SECTION 2- POLICIES .......printer-friendly version

After reading the preceding sections, you should now know the procedures on finding and employing students. The next several topics deal with the policies you should follow in the employment of students. Some are federal or state law; others are federal or state regulations. In these two categories, the College runs the risk of lawsuit or audit problems if our supervisors do not comply. With over 100 departments using student employees, it is vital that everyone supervising students become familiar with these policies.

The first section deals with those applying to all students; the next section covers WS students only.

Policies for All Payrolls
This link will take you to Affirmative Action and their comprehensive list of policies and laws.  Please read these carefully.  This will open a new window.

Please note not all policies apply to student employees. Contact us if you are unsure if a policy applies to you.

For other policies, see http://www.brockport.edu/hr/procedures/

Benefits (WS, TS)
Basically, as a part-time employment program, student employment provides for payment on an hourly basis. Students may not be compensated under a commission or fee arrangement. Under WS and TS, students are not eligible for fringe benefits such as paid sick leave, vacation pay and holiday pay. However, institutions should not deny payment of students for brief interruptions in their daily schedules such as rest or coffee breaks if it is the employer's policy and practice to permit those interruptions for its regular hourly employees.

Breaks (WS,TS)
The Fair Labor Standards Act Summary from the US Department of Labor states, "Rest periods of short duration, usually 20 minutes or less, are common in industry (and promote the efficiency of the employee) and are customarily paid for as working time. These short periods must be counted as hours worked. Bona fide meal periods (typically 30 minutes or more) generally need not be compensated as work time. The employee must be completely relieved from duty for the purpose of eating regular meals. The employee is not relieved if he/she is required to perform any duties, whether active or inactive, while eating."

The Manual for State Agencies, Section 20.1 indicates "Rest periods of reasonable duration may be granted, as appropriate, at the discretion of the appointing authority. More than two such periods per [eight hour] day, or periods of more than 15 minutes duration each would be considered excessive under normal working conditions."

According to NYS Labor Law an employee is required to take a one half-hour break for every span of six hours worked. "Students should be paid for brief interruptions in their daily schedules if it is the employer's policy to permit those interruptions for regularly scheduled employees" (per WS regulations).

Thus, brief breaks taken with other employees are paid; lunch breaks or breaks not granted to regular employees are not paid. There should be one half-hour unpaid break after six hours of work, and this unpaid break must be reported on the timesheet.  .

Jury Duty
(TS) Temporary Service student employees summoned to jury duty service must be paid for normal work hours scheduled while serving. If the student
is scheduled to work the day they are summoned to jury duty, attach the jury duty documentation to the timesheet.

(WS) Work-Study student employees are not paid for jury time served per federal regulations.

Work Schedules (WS,TS)
Overtime is not paid to student employees. Students may not work more than 40 hours in one week, or should not work more than eight hours in one day. If a student has other jobs on campus, please coordinate schedules with other supervisor(s) to ensure compliance with this provision.

It is also advisable for each student to submit a copy of the semester's class schedule to the supervisor. This will prevent inadvertently scheduling work hours during scheduled class time.

Students working on Temporary Service or WS may normally not work more than 20 hours per week while classes are in session. However, there are some exceptions permissible:

All student employees may work more than 20 hours per week during the first full week of a semester, and during finals week. This recognizes the fact that many offices have peak workload in the first or last week, full student staffs are not available, and available students may have minimal academic commitments. No special permission or endorsement is necessary.

During the remainder of each semester, only students with the permission of the supervisor, and the endorsement of the coordinator of student employment would be permitted to work more than 20 hours per week. Permission would only be granted to students who are in good academic standing (2.0 GPA or above), who have the permission of the supervisor (in the form of a memo from the supervisor). The memo should be done at the time the Authorization Form is completed. Permission must be renewed each semester.

The Coordinator of Student Employment will track students with permission to work more than 20 hours to determine impact on academic achievement and retention.

Social Security must be paid by a student who consistently works more than 20 hours per week. Once a student and supervisor have elected for permission to work more than 20 hours per week, Social Security will be deducted, even if the student works fewer than 20 hours in a particular week.

Students may not, under any circumstances, work more than 40 hours in a week, and students who have withdrawn or graduated from school must be immediately terminated.

Students may work up to 40 hours during periods when classes are not in session. It is generally advisable to schedule students for less than fifteen hours per week. Considerable research shows that academic performance generally declines if a student regularly works more than fifteen hours per week. Additionally, scheduling more students for fewer hours assists a larger number of students in earning their expenses.

Dual or Concurrent Appointments (WS,TS)
Students are allowed to work on more than one payroll concurrently. Thus, a student may have a WS and a TS job or two or more TS jobs. Students may not have more than a single WS job at a time. Ask your student employees if they have more than one concurrent job. If they do, please coordinate with other supervisors to ensure students are scheduled within the hour limitations described above.

Evaluation (WS,TS)
During the year, Student Employment will send you a supply of evaluation forms. A thoughtful evaluation of your employees, discussed with each one, is of primary importance in increasing productivity. The completed evaluations may be kept on file in your department. Keep them on file for your future reference in making hiring decisions. Other supervisors may contact you when considering one of your former employees. A copy is included here. We suggest you discuss evaluation with all new employees in order to make your expectations clear. (BASC Supervisors should also refer to BASC Student Handbook.)

You may also wish to and refer to the new employee orientation checklist. For outstanding employees, we sponsor a competition to name SUNY Brockport's Student Employee of the Year. Watch for nomination information during each spring semester.

Injuries (WS,TS)
If a student employee is injured in the performance of his or her duties, Student Health Services in Hazen Hall will provide initial treatment and refer the student for appropriate follow-up care.

Student employees of the College (WS, Temp. Service) are covered by the College's Worker's Compensation Policy. The physician or hospital providing follow-up care can assist the student in initiating a claim. This is also the procedure for BASC employees; they are covered by that organization's Worker's Compensation policies.

In the event of an injury, the supervisor should notify Personnel (for WS, TS), or BASC Personnel Department (for BASC), and the student worker should call 1 888-800-0029 to report the accident to Workman's Compensation.

Forms and further information for TS and WS employees are available from Human Resources at:

WORKERS' COMPENSATION/ACCIDENT REPORTING PROCEDURES:
http://www.brockport.edu/hr/forms/documents/workers_comp_procedure.doc

 

Access to Files (WS,TS)
Student Employment may keep an individual paper and/or Banner file on each student who registers with the office seeking employment. The following items may be entered in the file:

- Authorization for on-campus job placements
- Referral Forms
- evaluations from supervisors
- correspondence, forms, or notations concerning the student from supervisors, Financial Aid, Student Employment, Payroll, etc.
- correspondence to or from the student
- confirmation of off-campus job placements as reported by the student

Release of Information
- Employees of the College shall have access to any information in a student's file at Student Employment.
- Students shall have access to items in their own file upon display of identification.
- Employers or other agencies off-campus shall have access to those items which are considered "Directory Information" per College policy. Other information may be released if the student has granted the inquiring party prior written permission.

Employment of International Students (TS)
International students are limited in the types and conditions of employment by their visa status.  This link will go to International Student Services, and explains these rules and restrictions.    If you are employing any international students, please read these carefully: failure to comply can result in the student's deportation. 

Questions concerning the employment of international students should be referred to the International Student Advisor.

Student Employment is also responsible for completing the I-9 form (verifying legal status for employment based on documentation/identification) when the student does an Authorization.  The hiring process is the same except for the following:

• International students must present their Passport, I-20 and I-94 forms to complete the I-9. Since their eligibility to work may change each enrollment period, they must re-do the I-9 whenever a new Authorization is required.
• International students must do a more extensive set of tax withholding forms.  They vary by country of origin.  They also must present the documents above and the completed tax forms to Payroll. 

POLICIES FOR WORK-STUDY/ TEMPORARY SERVICE
(Local policies indicated by *; TS or WS indicated in heading. Selections quoted directly from the Federal Department of Education Student Aid Handbook appear in italics. Full text and additional information is available at that site.)

Compliance* (WS)
The College's continued participation in the WS Program depends on the supervisors knowing and upholding the federal regulations governing WS. We are audited frequently by outside agencies, and lax management can result in a reduction or loss of funds. Because of this, Student Employment will periodically check with each department to ensure the program is being properly managed. If the check is in the form of a visit, it will always be scheduled in advance.

Inspections and training can be scheduled upon request and are recommended as an orientation for new supervisors. Call 5447 to schedule.

Application/Awarding* (WS)
The Financial Aid Office awards Work-Study to eligible students. The application during the academic year is a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). During the summer, the FAFSA for the upcoming year and a Summer Aid Application are required to be considered for WS.

Students must file a new application for each award (fiscal) year. Employment under WS in a prior academic period does not guarantee awards during subsequent periods, and unearned funds from one period do not transfer forward into the next period.

Encourage your students to file early. FAFSA's for the next academic year are available in the previous December. Summer Aid Applications are usually available in March.   We do exhaust our limited funds, and late applicants do not receive WS. 

Since the process can be lengthy (involving computer processing by outside agencies and documentation of all family income), early application is vital. We recommend that new or summer students file the FAFSA by February 15, and all others by March 15 for the awards for the upcoming summer and fall. To have your students "work ready" when you need them, check with them frequently on their application status. Feel free to contact Student Employment or Financial Aid for updates.

You may check a student's eligibility for WS at any time by using the RJASEAR Banner screen and entering  the Banner ID or SS#, and year (0708, etc.).

Assigning Jobs (WS)
A school must make WS jobs reasonably available to all eligible students at the school. To the maximum extent practicable, a school must provide WS jobs that will complement and reinforce each recipient's educational program or career goals.

In assigning an WS job, a school must consider the student's financial need, the number of hours per week the student can work, the period of employment, the anticipated wage rate, and the amount of other assistance available to the student. While there is no minimum or maximum award, the amount for each student should be determined based on these factors. In an effort to hire a larger number of students, SUNY Brockport does determine a maximum award for each period.

WS jobs may be on-campus or off-campus. Off-campus WS jobs with federal, state, local public agencies or private nonprofit organizations must be in the public interest. SUNY Brockport currently participates with a limited number of off-campus partners.

Employment Conditions and Limitations (WS)
The provisions discussed below apply to all work under WS, whether on or off campus.

WS employment must be governed by employment conditions, including pay, that are appropriate and reasonable according to the type of work performed, the geographic region, the employee's proficiency, and any applicable federal, state, or local law.

WS employers must pay students at least the current federal minimum wage. It is not permissible to pay subminimum wage rate to students in WS jobs.

WS employment must not displace employees (including those on strike) or impair existing service contracts. Also, if the school has an employment agreement with an organization in the private sector, the organization's employees must not be replaced with WS students. Replacement is interpreted as displacement.

WS positions must not involve constructing, operating, or maintaining any part of a building used for religious worship or sectarian instruction. In determining whether any WS employment will violate this restriction, a school should consider the purpose of the part of the facility in which the work will take place and the nature of the work to be performed. If the part of the facility in which the student will work is used for religious worship or sectarian instruction, the work cannot involve construction, operation, or maintenance responsibilities. If that part of the facility is not being used for religious worship or sectarian instruction, the school should make sure that any work the student will perform meets general employment conditions and that other limitations are not violated.

Neither a school nor an outside employer that has an agreement with the school to hire WS students may solicit, accept, or permit soliciting any fee, commission, contribution, or gift as a condition for a student's WS employment. However, a student may pay union dues to an employer if they are a condition of employment and if the employer's non-WS employees must also pay dues.

A student's WS wages may be garnished only to pay any costs of attendance that the student owes the school or that will become due and payable during the period of the award. Schools must oppose any garnishment order they receive for any other type of debt; paying WS funds in such cases would not be in compliance with the Student Financial Assistance Program requirement that funds be used solely for educational purposes. As schools may not necessarily be the employers in an off-campus employment arrangement, they must adopt effective procedures to notify off-campus employers that garnishment of WS wages for any debt other than a cost of attendance is not permissible.

Job Descriptions (WS)
Each WS position should have a job description that includes the following:
- the name and address of the student's employer (department, public agency, nonprofit organization),
- the purpose of the student's job,
- the student's duties and responsibilities,
- the job qualifications,
- the job's wage rate or range,
- the length of the student's employment (beginning and ending dates), and
- the name of the student's supervisor.

The job description has several purposes:
-It clearly defines whether the job qualifies under the WS Program.
-It provides the information needed to explain the position to a student and to help him or her select the type of employment most closely related to his or her educational or career objectives.
-It helps the financial aid administrator, the student, and the supervisor determine the number of hours of work required at the specified wage rate to meet a student's financial need.
-It establishes a written record, for both student and employer, of the job's duties and responsibilities so that there will be no misunderstanding.

If a student is employed with an agency or organization that provides community services, the school should, as with any other WS position, have a job description that includes the duties and the responsibilities.

Voluntary Services (WS, TS)
The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended, prohibits employers (including schools) from accepting voluntary services from any paid employee. Any student employed under WS or TS must be paid for all hours worked. They may not "volunteer" if an award is exhausted or the academic period ends.

Academic Credit for Work-Study (WS)
A student may earn academic credit as well as compensation for WS jobs. Such jobs include but are not limited to internships, practicum, or assistantships (e.g. research or teaching assistantships). However, a student employed in a WS job and receiving credit for that job may not be:

• paid less than he or she would be if no academic credit were given
• paid for receiving instruction in a classroom, laboratory, or other academic setting; and
• paid unless the employer would normally pay the person for the same job.

Career Services assists students with a credit-based experiential education program, the Brockport Career Exploration Course. Call 2159 for more information.

Work for an Individual Professor (WS)
At any private nonprofit or public school, a WS student may be assigned to assist a professor if the student is doing work the school would normally support under its own employment program. Having a student serve as a research assistant to a professor is appropriate, as long as the work is in line with the professor's official duties and is considered work for the school itself. Since each department is allowed to hire a limited number of WS students, individual professors must have the department chair approve any hiring.

Off-campus Employment (WS)
Students may be employed in off-campus WS jobs if the jobs are considered work "in the public interest" and are for a federal, state, or local public agency or for a private nonprofit organization.

One of the criteria for determining whether a job is eligible for WS purposes is that if there were no WS person to perform the job, it would still exist. That is, a WS eligible job is a job an employer normally has paid other persons to do outside the WS program. Therefore, if a particular agency accepts only WS eligible students to perform certain jobs and, should no WS students be available, refuses to fill the positions with non-WS eligible students, the positions would not be considered eligible for WS purposes.

As stated earlier, institutions are encouraged to place students in career-related positions or work related to the student's program of study to the extent this is possible. Such placements affords students a valuable experience which helps in making better career choices and adds work experience which will benefit the student when he or she seeks permanent employment. While there are opportunities for career-related employment on campus for some students, a well-run off-campus WS program greatly expands these opportunities.

Minimum Wage (WS,TS)
The minimum wage rate for a student employed under the WS program is the current minimum wage rate required under the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 or the New York minimum wage if that is higher.