US Payroll Associate - Clean Harbors - Hebbal Bengaluru

Hiring: Senior Associate US & Canada Payroll

Company: Clean Harbors
Job Location: Bengaluru, Karnataka
Work Mode: Work from Office
Shift: US Shift
Experience: 3 to 5 Years
Function: Payroll Operations / HR Shared Services

About Clean Harbors

Clean Harbors Inc. is a US-based, NYSE-listed company founded in 1980, providing environmental, energy, and industrial services across North America. With approximately 18,000 employees and more than 450 service locations across the US, Canada, and Mexico, Clean Harbors serves customers across a wide range of industries.

Clean Harbors India operates as a Global Capability Center (GCC), supporting global business operations across HR, Finance, Procurement, IT, and Operations. Our teams work closely with global stakeholders to deliver high-quality services, operational excellence, and continuous process improvement.

Job Overview

We are looking for an experienced Senior Associate US & Canada Payroll with strong hands-on experience in US payroll processing, payroll compliance, reconciliation, and employee termination processing. The role will primarily focus on independently managing end-to-end US payroll operations across multiple pay cycles and jurisdictions, ensuring accurate and timely payroll execution, regulatory compliance, and audit readiness. The position will also provide support for Canadian payroll processing as required.

The ideal candidate should have a strong understanding of US federal, state, and local payroll regulations, multi-state taxation, prevailing wage requirements, garnishments, final pay calculations, prior-period adjustments, and off-cycle payroll processing.

The candidate must be comfortable working in US shift timings and collaborating with HR, Finance, Time & Attendance, and other cross-functional teams.

Key Responsibilities

1. End-to-End US Payroll Processing

• Independently process US payroll across weekly, bi-weekly, and semi-monthly pay cycles, ensuring accuracy and adherence to payroll deadlines.
• Validate payroll inputs, including new hires, terminations, salary changes, bonuses, leaves of absence, and retroactive adjustments.
• Execute off-cycle payroll runs for corrections, termination payments, and urgent payroll requirements.
• Ensure payroll activities are completed within established cut-off times and service-level agreements (SLAs).
• Provide support for Canadian payroll processing as required, ensuring adherence to applicable federal and provincial requirements.

2. Payroll Compliance and US Taxation

• Ensure compliance with applicable US federal, state, and local payroll tax regulations.
• Process and validate multi-state payroll transactions and taxation requirements.
• Apply prevailing wage requirements accurately, including wage determinations and job coding.
• Manage payroll garnishments, including child support, tax levies, and other court-ordered deductions.
• Validate taxable benefits, deductions, and wage-and-hour requirements.
• Support payroll compliance reporting and internal and external audits.

3. Employee Termination Processing and Final Pay

• Process employee terminations and calculate final pay accurately in accordance with applicable federal and state regulations.
• Validate final settlement components, including unpaid wages, eligible unused paid time off (PTO), bonuses, reimbursements, and deductions.
• Ensure final payments are processed within applicable state-specific statutory timelines.
• Handle post-termination adjustments, payment reversals, and payroll corrections.
• Coordinate with HR to validate termination inputs, exit confirmations, and final settlement details.
• Identify and resolve termination-related overpayments and maintain complete audit documentation.

4. Time and Attendance Integration

• Manage payroll integration and data validation between Time & Attendance systems such as Kronos/UKG and payroll systems such as Oracle and ADP.
• Validate regular hours, overtime, shift differentials, holidays, and time-entry exceptions.
• Investigate discrepancies between timekeeping records and payroll outputs.
• Ensure appropriate mapping and validation of earnings and deduction codes across systems.

5. Payroll Reconciliation and Controls

• Perform pre-payroll and post-payroll reconciliations to validate gross-to-net payroll calculations.
• Identify and resolve discrepancies in earnings, taxes, deductions, and termination payouts.
• Perform payroll variance analysis and root-cause analysis for recurring or complex issues.
• Maintain controls to identify duplicate payments, missing payments, and incorrect tax deductions.
• Ensure payroll transactions are accurate, complete, and supported by appropriate controls.

6. Payroll Quality Assurance and Audit Readiness

• Maintain complete, accurate, and audit-ready documentation for every payroll cycle.
• Prepare and maintain root-cause analysis (RCA), corrective and preventive action (CAPA) records, and payroll error logs.
• Support internal and external payroll audits and SOX compliance checks, where applicable.
• Ensure payroll activities are traceable and comply with established policies, procedures, and control requirements.

7. Employee Query and Case Management

• Resolve employee payroll queries within defined SLAs, typically one to two business days.
• Investigate salary discrepancies, tax-related concerns, missing payments, and termination payout issues.
• Manage payroll-related cases through platforms such as Oracle, ADP, ServiceNow, or other HR service management systems.
• Communicate resolutions clearly and escalate complex cases with supporting analysis and documentation.

8. Process Improvement and Operational Excellence

• Identify gaps in existing payroll processes and recommend improvements.
• Support payroll automation, standardization, and operational efficiency initiatives.
• Contribute to process stabilization across multiple pay groups and payroll cycles.
• Reduce manual interventions by strengthening payroll controls and standardizing procedures.

9. Documentation and Stakeholder Collaboration

• Maintain and update standard operating procedures (SOPs), process maps, and payroll calendars.
• Stay informed about changes in US payroll legislation, tax regulations, and compliance requirements.
• Participate in training, knowledge-sharing, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Collaborate with HR, Finance, Time & Attendance, and other global stakeholders to ensure seamless payroll operations.

Required Skills and Experience

• 3 - 5 years of hands-on experience in US payroll processing.
• Strong knowledge of US federal, state, and local payroll compliance.
• Practical experience with multi-state payroll and taxation.
• Experience in prevailing wage payroll processing.
• Strong experience in employee termination processing and final pay calculations.
• Knowledge of payroll garnishments, tax levies, retroactive adjustments, and off-cycle payroll.
• Experience with payroll reconciliation, gross-to-net validation, and payroll variance analysis.
• Exposure to payroll platforms such as Oracle, ADP, and Kronos/UKG.
• Experience supporting payroll audits, compliance checks, and complex payroll corrections.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and numerical skills.
• High attention to detail, accountability, and the ability to work independently.
• Ability to work in US shift timings and meet strict payroll deadlines.

Preferred Qualifications

• Exposure to Canadian payroll processing and federal/provincial compliance.
• Experience managing large employee populations or multiple payroll groups.
• Experience working in a high-volume payroll environment, GCC, or HR Shared Services setup.
• Experience with Microsoft Office tools, particularly Excel, for payroll analysis and reconciliation.

Educational Qualification

Bachelors or Masters degree in Commerce, Finance, Human Resources, or an MBA.