The Student Employment office, located in Career Services/Cooperative Education on Second Floor Killian Annex, posts on campus, non work-study positions and off-campus, non-university jobs. We process paperwork for more than 2,000 student timecards and contract positions for over 60 departments on campus each year. We distribute timecards and serve as the liaison between departments and the Payroll Office to solve employment problems. Because either Federal/State law or University regulations regulate much of student employment policy and practice, it is important that all department members who deal with student employment read this information.

EMPLOYMENT PROCESS FOR EMPLOYERS

All jobs on campus must be posted to insure that all students have equal employment opportunity (EEO laws). Jobs are to be posted on the Career Services website. To post a job go to http://careers.wcu.edu/. On the left side of the page, click on Information For Employers. On the left side of that page, click on Local Jobs Board. On the next page, follow the directions under On-Campus WCU Departmental Employers. (Do not go in to JobCat.)

A password is needed. Please contact the Student Employment office for the password. Once you have submitted the posting, the office will review the posting and post it on the student page with in 24 hours.

If you are continuing a student worker from the last semester or summer term and not hiring any new workers, you do not need to post the position.

2a. By the student's first day of work which includes paid training, an I-9 must be completed in the Student Employment office. In a memo dated July 31, 2007, Chancellor John Bardo stated, "effective immediately, any academic or administrative department/office hiring a student worker must send that student worker to the following offices to complete necessary employment documents on the student worker's first day of work:

• Work-study student workers must report to the Office of Financial Aid
• Non work-study student workers must report to Career Services
• Graduate Assistants must report to the Graduate School.

Department managers/supervisors are responsible to ensure that all of their employees, particularly their administrative assistants, are aware of these procedures and comply with them."

In addition, Federal regulations stipulate that we have 3 business days from the first day of work (which includes paid training) to complete an I-9 on all new employees and exceeding the 3 days would be a violation. During this 3 day period, this office is required to verify the employee's documents with the Department of Homeland Security. Because of this, Homeland Security can immediately notice if we are out of compliance.

To insure that all state, federal and university regulations are followed, students must complete the I-9 and W-4 with the Student Employment Office (Career Services) and be approved to work by this office. The application and approval process is described in the following steps beginning with step 3.

US citizens that have completed an I-9 with the Work-Study or Non Work-Study program in the past will not need to complete a new one. International students may need to update their I-9 if a document originally used to complete an I-9 has expired. All students will still need to be approved by this office to insure that all paper work is current and they are eligible to work as a student employee.

2b. Confidentially and Social Security numbers. Please be aware that employment documents have Social Security numbers on them and this confidential information must be protected. Because of this, timecards and other documents must be kept secure such as in a locked cabinet. Documents sent through campus mail must be sent in a sealed envelope and marked "confidential".

Departments must fill out an "Application for Non-Work Study Student Employment" (formally Referral/Approval Form) for each student hired. Copies of this form are available in the Student Employment office, 231 Killian Annex. A new copy of this form is required for each student hired during the payroll year (August thru May 23 and/or during the summer term) Also a new form is needed for new hires working only breaks or one event. The application form is also required when switching a student from work-study to non work-study status. Employers must complete the entire section labeled "WCU Department".  All forms must be completed, signed and dated by the student and employer. Students should bring the completed form to 231 Killian Annex (Career Services) to finish their paperwork. All student workers must have a current I-9 and a current state and federal W4 form on file or complete this paperwork when hired.

All I-9s and W4s must be completed in the Career Services Office.

Departments wanting to pay an individual student more than the minimum wage must file a "Non Work-Study Wage Rate Petition" to increase a worker's salary.

The maximum hourly pay is $10.00 for undergraduate and $12.00 for graduate students. Wage requests for non work-study workers should be sent to Career Services while work-study requests should be sent to Financial Aid. Non Work-Study and Work Study use different forms. Departments can also set a rate for a permanent, specific position (using the same form) so the department does not need to complete a Wage Rate Form for each student. Once an Application form has been processed at one rate, a Wage Rate Petition will need to be filed to change the rate of pay. No pay increase can take place until the petition has been approved.

Students should bring the Application/Approval form to the Student Employment Office (Career Services) and complete an I-9, direct deposit and tax forms. Once students have been processed for payroll by the Student Employment office, the students will then need to return the yellow copy of the Application Form (and a hand-written timecard if they are hourly hires) back to their place of employment.

All student workers must be enrolled students at WCU. Federal law requires that students must be enrolled as at least a half-time student to work on campus (Undergraduates- at least 6 hours, Graduate students- at least 3 hours and Summer students- all at least 3 hours or registered for fall semester at above minimums).

US citizens must present the following identification to complete required paperwork (if they have not completed an I-9 with the Work-Study or Non Work-Study program in the past:

• A valid US passport
• OR a picture ID (current driver's license/ a CAT card/ a Military dependent ID)
• AND Proof of Employment Eligibility, either an original Social Security card or a certified (raised seal) birth certificate. There are other acceptable documents but often they are obscure documents that most students do not possess. Resident Aliens must provide their card with their RA#.

Note: the Social Security card or the birth certificate must be original, not a photocopy or a fax. Missing Social Security cards can be replaced by the students at any Social Security Office for free. The nearest one to WCU is in Franklin.

International students must present their passport, I-94, I-20 (or DS-219) & visa to complete the necessary student employment paperwork. International students will need to obtain a Social Security card or Social Security application receipt before they can start to work.

No timecard can be issued until all paperwork is completed by the student. Generally a student's first timecard is hand written with future timecards printed and mailed to the department. Career Services Office distributes printed timecards after the 25th of each month by campus mail. Each department should check the timecards when they arrive to make certain all their student workers have received a card.

If you are missing a timecard, call us at 3888, at once so we can investigate what happened to the timecard. If you have received extra cards, please mark why they are extra (e.g. student no longer working, not our worker, etc.) and return the cards to 231 Killian Annex in the next mail. Your prompt return of extra cards helps us to clear up problems quickly.

If a student is not getting a timecard, notify the Career Services Office (not Payroll).

If a timecard was turned into Payroll and a check was not issued, contact the Payroll Office directly.

If a student is no longer working, return the unused timecard to Student Employment (Career Services) with a notation on the card to remove the worker from the active payroll. No other paper work or notification is needed.

If a contract employee quits or is dismissed, the supervisor must immediately complete the bottom of the student's original contract (Separation Information) and submit it to Payroll. The date of termination and any stipend that remains to be paid should be noted. See section 16 for more details.

Hours reported on a timecard must reflect the actual hours worked on the days indicated. Timecards that misrepresent actual time worked violate State and Federal employment laws. Such misrepresentation, either by students and/or by their supervisors is strictly prohibited. Supervisors may be held liable for any deviations or inaccuracies. The students should never sign timecards in advance. Proxy signatures are prohibited.

Students who perform services for a department or office should not be considered volunteers, nor should they be paid through scholarship or as an "independent contractor". Work without being approved, paperwork not completed or "off the clock" is prohibited.

School year: University policy permits students to work a total of 20 hours per week during the school year. Departments must get special permission from their VC or Dean for students to work up to 30 hours per week while classes are in session. Copies of the approval letters must be sent to Career Services. This office will send a copy to Payroll. International students on F-1 or J-1 visas may never work beyond 20 hours per week while classes are in session.

Summer/Breaks: Students enrolled as at least a half time student for the next fall session can work all summer. They can work up to 40 hours per week if they are not taking summer classes or up to 20 hours per week (30 with permission) during sessions when they are taking classes.

Students who are not enrolled for the fall session must be taking at least 3 hours of classes during each summer session they are working. They can work 20 hours per week (30 with permission) while they are taking classes.

Students not taking any summer classes are subject to Social Security and Medicare tax withholding for employment during the summer break. See section 17 for more details.

Breaks: During holiday breaks, any enrolled student may work up to 40 hours per week. During a semester break, they can work up to 40 hours per week if they are enrolled at least as half time student for the following semester.

Students working over 40 hours per week will receive overtime pay. (The work week is Sunday through Saturday.) Overtime pay will be charged to the last employer, not necessarily the job where the student put in the most hours. Make certain that workers who have more than one job are aware of this rule and how many total hours they can work per week.

Seniors and non-returning students lose their student status on graduation day (or last day of the semester) and can no longer hold a student job. The only exception to this rule is if the student is already enrolled in a WCU graduate program or at least in a haft time status for next academic session. See Section 6, Qualifications of Students for enrollment details.

At the end of spring and summer sessions all student workers are automatically purged from the active payroll database. This means if a department wants to continue a student worker from the spring semester into the summer or from the summer session into the fall semester, the department will need to "rehire" the student. To do this the department will need to complete a new "Application/Approval for Non Work-Study Student Employment" form.

Pay periods run from the 24th of one month to the 23rd of the next month. Payday is the 15th of the following month. Paychecks are to be pickup from Payroll by a fulltime WCU employee. Only one check is issued for a student each month and will be issued to the Department where the student worked or earned the most money (in case of multiple jobs).

Completed student timecards or contracts must be delivered to the Payroll Office by the 24th of each month by a WCU permanent employee. Timecards are not to be sent through campus mail or hand delivered by students. Payroll may refuse to accept timecards not delivered properly.

A pay "advance" can only be given to a student who has worked more than 30 days without receiving a paycheck. The department needs to apply to Payroll for the advance using the "Request for Substitute Paycheck" form on the Payroll Office webpage: http://admfin.wcu.edu/control/payroll.htm Advances can only be up to 75% of money owed. The advance is really a loan from the University that must be repaid when the student receives his next pay. Loan pickup and repayment are done in the Payroll Office.

All Contracts must be approved by Payroll before a Contract is issued by a department. Contract jobs must be classified as exempt from federal & state wage and hour regulations. Contact the Payroll office to find out if the position is exempt, 227-3101. When paying by contract, three forms are needed for the process; a contract, a cover letter and an Application/Approval form. Blank contract and cover letters are acquired from the payroll office. When paying by contract, an "Application for Non-Work Study Student Employment" (formally Referral/Approval Form) must be completed and sent to Student Employment. All federal paperwork must be completed in the Student Employment Office.

Completed "Payroll Student Contracts", "Contract Cover Letters" and the pink copy of the Application must be sent to the Payroll Office, 335 HFR. The Contract lists the position and describes work duties and pay. Both the student and Supervisor must sign it. The Contract Cover Letter tells the amount of pay and when it is to be paid. The Cover Letter must have a budget code and an Authorized Signature to be complete. Payroll will not issue a check if they do not have both a contract and contract cover letter for the student on file.

Termination of a Student Contract worker:

If a contract employee quits or is terminated, the supervisor must immediately complete the bottom of the student's original contract (Separation Information) and submit it to Payroll. The date of termination and any stipend that remains to be paid should be noted. If a check is issued to a contract person who has quit and is not entitled to the payment, do not give the check to the student! Process the contract cancellation immediately and return the check to Payroll. Departments will be responsible for seeking restitution of university monies paid to students who cashed checks for work they did not do.

Students not taking any summer classes are subject to Social Security and Medicare tax withholding for employment during the summer break. The student and the employing department both pay 7.65% of the gross pay. For more information on taxes and other payment issues, please contact the Payroll Office directly.

Student workers are considered temporary, part-time employees and not eligible for benefits or unemployment insurance.