimated maximum value of this employer-paid benefits package is approximately $31,245.84 annually.

To be eligible for this position, you must meet and provide evidence of the following minimum qualifications:

Experience: Five years of payroll or accounting experience

Education: Equivalent to the completion of the twelfth grade

Transcripts must be included to receive credit for education and/or to substitute education in lieu of experience (i.e. Bachelor’s degree = 4 years of experience). Click here for Guidelines for Equivalency for Classified Positions.

Only coursework completed at, and degrees awarded by, accredited institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education will be considered as satisfying the minimum qualifications. Coursework and degrees that are completed outside of the United States are required to have transcripts evaluated (evaluation to U.S. equivalency and a course by course analysis) by an appropriate U.S. credentials evaluation service. For a list of credentials evaluation agencies accepted by Palomar College, visit the National Association of Credentials Evaluation Services (NACES) website at https://www.naces.org/index, or the Association of International Credential Evaluators, Inc. (AICE) website at http://aice-eval.org/.

Palomar College serves over 30,000 students from a variety of backgrounds and we are proud to be a Hispanic Serving Institution. Our student body is rich in its diversity. Click here to see a quick overview of our student demographics on our recent Student Fact Sheet.

Palomar College is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility and antiracism (DEIAA). We are dedicated to empowering students to succeed and are guided by our core values; some of which are the following:

All positions require cultural competency which includes the sensitivity to and understanding of the diverse academic, socioeconomic, cultural, disability, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, and ethnic backgrounds of community college students, faculty, and staff.

Essential Functions: Essential responsibilities and duties may include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Performs a variety of detailed and complex duties to prepare and process monthly payroll for full- and part-time employees in assigned employee groups, including full- and part-time faculty, classified staff, confidential and supervisory personnel, administrators, Governing Board members, certificated personnel, hourly employees and student employees; collects, reviews, verifies, audits, organizes and inputs all source documents; reviews information entered by Human Resource Services staff that affects payroll generation for accuracy and completeness and identifies, researches, analyzes and resolves discrepancies; reviews, reconciles and balances benefits data; ensures timely and accurate payment of employees in accordance with District and governmental policies and procedures; initiates and processes wire transfers for retirement system payments, federal and state taxes, child support payments and other purposes; prepares and posts payroll journal entries.

2. Executes a variety of detailed computations involving gross pay, retirement, deductions, taxes, retroactive pay and leave adjustments; enters corrections, adjustments, pro-ratings and overrides as required to ensure accurate pay and accruals.

3. Authorizes and oversees the processing and distribution of all payroll warrants including regular, special, replacement, cancelled and voided as well as direct deposit advances and the issuance of special checks; processes off-cycle checks when required; writes manual checks as required following established procedures.

4. Audits and reconciles timesheets and ensures timekeeping data has been entered accurately in the payroll system; identifies and works with appropriate departments and/or supervisors to resolve time reporting, funding and coding discrepancies.

5. Sets up new employees in the payroll system; makes changes to employee payroll files as necessary, including tax withholding, voluntary deductions, authorization for automatic payroll deposits and placement in appropriate retirement plans.

6. Serves as subject matter expert on payroll requirements, procedures and processes; interprets payroll policies and procedures, legal requirements, bargaining unit pay-related provisions and benefits plan provisions; provides accurate and timely information and assistance to internal and external customers including employees, county offices, other districts and the public; researches and handles daily inquiries from employees on a wide array of technical matters related to payroll; assists departments in analyzing and resolving payroll issues; refers active and retired employees to other appropriate resources as necessary.

7. Monitors mandated work limits for all employee groups; examines, monitors and updates faculty and staff eligibility for enrollment into various benefits programs including California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) and Accumulation Program for Part-time and Limited-service Employees (APPLE) retirement plans, Social Security and Medicare; assists with completion of appropriate documentation; prepares and submits employment and salary verifications; researches and responds to unemployment and subpoena information requests for all employees, ensuring compliance with privacy laws and regulations.

8. Ensures the District meets legal requirements in regard to payroll taxes and garnishments and provides all necessary information and payments to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), state tax authorities and other regulatory bodies; enters federal and state withholdings and voluntary deductions; performs manual tax calculations as necessary using federal and state annual tax tables.

9. Determines and implements additional full-time faculty compensation such as department chair stipends; processes voluntary deductions, garnishments, vendor payments and union dues; creates, audits and edits retirement reports; requests payments for CalSTRS contributions; forwards appropriate retirement and contribution information to the San Diego County Office of Education.

10. Monitors load banking leave maximum accruals, retention and liquidation limits; coordinates with Human Resource Services and the Instruction Office to clarify or establish new procedures; prepares Load Bank Report at end of fiscal year; monitors leave balances for classified staff, administrators and temporary staff.

11. Prepares and processes a variety of District, county, state, and federal payroll-related forms and reports; processes various documents including tax withholdings, deductions and authorizations for direct deposit; compiles statistical and payroll data from a variety of sources to provide informational summaries to other employees and compliance with established guidelines; maintains accurate records and system data relative to assigned area of responsibility.

12. Works closely the Business Systems Analyst in Payroll to research and find solutions for problems in processing payrolls; requests applications fixes and enhancements to achieve the optimal operations of the payroll system; assists in the development of new payroll procedures.

13. Maintains and distributes payroll calendars and deadlines; distributes general information relevant to Payroll as appropriate.

14. Assists internal and external auditors by providing supporting documentation and other information required for audit.

1. Trains and provides work direction to student employees.

2. Attends various meetings, workshops and in-service trainings and participates on committees as required.

3. Maintains various financial records and files.

4. May assist in other Fiscal Services areas as needed.

5. Performs related duties and responsibilities as required.

1. Advanced methods, practices, documents and terminology used in payroll processing and recordkeeping.

2. Laws, regulations and memoranda of understanding (MOU) provisions applicable to timekeeping, payroll preparation and pay reporting.

3. Paraprofessional accounting methods and practices and associated internal control policies and procedures.

4. Business mathematics.

5. Use and operation of applicable modules of an enterprise system.

6. Federal Privacy Act regulations regarding the release of private employee and student information.

7. Federal and state laws, codes and regulations and policies and practices pertinent to assigned areas of responsibility.

8. Customer service practices and etiquette.

9. Principles and practices of sound business communication.

10. English usage, spelling, grammar and punctuation.

11. Recordkeeping and filing practices and procedures.

12. Modern office practices, procedures and equipment including appropriate software applications.

1. Carrying out work independently, ensuring a high degree of accuracy and the timely payment of wages to employees in accordance with various deadlines and changing priorities, while ensuring excellence in customer service.

2. Collecting, obtaining, evaluating and interpreting technical and specialized payroll information correctly and explaining information accurately and precisely to customers.

3. Understanding, interpreting, applying and reaching sound decisions in accordance with applicable law, rules, regulations and procedures.

4. Determining employee eligibility for retirement and benefit plans.

5. Exercising sound independent judgment within areas of responsibility.

6. Organizing and maintaining office and specialized files.

7. Communicating clearly and effectively, orally and in writing.

8. Understanding and following written and oral instructions.

9. Preparing clear, concise and accurate reports, correspondence and other written materials.

10. Exercising tact and diplomacy in dealing with sensitive, complex and confidential personnel issues and employee situations.

11. Maintaining confidentiality of documents and records.

12. Maintaining sensitivity to and understanding of the diverse academic, socioeconomic, age, cultural, physical or mental disability, medical condition, gender, gender expression, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, nationality, race and ethnic backgrounds of community college students, faculty, and staff.

13. Establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with others encountered in the course of work.

Environmental Conditions: The employee works under typical office conditions, and the noise level is usually quiet to moderate; interacts with students, faculty, administrators, staff and the public, occasionally with dissatisfied or abusive individuals.

Physical Conditions: Essential and marginal functions may require physical fitness requirements necessary to perform the job functions with or without accommodation, such as the ability to walk, stand or sit for prolonged periods; extensive use of a computer keyboard; and possess near visual acuity for recognizing numerical figures.