Hiring New Personnel
All grant-funded new hires are subject to the policies and procedures of the college's Human Resources and Controller's offices. Principal investigators are encouraged to review the college's employment practices and policies guide and to contact the appropriate HR staff person when questions arise.
Required Forms
All employees must complete the following forms prior to working and being entered into the payroll system:
Federal Forms
- I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification) - see specific instructions on the I-9 Form. This is an INS file, and proper documentation must be presented. This form must be signed in front of an authorized representative of Human Resources or the Controller's Office.
- W-4 (Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate for the Internal Revenue Service) - see specific instructions on the W-4 Form.
State Form
- NC-4 (Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate for the State of North Carolina) - see specific instructions on the NC-4 Form.
Davidson College Form
Procedures
The following procedures should be followed when hiring grant-funded student and summer employees.
Note: During the summer months, students (including those participating in summer programs) are classified as "employees."
Academic Year Employment
Before a student can be added to payroll, supervisors must complete a Student Employment Authorization form and file it with Payroll. Signed forms should be sent to the attention of the Student Employment division of Human Resources.
Supervisors should then advise their students to take appropriate forms of identification as stated on Form 1-9 and a voided check to Human Resources (#11 Jackson Court) in order to complete employment forms.
Students are paid on the 15th of each month for services rendered the previous month. Timesheets for those services should be reviewed for accuracy by the supervisor, approved, and forwarded to Human Resources by the 4th of each month.
Summer Employment
Prior to recruiting individuals for summer employment, the principal investigator should determine the hourly wage to be paid to, or on behalf of prospective employees by completing the Compensation Budget Worksheet. Unless separately funded by the grant, the college's matching contribution for FICA/Medicare of 7.65% on wages, and non-cash fringe benefits (housing, meals, etc.) must be deducted from the compensation budget. Please return the Compensation Budget Worksheet to the Grants Coordinator in the Office of Sponsored Programs.
Supervisors should complete a new hire form for each individual employed during the summer months. The new hire form can be obtained from Human Resources. Send the completed form to the Human Resources office no later than one week prior to the individual's first day of work.
Supervisors should advise each individual to take appropriate forms of identification as stated on Form I-9 and a voided check to Human Resources office on the first day of employment in order to be entered into the college payroll system.
Housing and Meal Plans
Under Treasury Regulation Section 1.119-1, all compensation paid to, or on behalf of an employee is subject to Federal, State, FICA, and Medicare withholding. College-provided housing and meals are considered taxable fringe benefits to the individual and, as such, are subject to withholding.
Payment to Individuals from Multiple Grants
If an individual is hired by and reports to two different principal investigators, separate authorization forms should be completed and sent to Human Resources as previously detailed in the summer employment section above. The employee will then have two job records in the payroll system and will report hours worked respectively for each position. In the event the employee reports more than 40 hours in one week, unless otherwise noted, the secondary position will be responsible for all overtime pay.
With the exception of federal grants, if a low grant requires supplemental funding, those funds should be periodically transferred from the supplemental source to the primary grant account (using a Journal Entry form), with the employee being paid only from the primary grant.
Payment to Non-US Citizens
Due to complicated IRS and INS regulations with which the college must comply, extra care and time (sometimes in excess of 40 days) are needed to pay anyone (speaker, performer, etc.) who is not a U.S. citizen. These regulations also apply to payments made to U.S. agents on behalf of non-U.S. citizens. If you plan to pay anyone this semester who is not a citizen of the United States, please review the college policy.
Other Grant-Funded Employees
Principal Investigators/Project Directors should follow formal college hiring procedures set forth by Human Resources. Appropriate salary levels for all positions, including time-limited appointments, are determined by HR. Principal Investigators/Project Directors should contact Human Resources where duties and responsibilities, educational and experience requirements, and work environment of the proposed position will be assessed and an appropriate grade level and salary range assigned. All new positions, including those funded through external grants, are reviewed and approved by the president of the college.
Once the new position is approved, the Human Resources office will initiate advertising. Costs associated with external advertising are borne by the Principal Investigator/Project Director. Questions regarding staff positions should be directed to the Assistant Director of Human Resources; questions regarding faculty positions should be directed to the Director of Human Resources. Detailed information is also available on the Human Resources home page.
New employees should go to Human Resources on the first day of employment to complete required federal forms (see above) and to schedule a benefits orientation with the benefits coordinator.
Performance Review
Research assistants and technicians whose salaries are funded by external grants are considered employees of Davidson College. As such they are to be included in the regular performance development and planning process and should receive year-end reviews. Goals should be set each June for the academic year or within 30 days of beginning work if hired later.
Mid-year discussions of progress and end-of-year performance reviews need to be documented and signed. Please use the college's standard forms (Coaching Form, Employee Input Form, Performance Development Plan) for this purpose.
Salary review should occur in early May for the next fiscal year. When the grant start date is May 1, the performance review must be completed earlier. Salary increases cannot exceed the agency approved budget. Recommendations for salary increases need to be in writing and should be sent to the chair or to the next level supervisor for approval before they are sent with the performance planning document to Human Resources.