Office of Student Employment has experienced a change in required federal paperwork for student employment and loans this year, causing confusion over late paychecks for employees, according to Assistant Director of Financial Aid Darlene Robinson.
Students have reported receiving late paychecks with amounts that do not match up with the hours they thought they had worked that pay period.
The cause however, is the student employment paper work. Many students are starting to work at their job faster than the paperwork can be processed, according to Robinson.
Robinson said every student is required to file the I-9 with his other employer within three days of employment. The other necessary documents including the Human Resources' payroll information are available on the student employment website and are available to the public on federal websites.
Robinson added that the process of verifying this information by federal regulation takes time and is reflected in paychecks when students start work right after submitting documentation without leaving time for their papers to process.
"We have to follow federal guidelines and those guidelines are your documents must be in prior to your working," Robinson said. "The earlier you hand them in, the better."
Robinson said there is a difference in the documents required this year for employment compared with last year.
Robinson added that this change affects the verification process, making it longer because it includes more detail.
According to Robinson, this is the first year data retrieval and tax transcripts are required. Also, when students bring in expired documentation, it can disrupt the verification process.
Students, such as sophomore Nicole Fischer, are noticing the effects this year on their first pay period checks.
"The whole reason that you get a job is so that you have extra money to get the things you want and entertainment," Fischer said. "But when you are working as much as possible and still not getting paid, it is a really defeating feeling."
According to Fischer the difference this year is evident. Student employees around the office are sharing an overall attitude of frustration.
Fischer reports her paycheck being held up for about four weeks, but when checking with the Bursar office was told paperwork was still processing.
In order to avoid the initial wait, turning in documentation as early as possible is crucial, according to Robinson.
Robinson expressed her concern for the lateness of paychecks and said she assures students she is trying to get everything settled.
"I'm trying my hardest to get students to understand the importance of doing what you need to do beforehand, because it's not something that we want to do, but we have to follow federal rules," Robinson said.
The student employment website provides information on how to turn in paperwork for anyone interested in employment, and the Bursar office can also provide information to students concerned about late loans or paychecks.
Access to federal documents is public information that can be found online by looking it up through any search engine.
Mary Marshall can be reached at mary.marshall@student.shu.edu.
