Hiring Casual or Temporary Employees

Provided you have adequate funding in your budget, you may hire short term temporary or casual employees to fill short term jobs or manage periods of heavy workload. Unlike independent contractors, which are paid through accounts payable, and Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) participants who generally are paid through a stipend or a grant, casual and short-term professional employees are hired directly onto the University’s payroll. Individuals hired through a temporary agency are paid by the agency and the agency directly bills the hiring department.

Casual hourly or short-term professional employees usually work less than five months or intermittently and normally less than 1,000 hours during a one-year period. When a casual or short-term professional employee is needed to work more than 999 hours, hiring supervisors need written approval from the appropriate dean or vice president and the Office of Human Resources.

Categories of Temporary Employees

The type of temporary employee you hire depends on the nature of the work performed. These short term jobs generally are classified the same way as the University’s regular positions and paid accordingly. Temporary employees always are supervised by a Princeton University employee.

Temporary employee categories include:

Nonexempt, Casual Hourly Workers

These employees are paid hourly through the Time Collection System. Under New Jersey statute, casual employees must be paid on the biweekly payroll following the payroll period in which they work. Casual employees are eligible for overtime pay. In addition to other qualified candidates, casual employees may be students from other universities.

Exempt Short-term Professionals

These short – term professionals perform administrative or professional – level work. Like other exempt positions, they are paid a monthly salary on the monthly payroll system and are not eligible for overtime pay. In addition to other qualified candidates, these employees may be students from other universities.

Princeton University Undergraduate Students

Our undergraduates fill academic year and summer jobs, as well as jobs that are for one day, a weekend, or some period of time that is less than a semester. Rates of pay for undergraduates are determined by the student employment office.

Princeton University Graduate Students

Princeton graduate students often work for the University as short-term, temporary employees or in positions related to instruction, research and college work study. If you hire a graduate student to work in your department (except those with ET-DCC status), he or she is paid through the Graduate School.

Minors

The University employs minors in temporary positions with certain limitations. The individual must be at least 16-years old, and his or her employment must comply with Federal and New Jersey regulations, including presenting working papers (see forms, below). Please refer to policy 2.1.4 on the Employment of Minors.

Retirees

Individuals who participated in the Voluntary Incentivized Retirement Program are not eligible for rehire with the University for two years from their retirement date. This includes any Princeton University regular, term, casual/temporary, short term professional or temporary agency position, or independent contractor or consultant role.

If you hire or rehire a former Princeton University employee, such as a retiree or an employee who was vested in the Princeton University Retirement Plan, the employee will be eligible for retirement plan contributions starting with the first hour worked.

Employees Hired through a Temporary Staffing Agency

You also may hire temporary employees directly through a temporary staffing agency. You may contact our approved staffing agencies directly; the University has negotiated preferred rates with these agencies. These employees are paid directly by the agency.

The Hiring Process for Casual & Short-Term Professional Employees

Unless you fill a temporary position with a University student or through a temporary employment agency, you also must list available positions expected to last for three days or longer with the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. We are required to do so because the University is a federal contractor.

Pay Rates & Payroll

Casual employees are paid an hourly rate based on their job duties and are paid in the Time Collection System.

For information about setting up a casual employee in the Time Collection System, refer to the Help section of the Time Collection System website or call the OIT HelpDesk, 258-4357. The biweekly payroll schedule is the same as for regular employees.

Short-term professional employees (STP) are paid monthly based on a monthly rate. To arrange payment, you need to complete and submit the Short-term Professional form to HR for processing. The monthly payroll schedule is the same as for regular employees.

For assistance in determining an appropriate salary rate, please contact a member of the Compensation Team.

Background Checks

Certain positions, such as camp counselors, require background checks. Your staffing specialist will arrange for a background check which may include a verification of the candidate’s employment history, social security number, and criminal record. For some positions, the verification will include level of education, motor vehicle report, professional license credit check, and/or drug screen. These checks are normally completed before extending an offer of employment.

Post-Offer Pre-employment Physical Exams (POPES)

Casual employees working 500 or more hours annually in a position identified as physically demanding must complete the POPES examination and be found capable to complete the hiring process. This requirement applies to retirees who return as casuals and individuals who have worked previously in the department. The candidate must be found capable of performing the physical capacity examination to ensure that they are not a health or safety to risk to themselves, their co-workers, or the University. Your Staffing specialist has a list of positions requiring the POPES exam.

Terminations

You should not rehire an employee who was asked to leave the University for cause.

Disability

You should not rehire an employee who is on the University’s Long Term Disability program.

If a former employee whose disability payments have ended is qualified for the job, contact a member of the Benefits Team to discuss the individual’s capability of performing the essential work.

If you don’t have sufficient information about a temporary employee’s prior work history at Princeton or disability status, contact HR to verify the individual’s eligibility to work at the University.

Forms Required to Hire & Process Temporary Employees

If you are hiring an employee through a temporary staffing agency, the agency is responsible for obtaining all the required forms.

I-9 Employment Eligibility Form

The employee is responsible for completing this form and presenting it along with the required documentation to HR at 2 New South within three days of the first day of employment. Princeton University cannot pay employees or allow them to work until this verification is complete.

U.S. and non-U.S. citizens complete this form at the Office of Human Resources, 2 New South.
Library employees (U.S. citizens) complete this form in the Library Human Resource Office, Firestone Library.

For specific information about documents that are acceptable to verify employment visit U.S. Citizen and Immigration website.

W-4

Some of the payroll related processes such as the W-4 tax withholding and direct deposit enrollment may be completed online through ePay, the payroll component of HR Self Service. This form is also available online and in HR and at Library HR and must be completed by all casual and short – term professional employees paid on Princeton’s payroll.

Personal Data & Self-Identification Form

This form must be completed by all casual and short-term professional employees.

Casual Hourly Form

This form is used for all nonexempt temporary employees and must be completed by the hiring supervisor and the temporary employee for any individual who has not previously worked at the University as a casual or temporary employee.

Short-term Professional Form

This form is for exempt temporary employees and must be completed by the hiring supervisor upon hire. It can be resubmitted whenever the pay rate changes.

Working Papers

In addition to the forms temporary employees must complete, minors ages 16 and 17 must also present an employment certificate completed by an official in the school district where the minor lives to the hiring department manager and the Office of Human Resources for review and completion prior to hiring.

You can count on support from knowledgeable and responsive HR staff when you have a question or problem. Just call or send us an e–mail. We’re here to help!