Hiring Procedures for Temporary Employees

For additional information on types of employees, please see Employee Definitions.

Hiring a Temporary or Agency (Overtime Pay Eligible - OPE) Employee

Appointment Process for an OPE or OPI Employee

To officially place a new employee on the payroll, the following information is needed from the Hiring Supervisor:

• A signed copy of the Offer Letter, if applicable. See requirements below.
• A completed Information Needed from Supervisors Form.

When hiring a temp, you need to prepare an offer letter outlining the terms of the appointment; your expectations; a clear indication of the deliverables; and timeframe, similar to a contract. Please note: Appointments should be considered with normal payroll periods; i.e., for exempt employees, the first to the fifteenth of the month and the sixteenth to the thirtieth or thirty-first; for non-exempt employees, use set payroll periods as defined on the University's Payroll Calendars at http://www.payroll.cornell.edu/paysched.cfm#biweekly. Do not pick arbitrary dates.

Offer letters to temporaries are needed if the employee will be paid a fee payment or will be hired as an hourly employee for longer than one month, see Sample Offer Letter.

All offers of employment are contingent on verification of employment eligibility. See the list of Acceptable Documentation for Employment Eligibility (I-9 Identification). Such documentation must be verified on or before an employee's first day of employment.

The University has awarded preferred suppliers agreement contracts to Stafkings Personnel Systems and Superior Technical Resources. These preferred suppliers offer cost-effective markup rates and enhance reporting, orientation and feedback processes. To learn more about temporary staffing and the preferred vendor agreements, visit http://purchasing.cornell.edu/tempserv.cfm

Whether you choose to involve the Administrative Service Center or not in the negotiations, please apprise the Office when someone has actually been hired in advance of their "start date," - but certainly, failing that, as soon as they arrive.  Whether these individuals need to be appointed or you will submit invoices for their services, the Administrative Service Center needs to record them as employees in the building. We need the documentation requested in the Information for Preparation of Appointment Instructions.  For employees hired through an agency, the information requested of them is slightly different, but clearly noted on the link.

Notifying the Administrative Service Center also triggers Net ID requests, e-mail accounts, arrangements for parking privileges, etc.  Frequently, individuals call or stop into the Administrative Service Center hoping to obtain keys, Authorization Codes, I.D.s, etc., only to learn, the Administrative Service Center is not aware of their employment.  Or,  invoices from Stafkings, et. al., for the "services" of these individuals come through for processing and approval, and only then it is realized there is a temporary in our employ.  To alleviate these sorts of concerns, we would appreciate advance notice or at least your instructing any new hire to stop into the Administrative Service Center, 235 Sage, on their first day of employment to provide the information needed.

Knowing who is employed will also expedite the processing of any invoices if the new hire is not a Cornell employee. We need emergency phone numbers; guidance from you, the Supervisor, as to whether or not they will need keys, an Authorization Code and/or an e-mail address; as well as specific term dates.

It goes without saying, if the individual you want to hire is not through one of the local temporary staffing agencies, he or she will need to be appointed through the University Payroll System and will need instruction on how to record their hours in COLTS II.

Note: Hiring a temporary employee can be done outside of Taleo (formerly RecruitSoft). They are not required to apply on-line. Positions may be posted in Taleo, if you would like. If that is the case, contact the Administrative Service Center. If you do hire a temporary outside of Taleo, a Cornell Application must accompany the individual's paperwork. The application can be found at http://www.ohr.cornell.edu/jobs/employmentApplication.pdf.

Introduction to the Hiring of a Temporary (Overtime Pay Ineligible - OPI) Employee

You need to have a job done in a defined period of time - a temporary employment situation. What this means is that you need to look for a Temporary Overtime Pay Eligible Employee. The individual you hire can be appointed to work for six months with the necessary approval. Approval is not necessary when faculty are in need of someone to assist them with their teaching and/or research initiatives. If that is not the case and the person is being hired to fill a vacancy while you search for a permanent replacement; to fill in for someone on disability or vacation; or to see you through an extraordinarily busy period of time, permission from the Management Committee member to whom your area reports is necessary prior to proceeding. That individual will bring your request before the entire Management Committee for discussion. You will need to touch base with your representative to see what information he/she will need from you to present your case. Independent Contractors - offsite editors, consultants, etc., are not the same as temporary employees. Independent Contractors do not work for Cornell University. See the definition of Independent Contractors on the University's web site at http://www.policy.cornell.edu/vol3_5.cfm.

Temporary employees hired at half time (twenty hours) or more per week for six months are eligible for benefits from the start of their appointment; employees hired for less than half time or six months' duration, even if appointed full time, are not benefit's eligible.

Central Human Resources' website at http://www.ohr.cornell.edu/benefits/index.html provides specific information about benefits and eligibility. The University offers employees both life and health insurance but because of the many options available, it is always best to suggest to interested candidates that they contact a Benefit's Specialist at (607) 255-3936 or go directly to the website indicated above. You should caution candidates that the University houses two campuses - the contract colleges and the endowed colleges and the benefits differ. The Johnson School is an endowed college. This is important information to pass on to them.

A second obstacle may surface if the individual you want to hire is a foreign national. If that is the case, you must ensure that the individual has the proper visa that will allow him/her to accept employment. If there is uncertainty, ask the individual to visit the International Students and Scholars Office, B50 Caldwell Hall, or call them at (607) 255-5243. The most common visas are: F-1 (student visas); H-1 (temporary workers, available for academics only); J-1 (visiting scholars); TN (Canadian or Mexican residents). In addition, B-1 visas are required for visitors whose stay will not exceed 9 days; F-1OPT for practical training.

Cornell remains unequivocally committed to hiring US workers. Therefore, the University does not support H-1 visa requests for nonacademic positions.

Assuming you have all the necessary approvals, the Administrative Service Center can assist with any negotiations prior to your committing to an hourly rate. Please do not misinterpret this as requesting permission. Our intention is exactly as stated - an offer of assistance - which may help you avoid equity issues in your respective areas. Temporary positions, especially in the Summer, are offered to those individuals who are on term appointments, i.e. nine-month positions, first and if there is no interest, the Hiring Supervisor/Manager can pursue outside agencies or sources.

Temporary employees are normally paid hourly through COLTS II and the Pay Scale Guide for Temporary Employees may be of assistance to you in your negotiations .There are exceptions. The type of work being performed dictates the way a temporary will be compensated. The FLSA has said graduate students are considered exempt and their compensation will usually be processed by stipends or fee payments. The pay scale also provides information on the different skill levels. These positions cover Bands A through E, Receptionists to Systems Analysts. When you are hiring a temporary employee, the hourly rate should be that of the minimum for the band. That is, if the temporary is filling in for someone who is or was classified as an Administrative Assistant III (C Band), the hourly rate must be the Pay Band C minimum.

Regulations Regarding Temporary Employees Effective July 1, 2003

Benefits' Services will be monitoring the status of persons who are in the system as benefits ineligible to make sure they are not working more than 1,000 hours in total in any given year without a break in service. Anyone who works at or above this level (1,000 hours) should not be held in ineligible status. You pay minimum fringe benefits on temporary employees who work less than 1,000 hours.

If a temporary employee you hire reaches the 1,000 hour level while on your watch (even if he/she has only worked a few hours for you), he/she will automatically become benefits eligible. It may well be that when you elected to bring this person on for a particular project or term appointment, he/she had not reached the 1,000 hours and, as a result, your account was being charged only the minimum fringe benefit rate. However, once the employee is deemed benefits eligible (completed 1,000 hours), that rate automatically increases to the full benefit's rate, as applicable, and the employee accrues sick and vacation time. Sick time can be taken as accrued. Vacation time cannot be taken until the employee has completed one calendar year of service or 2,028 hours. When the employee completes their term with you, if he/she has completed one year of service and has accumulated vacation time on the books and does not find other continuing employment elsewhere at the University, the vacation pay out due the temporary becomes your responsibility. If the temporary you hire comes to us as benefits eligible because of prior work at the University and reaches the 2,028 hours during his/her stint at the Johnson School, your account will be charged for the vacation pay out when the individual leaves if it is for any reason other than transferring to another department at the University. It is not our intention to exploit anyone, but keep in mind this can be costly. Please see Sample Temporary Hires for examples as to how this might affect your unit.

Information is now available to hiring departments regarding concurrent jobs and/or past jobs held by temporary employees. Human Resources will be able to access this information and encourage you to involve us prior to any commitments being made. No one will be denied employment based solely on whether or not they are benefits eligible, but the additional costs must be considered when making such decisions. As a reminder, we do not pay any fringe benefits when hiring students and with the array of talent available to us at Cornell, that might be an even better option or one worthy of consideration.

Hiring an Agency Temporary Employee

The Administrative Service Center also needs to be aware of any agency temps (i.e., Stafkings) hired and the necessary approval process applies. Hiring Supervisors should coordinate this employment with the Administrative Service Center before contracting the agency. You are encouraged to inform the agency of the position level at the University you are filling. Again, temporary wages should align with the band minimums, i.e., if the temp is replacing a Band C employee, the minimum hourly rate for that band applies. This is another instance in which the Administrative Service Center can assist with hourly rates, etc. Please visit the following link for additional information on Temporary Service Agencies.

Note: Some temporary service agencies can be paid with a Visa Procurement Card. For additional information, see the Temporary Service Agencies section.

You are working on a major initiative and need to bring someone in for a one-to-six month period to assist you with the project. The work is outside the normal scope of your Administrative Assistant so you are contemplating "contracting a professional for such services." Perhaps you want to hire this individual as a "salaried employee" (OPI). If this scenario describes your need, you are looking to hire a Temporary Overtime Pay Ineligible Employee. See the Pay Scale Guide for Temporary Employees for minimum compensation levels by band. Additionally, wages are commensurate with the responsibilities and the specific rate chosen should be influenced by internal department equity, market considerations and relations to regular, classified titles and rates. Before proceeding, you first must request and receive permission from the Management Committee. Upon approval, please contact the Human Resources Office prior to making any commitments to determine what is a fair and equitable offer.

Last Modified: October 11, 2006