Student Employee Work Hour Rules
The Academic Year
A regular student employee’s job is considered to be interim or incidental to academic pursuits. The student employee is limited to 24 hours per week during the enrollment period.
- Students who work more than 24 hours per week are subject to FICA (Medicare and Social Security) tax and other payroll deductions.
- A system student who works 24 hours per week or less while classes are in session and who is enrolled part-time or more is exempt from FICA deductions.
- Non-system student workers cannot be exempt from FICA.
term breaks
Eligible regular student employees may work full-time (40 hour per week) or more during a term break. Time worked over 40 hours per week must be paid as overtime. Work schedules during term breaks should be arranged by mutual agreement between the employing department and the student before the break.
- See Payment of Student Employees in the payroll (PAY) Policy & procedure Manual for information regarding FICA exemptions. You can find the on the student employee compensation site (Internal users only).
summer months
Student employees working during the summer months must have been eligible for employment during the previous spring term and expect to enroll as a degree-seeking student fall term.
Students who have received their baccalaureate degrees in the spring and who plan to enter graduate school in the fall may be employed as a student worker during the summer if they are officially admitted to the Graduate school.
Eligible students may work full-time (40 hours per week) during the summer as shown below. Time worked over 40 hours per week must be paid as overtime.
Summer Months maximum hours per week:
- May work a maximum of 24 hours per week:
- Undergrads: Taking 6 credit hours or more
- May work 40 hours per week:
- Undergrads: Taking less than 6 credit hours
- Not attending summer classes (but meets the above Spring and Fall criteria)
Student Employee Work Hours: Rest Periods
Paid rest periods of at least 10 minutes must be provided during each four-hour work period or major part thereof. The rest period is to be taken approximately in the middle of each work segment. There are narrow exemptions to the rest period requirements for part-time adult employees working alone in retail/service businesses. Rest periods may not be added to the meal period or deducted from the beginning or end of the work period in order to reduce the length of the work period. Rest periods may not be waived or used to adjust working hours.
Certain employers are required to provide additional unpaid rest periods to employees to express milk for a child.
Note: Classified employees are entitled, per the Collective Bargaining Agreement, Article 50, Sect 6 to a rest period of 15 minutes for each four-hour work period or major part thereof.
See Oregon Wage & Hour law at Oregon GOV Site