Students Frustrated by Delays in Payroll

By Casey Moore

Junior Randy Cornelius began his new on-campus job as a desk receptionist in Sobrato Hall on Sept. 10. As of press, he had yet to receive payment.

"I'm not asking mountains to be moved," he said. "I'm just asking for a paycheck."

Approximately 500 to 700 new students are employed by the university each year, according to Manager of Student Employment Liz Mireles. Many of those who began work last month expressed concern or frustration after not being able to log their hours online or receive payment for weeks into the start of their jobs.

According to Heather Dumas-Dyer, Director of Residence Life, desk recpetionist timesheets were posted late due to a delay in the submission of hiring paperwork, the Student Emplyment Applications.

Cornelius said he submitted his desk receptionist employment paperwork upon hire in June. Still, he said he was unable to access his eCampus timesheet until Oct. 15.

"The whole situation makes me hesitant to work for the university again," he said. "If I was financially relying on these checks and I was placed in this situation, I would be livid."

In an email, Dumas-Dyer wrote that "we informed all desk receptionists that if the delay caused them financial concerns and if they needed the funds before the next pay period they should contact their supervisor or me directly." By her understanding, she wrote, individual desk receptionists were in contact with their supervisors about challenges.

Sobrato Hall Head Desk Recpeptionist Caroline Read said that she thinks the school may have acted unprofessionally by taking advantage of the academic relationship. "I think there's some assumptions that because we're students, we won't really care (about the delay)," she said.

"This would be totally unacceptable in any other situation," Read said. "It's basically working for free."

Dumas-Dyer wrote that most students "said they could wait the extra pay period, but were more curious than anything else."

The late appearance of eCampus timesheets "always seems to happen at the beginning of the year," said Jenny Vandenbelt, Head Desk Receptionist for Campisi Hall.

Vandenbelt has worked as a desk receptionist for three years in various residence halls. This year was the third time she experienced a beginning-of-the-year payment delay.

"Not getting paid has just been a major inconvenience," Vandenbelt said. "In general there seems to be a lack of concern or consideration given to the fact that some of us have expenses that cannot wait."

About 1,300 student workers are currently employed in 2,500 different on-campus positions, according to Mireles. Each new student employee is required by law to submit an I-9 tax form and a W4 form prior to starting work. Supervisors are instructed not to let students work until these forms are turned in, along with a Student Employment Application.

The biggest obstacle to timely payment is when that paperwork is turned in past the biweekly submission deadlines, Mireles said.

"Everything we do is deadline-driven," she said. "The challenge is to educate the (supervisors of student employees) on those deadlines."

"If supervisors and students get their paperwork in to me by the deadlines, I guarantee that they get into the system that payroll period," she said. "That means I will work overtime, I'll work nights, I'll work weekends, to get them in the system — if it's by the deadline. If it's after the deadline, then there's no guarantee that they'll be in that payroll cycle."

Mireles declined to comment on the desk receptionist issue, reiterating, "When supervisors get the forms in on time, students will be paid on time. And when they don't get the forms in on time, there's a delay."

Cornelius finally received payment on Oct. 22 via a check mailed to his home in Oregon. His frustration only increased — he had requested direct deposit.

Contact Casey Moore at cmoore@scu.edu.