All employees are required, by Federal Law, to complete Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification within three days of the day they start working. Students are not an exception to this rule. Student workers MUST have a valid Form I-9 complete before they begin working. 

If you are not an approved Student Employment Liaison, you should work with the appropriate party in your school/department that is a designated "Student Employment Liaison", as they have completed training on hiring student workers, including how to fill out the Form I-9. Only approved Student Employment Liaisons are allowed to complete Section 2 of the Form I-9. 

Student Employment Liaisons:

• Review the daily "Student Employment Valid Student I9" List email. Students that already have a valid I-9 completed and on file will be included in that list. If they are on the list, you can skip to the next section on hiring steps. If the student is not in that list, please see the next steps. 
  • If the student is a US citizen or Permanent Resident, you need to have the student begin their I-9 on Equifax. An authorized I-9 completer will then need to complete Section 2 in Equifax BEFORE they start working.
  • If the student is a Non-Resident Alien, you need to have the student begin their I-9 on Equifax. The Payroll Office will need to complete Section 2 of the I-9. Provide the student with the International Student Pre-employment Checklist and have them follow the new-hire instructions on the checklist. You do not need to collect any forms. The Payroll Office will collect all the forms.
• If the position is a Federal Work Study position, obtain a copy of the Placement letter the Office of Financial Aid. Do not allow the student to begin work until you see the placement letter. 
• Once the I-9 process is completed, the student should be issued a Student Employment Card. Ensure the student has a valid Student Employment Card. (This is a physical card they should be able to show you.)

Electronic Personnel Action Form (EPAF)

Most student positions will be entered in Banner via the Electronic Personnel Action Form (EPAF.) The approved Student Employment Liaison in your department will know how to complete the EPAF. Instructions for originating and approving EPAFs are below. 

• Handbook for Approvers
• Handbook for Originators
• EPAF Reference Sheet

Exceptions to EPAFs:

1. SLAGFAR - Research Assistants, Teaching Assistants, and Fellowships (no work relationship) complete a form in Banner called SLAGFAR. Completion of the SLAGFAR form will be facilitated through the Office of Graduate Education. 
   • Fellowships: It is extremely important to ensure that an appointment as a Fellowship is truly a Fellowship and not employment. No work expectations can be required. Both the Office of Graduate Education and the Payroll office have Fellowship Appointment Templates that should be utilized by your department to ensure that appropriate language is used and all necessary details are communicated correctly.  If funding a Fellowship through a grant, ensure that the grant being charged is set up to allow Fellowship payments. 
2. Student Authorization/Cancellation Form - this form should be utilized for any changes to student employee positions (change in termination date, compensation amount, etc.) 
   • Hourly Student Form 
   • Salaried Student Form

• Explain how they get paid.
• Encourage your student worker to be paid through Direct Deposit. 
  • Direct them to instructions for setting up Direct Deposit which can be done through their SIS account. 
  •  If they do not elect direct deposit, their checks can be picked up at the Payroll Office (Troy Building, 5th Floor). 
• Tell the student they can obtain/view their pay stubs and W-2, at SIS.RPI.EDU. The paystub will indicate whether they were paid by check or direct deposit.
• Students can complete their payroll tax elections through their SIS accounts. 
  • Direct them to the instructions for electing federal and state tax withholdings through SIS.
  • Alternatively, they can manually fill out the forms and submit them to the support site. Those forms can be found on the Student Payroll Information page. 
• Have the student complete a confidentiality statement and maintain that statement in your office.
• If your department requires training to be completed by the student before they start working, obtain proof of the training completion.
• Review job description, expectations, and access to buildings, labs, etc.
• Review hours of operation and clearly explain when and where the student is to work.
• Explain the process of notification if they need to come in late, leave early, or will not be in.
• Encourage the student to sign up for an electronic W-2 in SIS.
• Make the student aware of the Student Worker Employment Handbook and Employment Policy and recommend they review it.
• Provide the Payroll Calendar, which can be found on the Student Employment and Payroll websites. Students are paid every other Friday.
• Refer student workers to the Student Employment website as a source of information. 

There are various types of student employment positions across campus and some programs have their own guidelines that govern the number of hours that a student is allowed to work. Program guidelines must be followed. The additional guidelines below are the general rules around the amount of time students work, but do not supercede program guidelines or requirements. 

• Talk to student about the work schedule. Students are not permitted to work more than 20 hours per week during an academic term and no more than 40 hours per week during breaks. If your department has a requirement that even fewer hours be worked, be sure to communicate that to the student.
• Students are allowed to work multiple jobs across campus, but cannot exceed the 20 hour limit across all of the jobs.
• If a student works more than 40 hours per week (during breaks), across all combined jobs, overtime must be paid. The Payroll Office will determine which job must pay the overtime. Overtime should be an exception and not the norm, will require Supervisor approval.
• It is important to make the student aware that they are responsible for tracking their total hours in a week to ensure they do not exceed 40 hours in any given week. (the student payroll week runs from Thursday to the following Wednesday).
• Explain how hours are submitted in your department (be specific and stress the deadlines.) If hourly, they must submit their hours worked by the established deadline to be paid on time.
• If the student is being paid from Federal Work Study funds, remind them that they cannot exceed their maximum work hours awarded.

Supervisors of student workers have certain responsibilities. The following list of responsibilities should be considered by a supervisor when working with a student.

• Ensure that student workers do not begin work until you have verification of the student’s eligibility to work in the United States. They must have a completed Form I-9 and the student will be able to present a Student Employment Card if the required paperwork is complete. You must ask to see this card and if they student cannot produce it, they cannot start working.
• Provide adequate training and introduction to the workplace, policies, and procedures for their position.
• Review and approve each student worker's time sheet by the required due date.
• Ensure that the student worker receives their pay in a timely manner.
• Encourage student workers to sign up for direct deposit to receive their pay in a timely manner.
• Support any student with a documented disability that needs accommodations for their job. Please consult with Payroll or Human Resources for proper details to support student staff in this manner.
• Comply with all federal, state, and local employment laws, regulations and Institute standards.

• Provide adequate training and introduction to the workplace, policies, and procedures for their position.
• Provide a space for working that is free from hazards.
• Keep lines of communication open and clear. Be firm, yet flexible.
• Establish clear goals, performance expectations and ground rules.
• Delegate! Assume that the students you have hired are competent and responsible. Provide them with the potential for learning and growth.
• Set a positive example of professional, polite and ethical behavior. Supervisors are expected to be departmental role models.
• Provide a working environment with meaningful employment.
• Show appreciation for exceptional work.
• Be an accessible supervisor.
• Encourage risk-taking and decision-making. Letting students know that you trust as well as believe in them helps to foster a sense of cohesiveness, which can lead to increased self-esteem. Please remember that this is an experience for student workers and part of their co-circular learning.

Rensselaer fosters open and respectful communication among student workers and supervisors. If situations arise that threaten the quality of a work environment, progressive discipline is appropriate. If student workers fail to meet reasonable standards of performance, supervisors are expected to take appropriate action in the manner outlined in this set of guidelines. The goal of these steps is to improve job performance, so that the student may continue as an effective member of the working environment. Please note that this is a guideline only. Steps may be skipped or revisited at the discretion of the supervisor.

Verbal warning and a note made in file

• Schedule verbal counseling no later than one workday after the incident.
• Clearly specify the reason for the action.
• State that this is a verbal warning and failure to improve job performance may result in more progressive action.
• Keep a record of the time and date of the warning, the reason for the counseling, the date/time and the outcome.

Written warning in file and follow-up with Supervisor

• List the job performance problems that have caused the disciplinary action to be taken.
• Indicate the date(s) of the specific instance(s) that occurred.
• Include desired changes to job performance.
• Keep all copies.

Meeting with Supervisor to create an action plan for success. Action plans will be signed and three week re-evaluation will be scheduled.

• Specify the job performance problems that have caused disciplinary action to be taken.
• Indicate the date(s) of the specific instance(s) that occurred.
• Document previous verbal and written counseling including actions that were taken.
• Come up with a step-by-step action plan for student improvement, including but not limited to, shift changes.
• The supervisor and student should sign the plan of action.
• If the cause of the improper behavior is beyond your scope of supervision or there is dangerous behavior evident please consult the health center professionals on the best course of action.
• In addition to the above steps the supervisor has the option to suspend the student from employment for a period of up to 10 working days.

Termination

• Terminations need to be made in person and in writing.
• The written notification of the termination must include the date on which the separation will become effective and a specific statement as to the cause of termination.
• Notify Payroll if a job will be terminated. 
• In addition, any work-study terminations must be reported to the Office of Financial Aid with a detailed account of the reason for termination.