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Apr 28, 2026

PAYROLL SPECIALIST

  • State of California Office of the Controller
  • Hybrid
  • $4,030 - $6,488 monthly
Full time Admin-Clerical Government

Job Description

Under close/general supervision provided by a Staff Services Manager I, the incumbent is responsible for auditing and processing Statewide Civil Service benefits deduction documentation in compliance with established State and Federal laws, rules, policies, procedures and Collective Bargaining contract provisions. This is the trainee through advanced journey level of the Payroll Specialist series. Incumbents are assigned progressively more complex and difficult duties as they gain experience and training.

Duties Performed:
(Candidates must perform the following functions with or without reasonable accommodations.)
  • Audit and process benefit deduction transactions necessary to update employees’ deduction information, update histories, and generate daily payrolls and supplemental master payrolls. This includes processing benefit deduction-related transactions, applying specific deductions to payrolls, adjusting deduction information, and setting up accounts receivables.
  • Utilize Personal Computer software and respective applications to create payroll transactions and to research references on the Local Area Network and the Internet.
  • Determines and selects the correct benefit or deduction application, maintains specific files, updates and deletes files as necessary, uploads files to the mainframe, and requests specific files be extracted for overnight processing. Experienced staff may provide functional guidance to trainees.
  • Audits, researches and resolves computer-generated error messages regarding benefit deductions. Resolution of messages frequently requires abstracting and analyzing detailed information and determining correct computations.
  • Responsible for answering telephone calls from state departments and responding to a variety of benefit inquiries using the Automatic Call Distributor (ACD) system.
  • Research and resolve inquiries and problems regarding benefit deduction documentation and procedures. May provide instructions regarding corrective action as a result of the audit process.
State of California Office of the Controller
About State of California Office of the Controller

As the chief fiscal officer of California, the fourth largest economy in the world, the Controller’s office is responsible for the accountability and disbursement of the state’s financial resources. The Controller independently audits government agencies that spend state funds and administers the payroll system for state government employees and California State University employees. The Controller also safeguards many types of property until claimed by the rightful owners. The Controller serves on 70 boards and commissions with authority affecting policies ranging from land management, affordable housing, and alternative transportation to crime victim compensation and health and educational facilities. They are a member of numerous financing authorities, fiscal and financial oversight entities including the Franchise Tax Board and Board of Equalization. They also serve on the boards of the nation's two largest public pension funds. The      Controller is one of eight statewide constitutional officials who are elected every four years in California.

 

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