By Kate Kellogg
Human Resources/Affirmative Action

The University has approved changes to sections 201.24, Employment of Students, and 201.57, Temporary Employment, of the Standard Practice Guide, effective immediately. The revisions apply to all non-union allied health, office, professional/administrative and technical staff members with the exception of instructional staff.

The policy revisions are the result of a Universitywide committee’s study of approaches to temporary employment on all campuses. To read the full text of those changes, visit the Web at www.umich.edu/~spgonlin/, or call Employee Relations, (734) 763-2387, and request a copy.

Changes include:

Creation of a new category of temporary employee. A non-University of Michigan student employee is defined as a U-M employee who is enrolled full time in high school or enrolled for six credit hours or more at a college or university other than the U-M.

No limit on duration of employment for U-M or non-U-M students. Both types of students may remain employed indefinitely as long as they meet all criteria for student employees. Previously, all non-U-M student employees were categorized as non-student temporaries and thus subject to a 12-month limit on length of employment.

Clarification of FICA tax withholding. The revised policy on temporary employment clarifies the rules on FICA tax withholding and exemption criteria for U-M student employees.

Extension of non-student temporary employment. While temporary employment of non-students is limited to 12 months, the fixed appointment may extend to 18 months for a specific project with prior approval from the Human Resources Office or staff responsible for employment. A temporary employee whose position is sporadic or casual (defined as eight hours or less per week) has no duration limit on employment.

The supervisor and temporary employee share responsibility for reporting changes in status. The supervisor of the employing unit is responsible for reporting any change in status of a temporary employee to Employee Relations.

Temporary employees are likewise obligated to report changes in status, such as from student to non-student, to their supervisor. The employing unit also is responsible for monitoring the duration of non-student temporary employment.

The addition of the new category of non-University of Michigan student employee opens up a new market to employing units and provides opportunities for students attending schools other than U-M.

“The changes in temporary employment policy were proposed in part due to the tight labor market and should benefit both staff and students,” says Bruce Pringle, director of employee relations at Human Resources and Affirmative Action.

Individuals with questions about the revisions should contact their unit’s Human Resources representative.

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