Hiring Personnel
Please contact Benjamin.Signorejr@qc.cuny.edu if you have any questions.
Hiring Personnel
If you plan to hire an employee on your grant, several steps are required before he or she can be placed on payroll.
New Hires:
Personnel Vacancy Notice
If you are hiring a full-time employee–working more than 19 hours a week–you must complete a Personnel Vacancy Notice to advertise the position. (This is a good practice for part-time employees, too, but it’s optional.) Complete the notice through the RF website under “E-Services/Personnel Vacancy Notice.”
New Hire Package
Once you have selected a candidate for employment, a new hire package must be fully completed and submitted to the ORSP office. The new hire package is available only on the Research Foundation website. Please see the list of forms that are included and required. The PI and the new employee should complete the package together. Incomplete packages will be returned to the PI.
NO ONE SHOULD START WORK UNTIL THIS PACKAGE IS COMPLETE AND THE EMPLOYEE HAS FINISHED THE I-9 AND E-VERIFICATION PROCESS. If problems arise, we can assist you.
E-Verification and I-9
According to recent changes implemented by DHS/SSA, most I-9 verifications must take place with in-person meetings. Virtual I-9’s are reserved solely for remote positions. All regular and hybrid appointments must present their documentation in person.
The first step in hiring anyone new is I-9/e-verification. This ensures the employee is legally eligible to work, and is required to be completed on or before their first day of work. Our office will reach out to the employee directly to complete this application.
Once the I-9 is cleared, we move on to the second step, which is the onboarding application. Onboarding is now done electronically through the RF website. This is an application that is created and submitted by the PI.
In order to initiate the I-9, the following information is required:
Employees full first name as listed on their SSN
Full last name as listed on their SSN
Email address
Date of birth
Official start date
RF account number being used
E-Verify is an Internet-based system mandated and operated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in partnership with the Social Security Administration (SSA). E-Verify allows participating employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of new personnel. The I-9, an Immigration form, is key to the E-Verify process.
All employees must complete the I-9 prior to working and must complete E-Verification within three days of starting work. Any new hire package without E-Verification or submitted more than three days after the start date must be accompanied by a detailed letter from the PI (on department letterhead) that explains why the employee was not E-Verified on time and/or why the hiring package is late. This letter must bear the PI’s original signature.
Individuals whose employment authorization cannot be instantly verified are given the opportunity to work with SSA or DHS, as appropriate, to confirm their authorization.
The Office of Research & Sponsored Programs will E-Verify employees from 9 am to 2 pm BY APPOINTMENT ONLY, Monday through Thursday.
What's Next?
Employee Payroll and PI Responsibility
PLEASE DO NOT SEND EMPLOYEES TO ORSP LOOKING FOR AND/OR INQUIRING ABOUT THEIR PAYCHECK. ORSP does not issue paychecks; the RF does. Any employee who contacts our office regarding payroll will be sent back to speak to his or her PI.
Re-Hires:
A ‘rehire’ is defined as any Research Foundation employee who is reappointed on any account after a break in service lasting 120 days or more. This will require the completion of a new onboarding application submitted by the PI and employee. I-9/E-verification action will likely be required, so reach out to Benjamin.Signorejr@qc.cuny.edu immediately.
Stipends vs Payroll
Student stipends and employee payroll are two very different terms. According to the IRS:
“A stipend is defined as a fixed sum of money paid periodically for services or to defray expenses. The fact that remuneration is termed a ‘fee’ or ‘stipend’ rather than salary or wages is immaterial. Wages are generally subject to employment taxes and should be reported on Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement. Refer to Publication 15, Circular E, Employer’s Tax Guide, Section 5, Wages and Other Compensation, for rules on accountable and nonaccountable plans for employee business expenses. The income from stipends is reportable. Is the stipend or fee paid to an employee or an independent contractor reportable? The answer to this question determines the way that the stipend is reported. See also the section entitled “Independent Contractor or Employee?”
A simpler definition: If an employee-employer relationship exists, it should be constituted as payroll. An employee is classified as anyone who will perform services for you, thereby giving you the right to control what will be done and how.
For all federal grants, stipends should not be charged to research awards, per the new OMB Uniform Guidance (revised on December 26, 2014). Click to see the text below for details.
Consultants vs Payroll
IRS guidelines are based on common-law rules, rather than statute, and are thus open to interpretation. The general rule is that if an individual is subject to the control or direction of another merely as to the result to be accomplished by the work and not as to the means and methods for accomplishing the results, s/he is an independent contractor, rather than an employee. However, if the individual has a Social Security number rather than a tax ID, he or she is generally considered an employee. Also, if the person does not have a list of clients, the individual is classified as an employee. The IRS defines independent contractor as follows:
“People such as doctors, dentists, veterinarians, lawyers, accountants, contractors, subcontractors, public stenographers, or auctioneers who are in an independent trade, business, or profession in which they offer their services to the general public are generally independent contractors. However, whether these people are independent contractors or employees depends on the facts in each case. The general rule is that an individual is an independent contractor if the payer has the right to control or direct only the result of the work and not what will be done and how it will be done. The earnings of a person who is working as an independent contractor are subject to Self-Employment Tax. If you are an independent contractor, you are self-employed. To find out what your tax obligations are, visit the Self-employed Individuals tax center.
You are not an independent contractor if you perform services that can be controlled by an employer (what will be done and how it will be done). This applies even if you are given freedom of action. What matters is that the employer has the legal right to control the details of how the services are performed.
If an employer-employee relationship exists (regardless of what the relationship is called), you are not an independent contractor and your earnings are generally not subject to Social Security Tax/Medicare Tax and Self-employment.
If the ICA submitted for an Independent Contract is rejected by the RF, a new hire package must be completed instead. For more information please contact ORSP.