Benefits Leave Specialist

At Fried Frank, we’re a community of 800 lawyers and 500 business services professionals across New York, Washington, DC, London, Frankfurt, and Brussels. We advise leading corporations, investment funds, and financial institutions on high-stakes M&A, securities, regulatory matters, real estate, and litigation. Our culture is grounded in our core values — excellence, integrity and collaboration — and is designed to foster continuous learning, meaningful mentorship, and lasting professional growth. We are firmly committed to pro bono service and social justice, building on a proud legacy in civil rights. Our inclusive talent strategy is a core part of our broader talent management efforts and we remain steadfast in fostering a workplace where everyone has the opportunity to grow, thrive, and become their best professional and personal selves. Our business services professionals are integral to the firm’s success, driving innovation, operational excellence and exceptional client service across all areas of the firm. We offer competitive compensation and a comprehensive benefits package, including comprehensive medical coverage, retirement plans and health and wellness initiatives designed to support your personal and professional wellbeing. We welcome passionate, driven individuals to join us, and be part of a team where you’ll be supported, inspired and empowered to build an exceptional career.

Overview:

The ideal candidate brings strong experience of federal and state leave laws ensuring compliance, maintaining employee well-being, and fostering a supportive work environment with the ability to provide exceptional service to employees.

Position Summary:

The Benefits Leave Specialist is part of the HR Operations team and report to the Manager of Benefits and Wellness. In this role, you will manage and oversee the firm’s leave of absence and accommodation processes from end-to-end, liaising with the firm’s leave carrier, and administer the workers’ compensation program.

You will deliver support to employees, partners, managers and HR teams with an employee-first mindset to ensure clear communication and smooth transition for individuals going out and, returning from leave.

You will also contribute and support the Benefits and HR operations team to implement and continually improve processes and programs to continue to make Fried Frank a great place to work.

Duties & Key Responsibilities:

Leave of Absence Administration

• Administer and manage all types of leave of absence requests (e.g., FMLA, ADA, parental leave, military leave, and short/long-term disability) in accordance with federal, state, and local laws, and firm’s policies.
• Serve as a subject matter expert on all leave of absence inquiries and provide guidance to employees, managers and HR on leave policies and procedures.
• Serve as the primary liaison for external stakeholders such as leave carrier, insurance and benefits providers, COBRA administrator as needed on all inquiries related to the leave of absence.
• Coordinate with HR, managers, payroll and HRIS to ensure seamless leave administration.
• Gather, review and process necessary information/documentation in a timely fashion for each leave requests.
• Liaise with the firm’s leave carrier to ensure appropriate tracking and compliance while maintaining leave records as appropriate, ensure confidentiality and compliance with legal requirements.
• Continuously assess and improve leave and claims-related processes to enhance efficiency, employee experience, and compliance, by proactively identifying process gaps and recommending solutions.
  
  
  

Accommodation Process:

• Develop a streamlined process to manage the accommodation process through technology as appropriate.
• Manage employees’ disability/leave-related accommodations requests including those under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other relevant laws.
• Document and track accommodation requests and decisions, ensuring compliance with legal and company policies.
• Collaborate with various stakeholders of the process and with employees, managers, and insurance providers to facilitate accommodation requests.
• Provide training and guidance to managers and employees on accommodation policies and procedures.
  
  
  

Workers’ Compensation

• Open claims with the insurance carrier by gathering details associated with the incident from the Facilities and HR Business Partners.
• Coordinate with the Facilities and HR for follow-up request from the insurance carrier (e.g., job description, employment information, demographics, etc.).
• Support injured employees and managers with guidance and timely updates.
• Conduct audits as needed and coordinate with insurance carriers for reporting (e.g., Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses/OSHA).
• Collaborate with Payroll/HRIS to provide payroll data to broker for Workers’ Compensation Renewal.
  
  
  

Policy Compliance:

• Ensure internal leave policies are current with federal, state, and local leave and accommodation laws and regulations with the appropriate enforcement processes in coordination with counsel.
• Conduct leave-related audits to ensure compliance with legal requirements and company policies.
  
  
  

Qualifications

Education: College degree preferred.

Experience:Minimum 5 years of benefits administration experience, with heavy focus on leave management, accommodation processes, and/or workers’ compensation.

Certification: CEBS Certification Preferred.

Skills & Abilities:

• Strong working knowledge of federal, state, and local leave and accommodation laws (FMLA, ADA, state-specific leave laws); knowledgeable in OSHA and Worker Compensation policies.
• Microsoft Excel skills are required.
• Excellent written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to adapt to diverse audience, including leadership, including having a client mindset providing.
• Demonstrated success driving process improvements and cross-functional collaboration.
• Proficiency in HR systems and leave management platforms preferred.
• Ability to handle sensitive and confidential information and situation
• Ability to work independently and be a team member.
• Better at time management and prioritizing tasks with top notch attention to details.
  
  
  

The actual salary offered will be based on a number of factors including but not limited to the qualifications of the applicant, years of relevant experience, level of education attained, certifications or other professional licenses held, and if applicable, the location in which the applicant lives and/or from which they will be performing the job.

New York Salary Range

$90,000 — $115,000 USD