Workday is live!
Dear Williams Families,
In any given year, approximately half of Williams students work on campus in academic departments, the library, administrative offices, athletics, theater, and more. We are committed to offering students these opportunities beyond their primary focus on academics, extracurricular activities, and other leadership-building experiences.
Some students arrive at Williams with plenty of work experience under their belts. For others, a campus job may be their first employment. Some students want to jump in with both feet, while others want to adjust to college life first and begin working later. Still others may opt not to hold a campus job while attending Williams. No matter the circumstances, here’s how you can help your student get off to a smooth start if they plan to work on campus now or think they might in the future.
- Every student must complete the I-9 form for employment eligibility before they can begin working. The federal government requires this form for all employees, including students, whether U.S. citizens or international students. The I-9 will be completed as part of onboarding in Workday after your student is hired into a job.
- The I-9 form itself is very simple, but where it can get tricky is making sure students have the required, original identification documents to show us. We get that it might be easier to send your student thousands of miles away to Williams than it is to entrust them with their Social Security Card or their passport! However, they need to have original documents with them to complete the I-9 form and be eligible to work on campus.
- A complete list of the only documents we can accept can be found here. Here’s a super-quick rundown: if your student has a document from Column A on the list, they are all set; nothing additional is needed. If your student doesn’t happen to have anything from Column A, we just need to see one document from Column B and one from Column C.
- We can’t stress enough that we need to see original documents. No reproductions of any kind can be accepted. This includes photocopies, faxes, scanned copies, and smart phone pictures. One more quick thing: all documents must be current (no expired documents can be accepted).
- If your student is attending Williams with an F-1 visa, they will also need to provide a copy of their I-94 and I-20. The I-94 will be available to them to access and print after they arrive on campus.
- While the Social Security Number (SSN) is not required for the I-9, it will eventually be needed for tax purposes. If your student has their SSN, we recommend including it on the I-9.
- International students with an F-1 visa will be able to apply for a social security number after they begin working. They can work for up to 90 days before providing their SSN.
For the protection of your student’s personal identity, sensitive information, such as SSNs, should never be sent via email, text, or smart phone photo.
This stuff isn’t fun or exciting, but it is necessary. To make it as painless as possible, it will help to make a plan with your student, in advance, about how documents will be handled. Are you accompanying your student when they first arrive on campus? Are you visiting them for the weekend? In either case, you can bring the document(s) yourself and take them right back home if you like. If your student is arriving on their own, they can bring the document(s) with them or you can send documents to your student. Sending them might make you a little uneasy, so we recommend using an overnight service like FedEx, UPS, or Express Mail through the U.S. Postal Service.
How else can you help if your student wants to hold a student job at Williams? Please consider talking with your student about how to complete their tax forms (W-4 for federal and M-4 for Massachusetts), as student employment earnings are considered taxable income. Tax forms will be completed in Workday as part of the onboarding process once your student is hired into a job. By law, we are prohibited from telling students how to complete their tax forms.
Students will also be required to enroll in direct deposit for payroll purposes. Enrollment will also be completed in Workday as part of the onboarding process once a student is hired for a job.
Here are a couple of common questions we get from parents and families.
Where can I learn more about Student Employment at Williams? There are a few resources you can use if you have questions. Take a look at some FAQs we put together, explore the Student Employment website, and check out the Student Employment Guidelines.
Where can my student get help if they have questions? Students can access the Student Employment website, the Student Employment Guidelines, the Help Center on Workday, as well as reach out to the Student Employment Manager.
- By email [email protected]
- In person (in the Human Resources Office or drop-in hours around campus)
- By phone x2168 on campus
We are always happy to field questions, so don’t hesitate to be in touch.
Sincerely,
Janine Burt
Student Employment Manager