International student workers at The New School are facing payment delays due to administrative mishaps, according to SENS-UAW and NewSWU Organizing Committees. This includes international students who started working on Aug. 26 and those who worked for TNS throughout the summer.
According to SENS-UAW, the Office of Human Resources at TNS delayed their review and verification of Form I-9 for a significant number of international student workers, hindering their enrollment in the MyDay payroll system during the first week of the semester. This has since resulted in missed paychecks for several student workers, particularly teaching assistants and non-academic student workers.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security requires all employees to complete Section 1 of Form I-9 upon commencing employment, with the employer responsible for completing Section 2 and verifying it within three days of the employee’s start date. However, the HR office reportedly faced difficulties attributed to tax-related issues that slowed down the timely verification process.
Due to these delays, several student workers have also been incorrectly labeled as “Terminated” in the MyDay system.
However, some possible confusion around whether certain student workers are affected by this delay is attributed to their first paycheck of the semester not being due until Sept. 20, as per the 2024 Biweekly Hourly Pay Schedule TNS uses, especially for those who started working on Aug. 26.
The delays have resulted in confusion among many, mainly Teaching Fellows, who may mistakenly believe they have not yet been paid, have missed their initial payment, or were affected by the Human Resources issues.
SENS representatives are actively collaborating with the Office of Human Resources to expedite a resolution to this pressing issue.
“We are working closely with the Human Resource office to resolve this before September 20,” Elijah Blanton, Unit Chair of SENS-UAW told The New School Free Press.
Impacted student workers are advised to attend the information session held by SENS-UAW scheduled for Sept. 17 at 4 p.m. in the Wolff Conference Room at 6 E. 16th St., Room D1103.
Students may also seek assistance through Union Office Hours held every Tuesday from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. in the List Center Cafe on the 8th floor of the 6 E. 16th St. building, or via Zoom.
Further updates and progress on this matter will be communicated as the situation unfolds.
This is a developing story.