Manager, Employee Relations and Leave

About this role

Studs is a category-defining ear piercing and earring brand named one of “the 10 most innovative companies in retail for 2023” by Fast Company. Studs connects ear piercing with aftercare and earring shopping to create an end-to-end Earscaping® experience. We offer a better retail and digital experience that prioritizes safety and expertise in a cool, fun and welcoming environment, along with a wide earring assortment—all at an accessible price point.

The Manager, Employee Relations and Leave runs the systems and administration behind employee relations at Studs, and owns leave, accommodation, and day to day benefits support end to end. You keep every case documented, every ticket moving, and every system current, so that when a decision needs to be made the record is already complete and correct.

Leave, accommodation, and work restriction matters are where you work directly with employees. You run the interactive process, coordinate with managers on what a restriction means for scheduling, and carry each case from first notice through return to work. Complex investigations and sensitive terminations are led by the SVP, People, and you support them with preparation, documentation, and follow through rather than carrying them yourself.

This role is systems heavy by design. You own your own lane of changes in ADP, you keep the case and ticket systems clean without being asked, and you serve as backup for core People Operations processing so that no critical function depends on one person being available.

This role is ideal for someone who is genuinely good at the part of employee relations that most people treat as overhead. You would rather build the tracker than improvise, you notice the case that has gone quiet for eleven days, and you can hold a confidential conversation with an employee about a medical restriction with warmth and precision at the same time.

Salary Range: $100,000 — $125,000

Location: HQ (New York, NY) — Hybrid

Key Responsibilities:

Leave, Accommodation, and Work Restrictions

• Own leave of absence administration end to end, including eligibility, notices, tracking, and return to work.

• Run the interactive process for accommodation requests and document each step as it happens.

• Coordinate work and scheduling restrictions with Regional and Studio Managers so that coverage plans reflect them.

• Serve as the employee point of contact throughout, maintaining confidentiality on medical information.

• Escalate accommodation and leave questions with legal exposure to the SVP, People and outside counsel.

Employee Relations Systems and Case Administration

• Own the employee relations case system: intake, routing, status, ownership, and closure.

• Manage the People Service Center ticket queue against defined response and resolution standards.

• Maintain documentation completeness on every case, and flag files that are not ready for a decision.

• Track corrective action across regions and surface where similar situations are being handled differently.

• Report case volume, type, severity, and trend to the SVP, People on a set cadence.

Case Support

• Prepare investigation and termination materials for the SVP, People, including timelines and document sets.

• Schedule and coordinate meetings, notifications, and follow up actions on active matters.

• Execute the system and record changes that follow a decision, including separations in ADP.

• Maintain the employee relations playbook and escalation criteria as they are updated.

Benefits Support

• Serve as the day to day contact with our benefits broker on employee questions and issues.

• Support enrollment, qualifying life events, and open enrollment execution.

• Coordinate benefits continuation and COBRA for employees on leave or separating.

• Reconcile benefits deductions with Payroll before each cycle closes.

People Systems and Coverage

• Own a defined lane of ADP changes, including leave status, restrictions, and separation records.

• Serve as trained backup for core People Operations processing during absence or peak volume.

• Keep data consistent between the case system, the ticket queue, and ADP.

• Contribute to process improvement where administration is slow, manual, or error prone.

Requirements:

• 4 to 6 years in human resources with direct ownership of leave and accommodation administration.

• Hands-on experience running the interactive process and managing leave cases end to end.

• Strong systems fluency, including HRIS administration and case or ticket management platforms.

• Experience with ADP strongly preferred, and the ability to own configuration in a defined scope.

• Multi-state experience, including familiarity with state leave programs.

• Working knowledge of benefits administration, including continuation and COBRA.

• Exceptional documentation discipline and follow through on cases that span weeks or months.

• Able to handle sensitive medical and personal information with discretion.

• Comfortable supporting complex matters led by someone else rather than owning every decision.

• Based in New York City and able to work onsite three days per week.

Benefits & Perks

• Flexible Work Environment (3 days in office, 2 days work from home)

• Comprehensive Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance (including a plan option with $0 in-network mental health visits)

• Access to Mental Health and Work/Life Resources including Online Therapy, Gender Affirmation Support Services, and Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

• Voluntary Life Insurance

• Health and Commuter Tax-Advantaged Accounts

• Stock Options in connection with the Company’s Equity Incentive Plan

• 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan

• Paid Time Off, Paid Safe & Sick Leave, and Paid Parental Leave

• Paid Sabbatical After 4 Years of Service

• Exclusive Employee Discounts on Piercings and Jewelry (we’ve got your friends and family covered too!)

• Access to PerkSpot and additional benefits such as pet insurance, discoun

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