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Placing a Student on Payroll

All Student employees must be hired and approved on SEAS before the student begins working, in order to receive a paycheck from MSU Payroll.  

Hiring Process

NEWLY HIRED STUDENTS MUST BE PROCESSED THROUGH THE STUDENT EMPLOYMENT AUTOMATED SYSTEM (SEAS) PRIOR TO STARTING WORK.  This procedure insures that departments hire students who are eligible to work on campus and/or provides employers with information concerning Work-Study.

1. The employing department must enter student hiring information on the Student Employment Authorization System (SEAS).
2. DEPARTMENT REPRESENTATIVES MUST VERIFY THE STUDENT'S NAME AND SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER BY VIEWING AN ORIGINAL OR DUPLICATE SOCIAL SECURITY CARD.
3. Departments should refer to the Job Classification Database to determine the correct grade level and job classification. Pay rates are reviewed and approved annually by the MSU Board of Trustees in mid-July.
4. A completed, original I-9 form, (for students who have not previously been paid on student employee payroll) must be sent to MSU Student Employment for approval.
5. Upon approval of the hiring information in SEAS, the student should complete a Withholding Allowance Certificate, Form W-4 and a Michigan withholding allowance certificate, MI-W4. The forms for U.S. citizens and permanent residents are available online via the MSU Payroll Office web site. International students should go directly to the Payroll Office, 350 Administration, to fill out their forms.
6. Forms to authorize direct deposit of student payroll checks are available online via the ePayroll web site.
7. Project Pay forms must still be submitted to Student Employment in order to have an approved record in SEAS. 

Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9) Processing

• Federal regulations require that an Employment Eligibility Verification (I-9) form be completed within three days of the start of work and the original form must be sent to MSU Student Employment for each new student employee.  If the student has previously been approved for student employee payroll, you can check in SEAS to see if the I-9 has already been verified. 
• If s/he has previously been hired on Labor Payroll through Human Resources Staffing, s/he may already have a valid I-9 form on file and you can contact MSU Student Employment for verification. 
• If departments are unsure of the correct way to fill out the I-9 form, the student can go to MSU Student Employment 110 Nisbet Building to have the I-9 form filled out.  Original I-9 forms are kept on file in MSU Student Employment. 

Other Forms

• Exposure to Health Risks: If there is exposure to health risks on the job, as identified by the employing department, the employing department must send a copy of the Exposure to Health Risks form to MSU Student Employment, and a Health Assessment of the student employee must be done at MSU Occupational Health.
  Questions about job exposure risks should be directed to the Office of Radiation, Chemical and Biological Safety.  If the student employee will be exposed to health risks, the student should be informed by the employing department at the time of hire of the need to have a health risk assessment completed at the MSU Occupational Health Office.
• Michigan Right-to-Know Law: The Michigan Right-to-Know Law requires that all employees who may be exposed to hazardous chemicals receive chemical safety awareness training.
  • Student employees who are known to be or who could potentially be exposed to hazardous chemicals must be informed of their rights under the law and specific safety procedures necessary to work with these materials.
  • Student employees who are not working with hazardous chemicals or who have a low probability of exposure must also be informed that they may request the same training concerning their rights under the law.
  • Training may be accomplished in the same manner used for other employees: written communications, video presentations, and in-house training.
  • Contact the Office of Radiation, Chemical and Biological Safety for additional information and assistance regarding video presentations and training.
• MSU Drug-Free Workplace policy: The employing department should inform student employees of the MSU Drug-Free workplace policy.
• Additional Requirements: The employing department should inform student employees of departmental and Student Employment policies and procedures, and the need to notify the employer of accommodation needs if the student wishes to declare a disability.

Department Controls

1. In order to ensure adequate internal control, departments employing students must have at least three separate individuals involved in the process. One person should authorize hiring. A second person should submit to Payroll the biweekly eTime report, and a third person should receive paychecks from Payroll and distribute them to students. These three persons should be separate from the supervisor in #2 below, who, with the student, attests to the number of hours worked.
2. Original student time records are to be signed by the student and the appropriate supervisor attesting to the number of hours worked.  The student's signature is not required for departments that maintain time worked records via a time clock system.

Placing A Student On the Payroll During Summer Semester

• An individual may be considered a student employee if s/he has been assigned a student number, has attended AOP, and/or has been admitted/readmitted for fall semester, and is enrolled for summer or fall semester classes.
• A student hired for summer semester cannot begin working until the semester officially starts if s/he was not enrolled spring semester, or, if a new student, until they have gone through AOP and have signed up for fall classes.
• The procedure for processing student employees will be the same as during the academic year.
• Students who are to continue working during the summer in the same job they held spring semester do not need to be reprocessed for employment.
• Students may work up to 40 hours per week during summer semester. However, departments will only be reimbursed for 29 hours per week for Work-Study students.
• Students must be paid time and one-half for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours per week. If the student works in more than one department, the last hiring department is responsible for the excess hours and will pay the time and one-half rate.
• A student who graduates or is not returning to classes Summer or Fall Semester must be off Student Employee payroll by the last day of Spring semester examinations, but can be hired through Human Resources Staffing. 
  Go Back to the Student Employment Manual Index

This Student Employment Manual provides information related to hiring and working with student employees.  If you are not able to find the answer to your question here, please contact MSU Student Employment.