GENERAL DEFINITION

This is second supervisory level specialized clerical work directing the activities of payroll and sick leave investigation units within a large department. The employee in this class supervises, through subordinate supervisors, a clerical staff engaged in preparing complete time records and posting all actions affecting payroll amounts and leave balances, and a small group of investigators engaged in monitoring and investigating infractions of Civil Service Regulations and City sick leave policy. Work involves explaining regulations and policy directives concerning payroll and sick leave investigations, filling data and information requests, conducting research and analysis necessary to complete specially assigned projects, revising procedures and policies, investigating and solving problem cases, and interacting with other agencies, government officials, or the courts. Work is performed under the direction of an administrative superior.

ALLOCATING FACTORS:
(The following conditions must be met for a position to be allocated to this class.)

• The position must supervise, through subordinate supervisors, a Payroll Unit and a Sick Leave Investigations Unit in a large city department.

TYPICAL EXAMPLES OF WORK (ILLUSTRATIVE ONLY)

• Plans, assigns, and reviews, through a subordinate supervisor, the activities of a group of payroll clerks engaged in verifying daily time sheets, posting exceptions to regular time, calculating figures for entry into the computerized payroll system for submission to the Finance Department; solves more difficult pay problems; interprets Civil Service Regulations to answer questions from staff, employees, and departmental officials; assists clerks with entries into the computerized payroll system; insures payroll records are completed in conformance to deadlines; modifies posting or office procedures as regulation changes occur; provides pertinent information to systems analysis staff relating to payroll computations, guidelines and procedures.
• Instructs and explains the rules and procedures for processing and posting appointment forms, time sheets, various leave slips, shift differentials, sick leave conversion, longevity and retroactive pay, and direct deposit requests; periodically reviews department pay records to check for any instances of mistakes in employee compensation and makes appropriate adjustment, including recovering any excess pay from employees.
• Stops payments for employees utilizing sick time who are not in conformance with the sick leave regulations.
• Plans, assigns, and reviews, through a subordinate supervisor, the activities of a small group of investigators engaged in visiting employees' homes to verify reasons for taking paid sick leave; notifies district supervisors of employees on sick leave abuse list who will not be reporting to work; reviews inspectors' daily reports; receives and reviews medical certificates; annotates payroll sheets to identify employees whose pay should be withheld due to failure to comply with regulations and/or policies; prepares and maintains detailed records and reports of sick leave usage.
• Assigns inspectors to investigate violations of funeral certificates, residency requirements, outside employment while on sick leave, the use of IOD, and the use of sick leave for purposes other than illness.
• Develops procedures for inspectors to use in conducting their assigned duties; trains inspectors in methods and techniques to be used in conducting their assigned duties; conducts staff meetings to clarify procedural questions and to discuss methods of improving techniques; makes recommendations to modify and simplify existing sick leave and disciplinary policies and procedures; explains policies to employees, supervisors and union representatives; implements sick leave verification procedures and/or counseling in disciplinary matters.
• Participates in more complex or sensitive investigations to complete assignments and demonstrate techniques; contacts physicians, former employers, company representatives and other government agencies to elicit information pertinent to investigations; solicits the cooperation of other city investigative agencies.
• Consults with representatives of other City agencies on implementation of new or evolving automated systems related to payroll and leave tracking; provides assistance to other City departments; confers with departmental managers on initiation of new programs or problems related to payroll and/or sick leave investigations; develops improvements to the computerized payroll system, such as computer-generated forms for the districts to record employees' hours worked and computer templates for staff to use for composing reports and letters.
• Constructs data base and spreadsheet files or uses existing programs to track, compare, or extract by graphic representation leave data, payroll information, or personal history data at the request of supervisors, outside agencies, other city agencies, division or department heads; develops new forms or reporting procedures as needed to support payroll and sick leave.
• Analyzes problem situations assigned by supervisors and determines best solution based on knowledge of Department operations and data; reviews data base and prepares analytical reports and recommendations; works with supervisors to develop new departmental policies and procedures; informs field offices of changes.
• Reviews and forwards employee records relating to attendance and sick leave usage; ensures that employee records are complete; meets with department managers to prepare for hearings; contacts Union representatives and the employee to inform them of the hearing; reviews the employee's past work history to determine if there are extenuating circumstances which have lead to his or her poor performance; may recommend alternative disciplinary actions based on review of work history and other extenuating conditions; may testify at court hearings, or Civil Service Commission hearings.
• Performs related work a required.

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGES, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

KNOWLEDGE OF:

• office practices and procedures as they relate to payroll preparation and the work of sick leave investigation.
• City of Philadelphia computerized payroll system, procedures and policies.
• regulations and policies pertaining to pay and payroll processing.
• regulations and policies pertaining to sick leave usage and residency requirements.
• legislation affecting payroll and leave usage, such the Family Medical Leave Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
• procedures and information requirements of the City's centralized medical evaluation unit.
• business arithmetic.
• supervisory methods, techniques and practices.
• personal computers and software packages as required by assignment.

SKILL IN:

• making various arithmetic computations with speed and accuracy.
• use of database, spreadsheet, and word processing computer programs.
• use of the Department payroll computer system.

ABILITY TO:

• maintain payroll and sick leave investigation records.
• supervise the activities of a staff performing specialized payroll and investigative support functions.
• make judgmental decisions where several courses of action are possible. construct data base and spreadsheet files within computer programs and use existing data bases and payroll functions.
• understand and follow written and oral instructions.
• present ideas effectively, both orally and in writing.
• establish and maintain effective working relationships with associates, departmental and central agency officials.
• analyze and solve problems.
• work independently with minimal supervision.

MINIMUM ACCEPTABLE TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE

(The following statement represents the minimum training and experience standards which will be used to admit or reject applicants for tests. Applications submitted by candidates for this class will be reviewed based on training and experience requirements as approved on 2/1999.)

EDUCATION
• Equivalent to completion of the twelfth school grade.

AND
GENERAL EXPERIENCE


• Three years of clerical experience.

AND
SPECIFIC EXPERIENCE


• Two years of clerical work which shall have been supervising the activities of a staff of clerical employees engaged in payroll preparation or sick leave investigations.
OR
• Any equivalent combination of education and experience determined to be acceptable by the Personnel Department that has included the specific experience described above.

PHYSICAL AND MEDICAL REQUIREMENTS

• Ability to physically perform the duties and to work in the environmental conditions required of a position in this class.

PAY RANGE: EP16
Class Established: 12/1987

Spec. Revision:
  CSC: 6/1992, Ad Board: 8/1992

Latest Spec. Revision:
  CSC: 2/1999, Ad Board: 4/1999

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