Advisor, Leave Administration - United States

At CN, everyday brings new and exciting challenges. You can expect an interesting environment where you're part of making sure our business is running optimally and safely-helping keep the economy on track. We provide the kind of paid training and opportunities that long-term careers are built on and we recognize hard workers who strive to make a difference. You will be able to thrive in our close-knit, safety-focused culture working together as ONE TEAM. The careers we offer are meaningful because the work we do matters. Join us!

Job Summary

The Advisor, Leave Administration - United States is responsible for the administration of CN's Medical Leave of Absence policies as well as State, Federal Family and Medical Leave Acts company-wide. The role communicates eligibility and available benefits to employees based on the understanding of the regulations in accordance to CN's policies, procedures, health and welfare programs. Furthermore, the incumbent provides coaching, and training to other Human Resources (HR) groups and to the United States (U.S.) Operations and non-operations leaders. Moreover, the role supports field managers with leave tracking and coaching materials, interacts with HR, Labor Relations (LR) and Legal teams on complex cases, and ensures all documentation meets legal requirements.

Main Responsibilities

Leave, Disability and Return to Work Management

• Act as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) in leave policies and handle leave requests and accommodations requiring specialized attention company-wide and across multiple states
• Resolve employee eligibility for Leaves of Absences (e.g., Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) State-specific, Short-Term)
• Assist in the regular administration of FMLA and medical leave of absences, communicating with third-party administrators, notifying supervisors of employee status, and maintaining appropriate records
• Collect data and recommendations from stakeholders, interpret leave policies, and synthesize the information collected to resolve next steps in accordance with CN policies and procedures
• Explain Leave polices and eligibility requirements effectively including difficult conversations with various stakeholders
• Ensure employees master data is accurately associated to leaves
• Respond to questions from outside authorized people and agencies with respect to employee data by examining employee files and records
• Demonstrate ownership of customer satisfaction by fully and completely resolving each employee inquiry
• Partner with Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) to promptly return people back to work
• Represent CN in discipline hearings related to violations of leave policies
• Analyze paperwork, information, and mark off activity to identify potentially fraudulent activities related to requested and approved leave

Process Alignment and Best Practices

• Assist in the development of end-to-end processes and standard operating procedures for leave administration
• Develop and maintain productive relationships with team members and other HR and non-HR (i.e., Payroll) stakeholders, and leverage relationships to collaborate on complex inquiries ensuring service quality and accuracy
• Make evidence-based policy, program and process improvement suggestions to applicable policy, program or process owners based on employee feedback
• Support colleagues with coaching and support

Reporting, Communication, and Support
• Define and provide quality reporting on all leave types to all levels of the organization
• Interact with Operations supervisors and managers regarding employee leaves ensuring education and coaching on the law and CN rules and processes
• Interact with HR and LR colleagues and CN legal counsel on questionable or escalated cases
• Obtain complete and often sensitive or private information from employees for determining leave eligibility
• Analyze various information regarding HR, leave, and other employment law to make decisions and recommendations on complex cases
• Develop rapport with employees and explain leave decisions, medical leave policies, state and federal leave laws

Working Conditions
The role has standard working conditions in an office environment with a regular workweek from Monday to Friday. Due to the nature of the role, the incumbent must be able to meet tight deadlines, handle pressure and stress in a fast-paced work environment dealing with confidential material.

Requirements

Experience

Human Resources
• Minimum 5 years of human resources experience
o Previous experience administering leaves under the FMLA act
o Experience with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Any experience for these above would be considered as an asset

Education/Certification/Designation

• High School Diploma or General Educational Development (GED)
• Bachelor's Degree in Human Resources or related area
Any designation for these above would be considered as an asset

Competencies

• Demonstrates active listening
• Identifies needs and finds solutions to create value for all stakeholders
• Collaborates with others and shares information
• Seeks and values all perspectives
• Promotes diversity and equity
• Creates a sense of belonging and inclusion
• Sets direction and inspires others
• Communicates with impact
• Delegates and empowers others to create accountability
• Develops self and others
• Provides recognition
• Demonstrates agility and drives change
• Applies critical thinking

Technical Skills/Knowledge

• Demonstrated highly effective customer service skills including appropriate telephone, chat and email etiquette
• Demonstrated proficiency with keyboarding to support planned future delivery of services using chat tools, and to ensure efficient documentation of case notes
• General understanding of HR policies and processes
• Knowledge of Microsoft Office
• Knowledge of case management systems and processes

About CN

CN is a world-class transportation leader and trade-enabler. Essential to the economy, to the customers, and to the communities it serves, CN safely transports more than 300 million tons of natural resources, manufactured products, and finished goods throughout North America every year. As the only railroad connecting Canada's Eastern and Western coasts with the Southern tip of the U.S. through a 19,500 mile rail network, CN and its affiliates have been contributing to community prosperity and sustainable trade since 1919. CN is committed to programs supporting social responsibility and environmental stewardship. At CN, we work as ONE TEAM, focused on safety, sustainability and our customers, providing operational and supply chain excellence to deliver results.

CN is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. It is our policy to fill vacant positions with qualified candidates without regard to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, or disability, assuming an individual can perform the essential functions of the job with or without accommodation. Only qualified candidates under consideration will be contacted. Please monitor your email on a regular basis, as communication is primarily made through email.