Payroll Technician
Campus: College of San Mateo
FLSA Status: Non-Exempt
Salary Schedule: 60
Grade: 26
Bargaining Unit: CSEA
Months Per Year: 12
Hours Per Week: 37.5
Mandated Reporter: Yes
Campus Security Authority: No
A Payroll Technician performs complex and detailed accounting clerical work related to auditing, processing, and maintaining manual and online employee payroll and related employment records for certificated staff. The Payroll Technician exercises independent judgment while initiating and coordinating office procedures and strict timelines for the monthly payroll. Under direction, the Payroll Technician audits employment and payroll documents and records for accuracy and timeliness; compares manual to online employee records; enters, modifies, and retrieves data, such as employee financial, demographic, and compensation information and pay history; and initiates source documents for pay changes as required. Public contact is extensive and involves college and district staff, faculty, regulatory agencies, and governmental agencies for the purpose of exchanging policy and procedural information. A moderate degree of independent judgment and creativity is required to apply well-prescribed procedures for auditing and comparison of data and data entry, as well as to resolve frequent minor problems that may occur. Consequences of errors in judgment can be costly in employee time and money. The Payroll Technician is commonly distinguished from the Senior Payroll Technician classification by on-site, first-contact liaisons with temporary and regular academic employees and by the setup of initial accounting clerical documentation that is required for processing adjunct faculty compensation. Payroll Technicians may lead the work of student assistants as assigned.
Duties and Responsibilities
The duties below are representative of the duties of the classification and are not intended to cover all of the duties performed by the incumbent(s) of any particular position. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the scope of work is similar, related, or a logical assignment to this classification.
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Exchanges information with college staff and others regarding certificated payroll and employment matters, as well as to provide and/or interpret operating policies and procedures
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Runs automated processes and calculations and performs data entry to receive, review, adjust, and record data from various sources related to processing campus payrolls for adjunct faculty
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Completes new employee online records to include, but not be limited to, taxes, benefits and deductions, retirement, TB testing and fingerprinting, and direct deposit information; processes and maintains current employee tax and benefit/deduction changes as needed
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Collects, reviews, and verifies accuracy of source documents, including pay rates, salary computations, employee status, benefit/deductions, processing and account codes, hours and dates, and employee eligibility
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Works directly with the District Payroll Office to report matters such as wage garnishments, dues, benefit contributions, paycheck cancellations, and other payroll adjustments
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Distributes pay warrants and processes direct deposit requests
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Sets up and maintains employee payroll records and related online and manual files in accordance with the record retention and disposal requirements established by District policies and procedures and federal and state regulations
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Provides information to federal, state, and private auditors as requested and required
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Compiles payroll and related source documents for a variety of special and regular reports
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Operates a variety of office equipment, including computers, calculators, copies, telephones
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Uses a database to enter, modify, research, retrieve, and format data for payroll processing, financial, statistical, and other documentation and reports
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Uses a variety of computer software to compose and prepare a variety of correspondence, spreadsheets, memoranda, and reports as assigned
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Researches and keeps informed of present and pending labor laws, California Education Code, District policies and procedures and federal and state regulations governing payroll
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Computes and posts leave usage and accrual from various sources for permanent records
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Assists in developing, maintaining, and adhering to schedules and deadlines for processing payrolls, direct deposits, pay warrant disbursements, and various reports
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Serves on a variety of District committees as requests; attends meetings, workshops and trainings as requested
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Performs other related duties as assigned
Employment Standards (acquired through education, training, and/or experience)
Knowledge of:
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General accounting clerical principles and procedures, preferably as used in public agencies
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General principles of fund accounting
Skill in:
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Working accurately with financial and statistical data
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Comparing data and applying prescribed policies and procedures to accurately audit and code a variety of documents
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Respectful, tactful and sensitive interactions with people who are diverse in their academic, socioeconomic, ethnic, neurodivergent, and LGBTQIA+ backgrounds
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entering, modifying and retrieving data using a computer
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written and oral communication, including public speaking
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using spreadsheet, word processing and other computer software to compose and prepare tracking tools, reports, correspondence and memoranda
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working effectively as part of a customer service team
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organizing data, setting up, tracking and maintaining data in electronic and manual files
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working accurately under deadline pressure
Ability to:
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Coordinate, anticipate, and resolve workload issues and problems
Job Requirements:
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Associate's degree in business administration, accounting, or a closely related field OR an equivalent combination of education and experience
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Successful large and complex payroll or related accounting clerical experience using an information management or an automated payroll system
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Demonstrated cultural competence, sensitivity to and understanding of the diverse academic, socioeconomic, ethnic, neurodivergent, and LGBTQIA+ backgrounds of community college students, faculty and staff
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Experience with the organization and maintenance of electronic and manual files and records
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Experience with computer data entry, modification, and retrieval
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Demonstrated skill in using spreadsheet and other computer software to compile data and prepare reports, correspondence and memoranda
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Demonstrated skill in multi-tasking, prioritizing workloads, and working independently
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Demonstrated skill in working as part of a customer service team
Additional Information:
Physical/Other Requirements
This classification requires sensitive oral and written communication; attention to detail; visual acuity; data comparison; flexibility and adaptability; manual dexterity; tact and discretion; multi-tasking; working under deadline pressure; and patience in order to perform the essential functions.
Benefits: Benefits include paid holidays, vacation and sick leave. The District pays all or a portion of monthly medical plan premiums (depending on the coverage) and pays all of the monthly dental and vision plan premiums for employees and eligible dependents. Additional paid benefits include life insurance, salary continuance insurance, and an Employee Assistance Program. Classified employees participate in the Public Employees' Retirement System, a defined-benefit retirement plan through the State of California. Optional tax-deferred 403(b) and 457 retirement plans are also available.
