Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Summer Employment Guidelines

The Office of Human Resources is responsible for the coordination of temporary summer employment on campus.

We strive to provide fair and equitable opportunities to students enrolled at Hobart and William Smith Colleges and all others who are interested in working on our campus during the summer. Summer employment also supports the various campus departments who need seasonal help.

Selection

All those selected for hire must have an up-to-date online application on file in Interfolio, the Colleges applicant tracking system. All hires should be coordinated with the Office of Human Resources from posting the position to onboarding the new hire.

Hiring managers are encouraged to consider high school and college students from the local community. Additionally, preference for summer hires may be given in the following order assuming an applicant meets the requirements of the position.

• Regular employees of the Colleges who work less than 12 months
• HWS students who are on campus for the summer
• Children of HWS employees

New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) regulates the employment of minors (under age 18). Given these specific requirements, those hired at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, in most cases, must be 18 years or older. On occasion, based on the position, someone 16 years or older may be hired. Working papers must be provided and limitations, as outlined by the NYSDOL, must be strictly adhered to. If considering hiring someone under the age of 18, departments should contact Human Resources in advance of extending the offer.

In accordance with the Colleges' Employment of Relatives policy (see p. 7 of the Employee Handbook), the employment of employees’ relatives into the same area/department is not permitted; however, they may be permitted to work in the same division, with approval from the cabinet member who oversees that division.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services regulates work authorizations for those applicants who may be on a visa. Prior authorization should be obtained from Human Resources to ensure that someone does not work out of status and jeopardize their future employment in the U.S.

International students who graduate in May and plan on working on campus in their field of study during the summer must have Optional Practical Training approval before beginning employment. See the Director of International Student Affairs for details.

Background Screening Process

Hobart and William Smith Colleges requires background checks on all hires and volunteers who will work directly with minors or youth programs sponsored by the Colleges.

• Camps – Under NYS Public Health Law, for anyone hired (including current employees) to be engaged in the operation of a camp (day and overnight) requires a state sex offender check to be run. Human Resources must ascertain whether the employee or volunteer is listed on the state sex offender registry (this is part of the background check) prior to their first day of work and then renewed on an annual basis.

Wage Rates & Payroll Procedures

For academic year 2018- 2019, HWS Students are currently paid $11.10 per hour. Any exceptions must be approved in advance by the Office of Human Resources. Please note that HWS students will continue to be paid biweekly during the summer, according to the Student Pay Schedule, with FICA taxes withheld. Student employees are required to submit their hours worked using the online self-service time reporting system.

During the summer, all temporary summer employees will be paid biweekly according to the Administrative Hourly Pay Schedule. Temporary employees are required to submit their hours worked to their direct supervisor on a biweekly basis using paper timesheets.

Please contact Payroll at ext. 3342 with any questions regarding time reporting or supervisor approvals.

Housing

According to the Internal Revenue Service, if employer premise housing is provided to an employee, it can only be excluded from their income if it is a requirement of their job to live on premise and as such is a convenience for the employer. If these exclusions are not met, the payment of housing is taxable income to the individual.

If a department wants to offset or pay in full the cost of housing for a student employee, the supervisor should contact Conferences & Events to make arrangements. The Office of Conference and Events will then notify Payroll of the housing cost for the student. A benefit will be added to the student’s paycheck so that the appropriate payroll taxes can be withheld. This may be spread over multiple pay periods depending on the length of the stay. (Please note: If Conferences & Events is not notified in a timely manner, the housing benefit will be spread over a shorter period and may have a more significant impact on the student’s paycheck). If you have any questions regarding the taxable housing benefit, please contact payroll at payroll@hws.edu.

Beginning June 2nd, this process will be applied to those individuals who reside in campus housing beyond a 7 day consecutive period.

Exceptions

Exceptions to the guidelines above will only be approved in extenuating circumstances and must be approved by the Vice President of Human Resources.