Hiring Student Workers for the Summer?

Hiring a new student worker this summer or plan on continuing employment through the summer for a current student worker?

It’s important to understand the student’s academic status during the summer months to determine the appropriate employment and payroll paperwork.

Payroll Authorization Form (PAF):
Student Worker vs Temporary Staff – It is important that you understand the correct classification for the student for the summer with regard to the PAF.

• If the student is not enrolled in a credit-bearing summer term class (either session 1/2/combined), they should be classified as Temporary Staff and will need a Temporary Staff PAF for the summer.
• If the student is enrolled in a Summer Term credit-bearing class (either session 1/2/combined), they will remain classified as a Student Worker and will need a Student Worker PAF for the summer.  This applies to undergraduate and graduate student workers.
• If the student graduates in May 2015 and is not enrolled in summer term classes, they should be classified as temporary staff.

Note:  

• All current student worker PAFs will expire on May 15, 2015.  A new PAF must be submitted if the student will be working past May 15th and will not be paid until received in Payroll.
• International Student Workers:  After determining the appropriate PAF to use for summer, departments will continue to follow the instructions for hiring international student workers provided by the International Students & Scholars Office (ISSS).

Other Required Paperwork:

Employment classification (student worker or temporary staff) will determine the additional employment paperwork required for summer employment.  The following forms may be impacted:

• Form W-4
• SMU ID card (student vs. staff).
• A background check may be required

The attached document highlights the classification and the required paperwork for each classification.

Resources:

Student Worker Employment Packet

Temporary Staff Employment Packet