Student Employment Handbook - Employment Pay Plan, Payroll and Benefits

Student Pay Plan and Pay Raise Procedures

Pay Plan

• Hourly student employees will be paid in accordance with the Student Employment Pay Plan. Classification level and hourly rate are based upon the nature of the job. While students who are new to a position are generally paid at the minimum for that level, departments have the discretion to set a beginning pay rate anywhere within the appropriate pay range.
• Non-hourly student employees: Due to the type of work performed, a limited number of student positions (i.e. resident assistants) are categorized as non-hourly and students are compensated at a fixed dollar amount for a specific, pre-determined time period. While these students do not use the University's timekeep system for tracking hours, they are required to record their hours per week using a department approved process (i.e. paper timecard, emailing working hours to supervisor, etc.). Department should retain the work hours records in accordance with the University's Records Retention Schedule and be able to be produced in the case of an audit.

Pay Rate Exception

• Students are not permitted to earn more than the maximum hourly rate for the Highly Specialized Level of the Student Employment Pay Plan.
• A department wishing to employ a student having special skills or training at more than this amount must complete the Pay Rate Exception Form.  Departments will be notified of a decision within two business days.

Pay Raise Procedures

• Pay raises can be made at the department's discretion, throughout the year, by submitting a Pay Raise Request Form to the Career Exploration and Development. Pay raises are effective on a Sunday, work week begin date.
• Reasons for pay raises include merit, rewarding job performance, change in responsibilities, or any special qualifications or training required to maintain the position.

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Direct Deposit, Electronic Pay Stubs, Payroll Schedule

Direct Deposit

• All student employees are required to enroll in a direct deposit program for their paychecks. Under the direct deposit program, the employee's pay is electronically deposited into the bank account(s) they designate. Student employees who are having difficulty securing a traditional bank account should contact Payroll, 127 Schwartz Center, 330-672-8640, or email payroll@kent.edu.
• The Payroll Office is the central check distribution point for all Kent campus student employees who may receive a paper check prior to the set-up of their direct deposit account. The Payroll Office is located in room 127 Schwartz Center. Regional Campus student employee checks will be mailed to the permanent address until the direct deposit account is established.
• Sign up for Direct Deposit in FlashLine (go to Employee, Dashboard, then select Payroll Direct Deposit from the quick links at the top).

Electronic Pay Stubs

• All student employees can view and print pay stubs online by logging into FlashLine, clicking on Employee on the left side bar, and then Dashboard.

Bi-weekly Payroll Schedule

• All student employees will be paid according to the bi-weekly payroll schedule established by the Payroll Office.  The schedule can be found in Flashline on the Employee Dashboard.
• Paycheck generation requires that the entire student hiring process be completed by the bi-weekly payroll schedule deadlines, including the upload of position details to Banner. 
• Students will be paid over the available bi-weekly pay dates based on the position begin and end dates, including at least one pay date after the position end date.

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OPERS, Workers Comp, Benefits and Leave Policy

Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS)

• While student employees of a public university are required to contribute to the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (in lieu of a contribution to social security), students who meet the credit hour enrollment requirement (6 hours undergraduate or 4 hours graduate) may request to waive contributions to OPERS.  The exemption from contribution option is offered with the initial, eligible student employment position with the university. Students who lose their eligibility for student employment due to a drop below the enrollment requirement also lose their exemption status and will be required to contribute to OPERS during any future student employment at the university.
• Students who choose or are required to contribute to OPERS, will make OPERS contributions based on the schedule below. In addition, Medicare tax will be withheld (1.45%) on gross wages for student employees (except international students) who contribute to OPERS due to less than half-time enrollment.

OPERS Contribution - Effective January 1, 2008:

Student Employee Contribution Rate = 10.0%
Employing Department Contribution Rate = 14.0%

Medicare Contribution

Student Employee Contribution Rate = 1.45%
Employing Department Contribution Rate = 1.45%

• Refund of OPERS Contributions:
  Upon termination of public employment in Ohio, students and alumni can apply for a refund of accumulated OPERS contributions. State law requires that 60 days elapse from your last day of public service before a refund can be made. However, you can apply for a refund anytime after your last day of employment. Eligible individuals should visit the Refunding Your OPERS Account. Questions? Contact OPERS at 1-800-222-7377.

Worker's Compensation

• Student employees are covered under worker's compensation for accidents or injuries that may occur at work.

Student Employee Contribution Rate = None
Employing Department Contribution Rate = .40%

Benefits and Leave Policy

• Student employees do not receive vacation, sick leave, or holiday pay; cannot earn annual longevity step increases, and are not eligible to apply for leave of absence.
• Students shall not be compensated for hours not worked, such as in the case of jury duty or emergency university closings (i.e. due to snow, etc).

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Standard Workweek and Recording Hours Worked

Standard Workweek

• The student payroll system is based upon a standard work week that begins at one minute past midnight Sunday morning and extends through a seven day period ending at midnight Saturday night. Work shifts that begin prior to midnight are considered time worked for the day in which the shift began.

Recording Time for ALL Hours Worked

• Student employees must be paid for ALL hours worked.  Supervisors are not permitted to accept voluntary services from their paid student employees.  See Administrative policy regarding volunteers.
• Supervisors are required to establish student work schedules that do not conflict with scheduled class times.  On occasion, a student may not have class at a regularly scheduled time (i.e., class is canceled, adjourned early, etc.) and would be eligible to work.  In this instance, the irregularity in the work schedule should be documented by the supervisor and a record retained according to the Records Retention Policy for Timecards.

Accessing the TimeClock Plus Timekeep System

• Most student employees will utilize TimeClock Plus for timekeeping. Access to TimeClock Plus (via FlashLine, in the Employee, Dashboard) will occur one to two business days after the student and supervisor receive the  On-Campus Student Employment Confirmation email from CampusWorks.
• Students with MULTIPLE POSITIONS must FIRST select the correct worksite before clocking into TimeClock Plus.
• For additional assistance, contact the Payroll Office at 330-672-8640 or payroll@kent.edu. 

Approving Time for Student Employees in TimeClock Plus

• The student employee's supervisor must approve, online (by midnight each Tuesday) all hours worked for the previous work week.  Adjustments to punches in TimeClock Plus should only be made to correct errors and not to reduce or increase actual hours worked.  Students may NOT be compensated for hours not worked due to university closings, etc. (see Student Benefits above), and student MUST be paid for all hours worked.
• Any record of time worked is considered an allied payroll document and must be treated with the same regard as any other fiscal record. Willful falsification of timekeep, or destruction of timekeep records, constitutes grounds for immediate termination of employment.

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W-2 Forms for Income Tax Purposes

• All Kent State employees may access an electronic W-2 form through FlashLine. To receive only the electronic version and have print capability, an employee must choose the consent option through FlashLine (go to Employee, Resources, and My Earnings & Benefit Elections). The electronic version is available each mid-January, approximately two weeks prior to the printed version that is mailed to an employee's permanent address. Employees should verify their permanent address in FlashLine (go to Student, Dashboard, My Personal Information).
• Additional information regarding Federal and State withholdings can be found at the Payroll website.
• Students who require a copy of their W-2 should contact the Payroll Office (127 Schwartz Center) at 330-672-8640 or payroll@kent.edu.

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