Federal Work Study Employment Policy
For Interpretation of this policy, Please Contact: The Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships, 909/537-5227
Policy:
The purpose of this document is to set forth appropriate standards for Work Study student employment, which are consistent with the mission of the university and Federal Work Study regulations and guidelines. For purposes of this document, the term 'Work Study student' is to be interpreted as any student who has been awarded Federal Work Study funds in their official Financial Aid Award Notification.
STUDENT ELIGIBILITY
A student must be awarded Federal Work Study funds as part of their official Financial Aid and Scholarships Notification to qualify for Work Study employment. Exclusive of summer session, the student must be enrolled or accepted for enrollment during the term in which he/she will be employed and maintain enrollment status of half-time or greater and be pursuing a degree or certificate objective.
Graduate students in a master's program offered by the university must be in a continuous enrollment program. All students must maintain satisfactory academic progress as defined by the Financial Aid Office in order to continue Work Study employment.
It is the responsibility of the employing department to verify that the student maintains minimum unit enrollment to retain eligibility for Work Study employment.
The following student classifications are ineligible to participate in the Federal Work Study program: Students enrolled through the College of Extended and Global Education (CEGE) and Open University, International and undocumented students.
PERIOD OF ELIGIBILITY
The Work Study student period of eligibility may not exceed the award period. Generally, this means the academic year beginning after July 1 and ending June 30, unless the student is enrolled for less than the entire year. The period of eligibility ends when one of the following occurs:
- The student earns the authorized Work Study amount designated on the official Financial Aid Award Notification.
- The award period ends; or
- The student fails to meet all other eligibility criteria for financial aid, e.g., enrollment status, satisfactory academic progress, financial need, etc
- Program funding has exhausted
WORK-STUDY JOBS
Work-Study employment opportunities offer a variety of positions both on and off-campus. Work-Study jobs include: student assistant, library assistant, lab assistant, athletic assistant, student assistant, etc.
Work-Study positions are available through the Human Resources Job Opportunities website for eligible Work-Study students at: https://careers.csusb.edu/en-us/filter/?job-mail-subscribe-privacy=agree&search-keyword=&work-type=student%20assistant%20-%20federal%20work%20study
All Work-Study positions are subject to approval by Human Resources.
EARNINGS LIMITATION/MONITORING RESPONSIBILITY
A student may not earn more Work Study than the amount authorized by the Financial Aid Office. It is the responsibility of the employing agency to monitor and cease Work Study employment when the student reaches the authorized amount. A student who works beyond the authorized amount will not be paid from Work Study funds, but rather from the employing department's/agency's own funds. Hiring departments are required to provide an alternate chartfield string account that authorizes the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office to complete a transfer of expenditures in the event of an over-award.
Students will need to present proof of eligibility to work as described by the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1986 at the time of placement.
Form I-9 Acceptable Documents may be found in the USCIS Website, link: https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents. The student may choose which document(s) they present from the Lists of Acceptable Documents. The employer must accept any document (from List A) or combination of documents (one from List B and one from List C).
Also, as a new employee, students will need to bring their original social security card for tax reporting purposes on their first day. Per tech letter HR/Benefits 2003-09, “The CSU campuses and the Chancellor’s Office, as state employers, are responsible for accurately recording and reporting Social Security Number's to our pay agent, the State Controller’s office (SCO)”. All newly hired employees are required to present their physical Social Security Card to be entered into the State Controller’s Office’s Payroll system. A physical Social Security Card is required for processing pay.
WORKING HOURS
Generally, Federal Work Study students may not work more than 20 hours per week when classes are in session, or 40 hours when classes are not in session if funding is available. Employing department must send a memorandum requesting for their students to work over 20 hours during breaks. Students may only hold one Work Study position at a time. However, they may simultaneously hold a Student Assistant position in addition to their Work Study job, as long as the combined weekly hours do not exceed the maximums listed above.
PAYROLL PROCESS
A completed time sheet is required for every Work-Study student for each official State Controller pay period. It is the responsibility of each employing department to ensure that all information on the time sheet is accurate and contains all required signatures. The original time sheet(s) must be maintained by the employing office for a five-year period. Payroll information from timesheets should be transferred by student to CHRS. Student time reporting should be reported by the deadline indicated on the Student and Positive Pay Calendar. Timekeepers are required to review and approve student time by the deadline indicated on the Student and Positive Pay Calendar. Work-Study pay will be issued on or around the 15th calendar day of each month. Any pay date which falls on a Saturday will be moved to the preceding Friday; any pay date which falls on a Sunday will be moved to the following Monday.
WORKING CONDITIONS
Work Study students are temporary employees of the employing department or agency. As such, they are expected to maintain the same standards applied to other temporary or permanent employees. Moreover, as employees, they are required to adhere to the Fair Labor Standards Act which require Per CA Labor Code 512 employees are entitled to an unpaid 30-minute meal break when working more than 5 hours a day. However, if the student is working no more than 6 hours and there is mutual consent of both hiring manager and employee, the meal period may be waived. Additionally, students are entitled to a 10-minute paid break for every 4 consecutive hours worked.
Where applicable, on-campus employing departments are required to insure that Work Study students pass the CSUSB Defensive Driving Test prior to driving any campus vehicle. Additionally, in the rare circumstance where a Work Study student may use their own vehicle while working, the department must verify that the student has adequate automobile insurance.
BACKGROUND CHECK POLICY
The hiring department is responsible for determining whether their student will be in a position in which a background check is required by law. Students employed in the following areas will require a background check: If the position requires being in regular direct contact with minors, Position requires access to stored criminal offender record information, Position requires access to patients drugs or medication, Position requires access to-or control on a regular basis of amounts greater than $10,000 in cash, checks, credit cards, and/or credit card account information. Students cannot begin employment until all clearances have been met.
Rehire Exception: Any former employee who is re-appointed to a CSU position without a break in service of twelve (12) months or more, will not be subject to the background check requirements. However, if a student employee is re-hired and his/her job duties have changed, it is necessary to determine if a background check is required by law in the new position. If it is determined that they are employed in a position in which a background check is required by law, a background check will need to be cleared before the student may begin working. If you have any questions regarding background checks and/or livescans please contact human resources at (909) 537-3138.
OFF CAMPUS
The pay rate for the Federal Work Study off-campus program is determined by the employing agency and corresponds to the wage scales for the existing labor market and the skills and duties required for the position. The starting rate of pay must be approved by the Work Study Coordinator or Director of Financial Aid and Scholarships