Who Receives Student Employment Assignments?

Students who have work awards as part of their financial aid package.

Non-aid students who have applied for work only.

Generally there are more students wanting to work than there are open positions. If a student is awarded work as part of a financial aid package, this gives the student the opportunity to earn up to that awarded amount. But because of factors such as class schedule and the number of open positions a student might not be able to earn the full amount. Students who are assigned work as part of their financial aid package will be assigned to known open positions first before non-need students are considered.

Student Employment Assignments

During the summer prior to each academic year, jobs are assigned to students who have work study as part of their financial aid package, and also to students who have applied for work only. Student work assignments are emailed during July and August.

If you have not applied for a job but wish to work on campus,you can view available Student Job Postings online. Once you have found a job, you must contact the Student Financial Services Office to let them know where you'll be working. You must also go in person to the Payroll Office, Leighton 110, to complete the required INS and tax forms before starting work.

Refusing All or Part of Your Work Contract

Students may refuse part or their entire work contract for any term or the entire academic year. If you decide to refuse part or your entire work contract, send a signed and dated letter to the Student Financial Services Office indicating how many hours per week you are refusing, for which job(s), and for which term(s). It's important to notify your supervisors.

Whenever you refuse part or your entire work contract, you will be forfeiting those earnings, and such a decision should be made in consultation with your parents, as it may impact the amount of money that the family will need to pay toward the tuition bill.

Should you change your mind and decide later that you want to work, it is not guaranteed you will be assigned to your original position or be assigned a new position. In order for you to work elsewhere on campus, you would be required to follow the standard procedure for transferring jobs from one department to another.

Required Forms Which a Student Must Complete Before Beginning Work

The following forms must be completed and returned to the Payroll Office, Leighton 110 prior to your first day of work. All first-year students with work assignments will receive these forms in their summer mailing. For students who did not receive them by mail, forms are available in the Payroll Office.

Federal I-9 Forms

With the passage of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, every employer in the United States must check the legal status of all employees, including student employees, hired to work after November 6, 1986, or face the threat of criminal penalties.

To prove eligibility for employment on campus, you are required to provide documentation described on the back of the I-9 form. The most commonly used forms of identification are a passport OR a valid driver’s license or college ID card AND a social security card or certified birth certificate. If a certified birth certificate is used, the official seal must be able to be both seen and felt. Photocopies and faxes of any documents are not allowed. Only original documents can be accepted. For a complete list of acceptable documents, see the reverse side of the I-9 Form. If you don’t have all of the required original documents in your possession, you will need to obtain these documents before beginning your job. By law, no student is allowed to begin work, regardless of the supervisor’s or department’s dire circumstances, until they have presented all of the required forms in person to a staff member in the Payroll Office, Leighton 110.

W-4 Form

Each student is required by the Internal Revenue Service to complete a W-4 form indicating the number of withholding allowances they wish to claim. Once this form has been completed, it will be kept on file in the Payroll Office and does not need to be filled out again unless you wish to change the number of allowances you are claiming.

This form needs to be completed using your permanent home address, not your campus address. On Line 5, indicate the number of allowances you are going to claim. Students, unless married, can only qualify for 0 or 1 allowance. With 0 allowances claimed, taxes will be withheld from your paycheck as soon as possible. This means that your take-home pay might be slightly less, but you will either owe less money at the end of the tax year, or you will receive more money back, because more money will have been withheld throughout the year. With 1 allowance, you can earn more money before tax withholding will kick in. This will result in slightly higher take-home pay, but, if you owe money at the end of the tax year, you will owe MORE money if you claim 1 allowance because not enough money will have been withheld.

You must earn a certain dollar amount before tax withholding will take effect even if you claim 0 allowances. This threshold is figured for each individual pay period, and is not based on cumulative earnings throughout the year. During academic terms, you probably won’t have much, if any, federal tax withheld, regardless of the number of allowances you claim, because your total earnings during each pay period won’t be great enough for tax withholding to kick in. If you work during breaks, however, your earnings are usually greater. In this case, the number of allowances claimed on your W-4 Form can make a difference in your after-tax earnings.

All student wages are taxable income, whether paid to you or credited to your tuition account, and will be reported on your W-2 Form at the end of each calendar year. This includes both federal and Minnesota taxes.

Unlike wages earned during academic terms, wages earned during breaks are subject to both FICA and Medicare taxes, as well as federal and state withholdings.

All foreign students are required to claim 1 allowance on line 5, and put “$3/week” on line 6. Line 7 is to be left blank.

Consequences to You of Not Completing the W-4 Form:

By law, anyone who has not completed a W-4 Form will be considered to have claimed zero (0) allowances, and their earnings will be taxed accordingly.

Direct Deposit or Payroll Deduction Forms

Carleton College does not issue paychecks. You have a choice of having your work earnings electronically deposited into a checking or savings account, or applying it to your tuition. Whichever you choose, the appropriate form must be completed and returned either to the Payroll Office or the Business Office prior to the end of the first pay period during which you work on campus.

If you have not filled out either a checking/savings account deposit form or a blue payroll deduction card, your earnings will automatically be credited to your tuition account. If you want to change where your earnings are directed, or wish to receive funds which were credited to your tuition account, you must contact the Student Accounts Specialist in the Business Office.

Disabilities That Interfere with Your Job

If you were experiencing a physical, mental or emotional disability, which makes it, difficult or impossible to perform the tasks of your assigned job, you should notify your supervisor and together determine whether or not a different job within the department would be feasible and possible. If so, you should be assigned new tasks that are more appropriate to and accommodating of your disability. If there is no new position available within the department, you and your supervisor should contact the Student Work Coordinator for reassignment to a more appropriate location. It will be necessary to provide the Student Work Coordinator with a written note from the attending health professional stating that it is detrimental to your well being to work at your assigned position.

Student Responsibilities

It is the responsibility of each student employee to:

• Contact your supervisor prior to the first day of classes each term to arrange your work schedule. Entering first-year students should meet with their work supervisor(s) during the time set aside for that purpose during New Student Week.
• Complete the I-9 Form before beginning your first job on campus.
• Complete the W-4 Form.
• Report to the Student Financial Services Office all job changes which occur throughout the year and complete the required online work transfer before you begin working at your new job.
• Report to work as scheduled, and on time.
• Personally contact your supervisor as early in the workday as possible, and according to your supervisor’s instructions, if you will be absent from work due to illness or conflicts.
• Ask your supervisor if you wish to revise your work schedule or take time off from work.
• Perform your job assignments to the best of your ability. Ask questions if you are uncertain about what to do or how a task should be done. Avoid socializing on the job, and use the telephone and computer for business purposes only. Be courteous to your supervisor and all co-workers.
• Dress appropriately. Although Carleton doesn’t have a dress code per se, your supervisor will tell you what type of dress is suitable for your particular position.
• Maintain confidentiality of student and College records to which you have access as part of your campus job. In some cases, your supervisor may require you to sign a confidentiality statement. Any breach of this confidentiality agreement will result in immediate termination, which will become part of your permanent record in the Dean of Students Office.
• Record your work hours on your online timesheet at the end of each work shift. Keep track of your total earnings for each pay period and the balance you have left to earn on your student employment award. You can also view an approximate number of hours you have left available on the Hub. You are not allowed to work beyond your authorized work award. Your assignment ends once you have earned that amount.
• Discuss any work-related problems or questions you might have with your supervisor. If you and your supervisor cannot resolve the problem, contact Student Financial Services.

Transferring Jobs From One Department to Another

You may transfer job assignments from one department to another only after the supervisor to whom you were originally assigned signs a work transfer agreeing to the change. Ususally a work transfer of all or part of your hours is not a problem. However there are times that a supervisor may not release you from your current assignment because your employment is so crucial to that department it would put undo burden on the supervisor, the department or the remainin student employees.

Work Transfers. Transfering hours from one position to another is an online process that begins here. Both your current supervisor and new supervisor will need to agree to the transfer. Once both supervisors agree to the transfer, then Student Financial Services will enter the change to the system. Students will get an email notification that a student employment change has happened. The student can see the updated work assignments by logging into The Hub.

Students are not permitted to change jobs without prior approval from their assigned supervisor(s). Any student who begins working in an unassigned department without having first completed a work transfer will not be paid for any hours worked in the new position unless/until a completed online form is received by Student Financial Services.

Refusing All or Part of Your Assignment

Students have the right to refuse part or their entire work assignment for any term, or the entire academic year. If you decide to refuse part or your entire work assignment, send a letter to the SFS Office indicating how many hours per week you are refusing, for which job(s) you’re refusing them, and for which term(s). Supervisors should also be notified of your decision.

Student Timesheets

Once you have been assigned work in a department, you will have an online timesheet that will show on the Hub. Student hours MUST be recorded as they are worked, rather than filled in at the end of the pay period. Both you and your work supervisor must approve timesheets. Fractions of hours should be recorded as decimals (.25, .50, .75).

Termination of Student Employees

If you are not showing up for work, or are not completing your work satisfactorily, it is the right of your supervisor to terminate your employment.

Procedure for Terminating Student Employees:

Verbal warning and discussion of the problem. If your supervisor is not satisfied with your attendance record or job performance, they should discuss the matter with you, and detail exactly how they expect you to correct the problem(s).

Written warning. If the problem continues, your supervisor has been asked to issue you one, or preferably two, written warnings stating precisely what the unacceptable behavior or performance is, exactly what change is required on your part, and a date by which your behavior or performance must improve in order to prevent you from losing your job. A copy of each warning letter will become a part of your permanent file in the Dean of Student’s Office.

It is up to each supervisor to decide how many written warnings they will issue before terminating your work assignment.

Termination. If your attendance or job performance still does not improve, the supervisor has a right to terminate your employment.

If a supervisor has terminated you, you are not allowed to accept any other campus employment for the remainder of the term in which your termination occurred. You may work on campus during the remaining term(s) of the academic year, but will be treated as a non-aid student without a work assignment and will be required to wait until after the first week of classes each term before seeking or accepting campus employment.

Student Work Evaluations

Before you complete your work assignment for the academic year, your supervisor has the opportunity to complete a Student Employee Evaluation Form. Supervisors that complete an evaluation should review it with you. Some departments may have different procedures.

At the end of the performance review, the form should be signed by both you and your supervisor. Your signature does NOT indicate that you agree with your supervisor’s evaluation of your work. It merely indicates that you have had a chance to see and review the evaluation form. All of your Student Employee Evaluation Forms become part of your permanent file in the Dean of Student’s Office.

There is a box on the bottom of the back of the form. You should indicate whether you DO or DO NOT authorize the information contained in the evaluation to be shared with future campus supervisors who may wish to hire you. You must also sign and date the evaluation form. If either or both of these elements are missing, the evaluation will be treated as if you HAD NOT authorized the release of information, and the contents WILL NOT be shared with other supervisors on campus.

NOTE: This authorization to release or not release information on student evaluations pertains ONLY to on-campus supervisors. Circling “Do Not” will not prohibit the information from being shared with future off-campus employers who request job performance information, references, recommendations or evaluations.

Student Rights Regarding Evaluation Forms. If you receive what you feel is an unfair performance review, you have the option of writing a letter explaining the situation from your perspective. Your letter should be sent to the Dean of Students Office with a written request that it become part of your file and be included with your supervisor’s evaluation whenever that information is shared with prospective employers.

Accidents and injuries on the job

Carleton complies with federal and state OSHA regulations. Supervisors and student employees are expected to comply with all safety laws, rules and regulations. Immediately report any unsafe working conditions, equipment or practices to your supervisor. You must wear any and all required protective gear while on the job. Fire protection and prevention practices must be complied with at all times.

All on-the-job accidents or injuries, no matter how small, MUST be reported to your supervisor and to Human Resources within 24 hours of their occurrence in order for Workman’s Compensation coverage to take effect. Any injuries reported after the 24-hour deadline cannot be covered by Workman’s Compensation.

Breaks and Lunch Hours

You are allowed one 15-minute paid break for every consecutive four-hour shift. If a lunch break occurs during a student’s shift, you may take the break with the supervisor’s permission, but will not be paid for that period of time.

Holiday Pay/Holiday Hours During Breaks

During the Carleton holiday party, which is normally held on a Friday afternoon in December from 3:00-5:00 PM, the workday for students and temporary workers ends at 3:00 PM. You may not work beyond that time unless your supervisor specifically authorizes you ahead of time to continue working. The College will only pay for hours actually worked. If an office does not remain open during the party, you have the option of making up those two hours either earlier that week, or during another week when you will not be working 40 hours

If the College is closed for an official holiday, such as the 4th of July or Labor Day, students will not be paid for any work done on those days unless they have received prior authorization from their supervisors. You will not receive holiday pay for the days the College is closed. Likewise, if the College officially closes and employees are sent home for any reason, you will not receive pay for the work missed.

Sexual Harassment

The State of Minnesota defines sexual harassment as follows:

“Sexual harassment includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, sexually motivated physical contact, or other verbal or physical conduct of communication of a sexual nature when:

Submission to that conduct or communication is made a term or condition, either explicitly or implicitly, of obtaining employment, education or

Submission to or rejection of such conduct or communication by an individual is used as a factor in decisions affecting that individual’s employment (or) education;

That conduct has the purpose or effect of substantially interfering with an individual’s employment or education…or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive employment or educational environment…and in the case of employment, the employer knows or should know of the existence of the harassment and fails to take timely and appropriate action.”

Refer to the College’s policy on Sexual Harassment in both the Student Handbook and the Staff Handbook.