Please follow the instructions below to hire a casual, hourly research assistant. This would include, for example, a student working full-time in the summer and part-time during the academic year. If you intend to hire a research assistant to work consistently for 24 or more hours per week for an extended period of time, please contact your grants administrator or the NBER Human Resources Office, hr@nber.org, to discuss the hiring process.
It is ESSENTIAL that the completed packet be returned to the NBER BEFORE the Research Assistant begins work.
Please make sure the student is eligible to work in the U.S.. By law, an I-9 form must be completed within 3 days of an individual's employment date. As the student's supervisor, you must complete and sign section 2 of the I-9 form.
If you do not know your NBER account number (grant number), please contact your grant or program administrator.
Hiring Foreign Students
In general, the NBER is able to hire foreign students on F-1 or J-1 visas as hourly research assistants. The first step to hiring a foreign student should be a discussion between the student and his/her home institution's International Students Office. Each visa has its own set of regulations we must follow, but as the visa sponsor the home institution may impose their own more strict interpretation of the rules. The NBER can advise you on the different categories of employment (OPT, off-campus employment, etc.) but it is the student's responsibility to maintain his/her status and communication with the ISO is critical.
Additional information will be required to complete the I-9 form for students on F-1 or J-1 visas. Please contact Mui Cheung before completing the form.
Most students on F-1 or J-1 visas are considered "non-resident aliens" by the Internal Revenue Service. Instructions on how non-resident aliens need to complete a W-4 are included in the new hire packet. If the student wants more information, please direct him/her to IRS publication 519, "U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens," on the IRS web site. You may also download a PDF version of that publication here: Download IRS Publication The NBER will require the student’s full I-94 travel history for tax purposes.
Download the entire New Hire Packet.
Completing the New Hire Packet
Required Forms
1. Personnel Action Form - Please have the new employee fill out this form completely, including the signature section. As the supervisor, please complete the "Employment Information" and "Grant Allocation" sections including, but not limited to, the date of hire, rate of pay, and NBER Project Number. The Project Director must sign the Authorization Section on the backside of the form.
2. Employee Self-Identification Forms – The NBER is subject to Executive Order 11246, as amended, which requires Federal contractors to ensure that applicants are employed and that employees are treated during employment without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. We are therefore requesting information about the race and gender of our employees in order to comply with government reporting requirements and in order to ensure equal employment opportunity. If the RA chooses not to self-identify race/ethnicity and/or gender, the federal government requires the NBER to determine this information by visual survey and/or by using other available information for certain categories of employees. This requirement does not apply to students.
3. Employment Eligibility (I-9) Form - – Research Assistants must complete and sign the top portion of the form and produce appropriate and valid pieces of identification. Please photocopy these ID's and send copies to our office with the I-9 form. The project investigator should inspect the original ID's and complete and sign Sec. 2 of the form. (I-9 instructions)
4. W-4 Form - Please have the employee fill the form out completely.
5. State Income Tax Form - Please download the appropriate form below and have the employee fill the form out completely.
Please note that Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Utah, and Vermont utilize the W-4 form for state income tax purposes. Please complete a second W-4 form and mark it “For State Purposes” at the top.
Please note there is no state income tax in Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Texas, Tennessee, Washington, or Wyoming. There are no withholding forms for Pennsylvania, they withhold at a flat rate.
6. Direct Deposit Form – Please complete the form for the appropriate type of bank account.
7. Consent to Receive Electronic Communications – Please review the statement describing the NBER Electronic Delivery of Health, Pension, and Welfare Plan Information and indicate your preference on the Personnel Action Form.
8. Certification Form, OPT, CPT or Work Authorization Letter – The Certification Form must be filled out for non-US Citizens who are in the country on an F-1 visa, unless the student has approved OPT or CPT for the employment. J-1 Visitors must provide a letter from their responsible officer that authorizes them to work as a Research Assistant. Please make a photocopy of the student’s I-94 and I-20 form (for F-1 Students) or I-94 and DS-2019 (for J-1 Visitors), EAD card and work authorization (as applicable) and send the copies to our office with either the certification form or the letter. All J-1 and F-1 visa holders also need to send a photocopy of the visa in their passport as well as their full I-94 travel history.
9. NSF Mandatory Training in the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Students and postdoctoral researchers supported on NSF awards must complete the training as part of their new hire paperwork. They will not be paid until they complete the training. Please indicate the date the student completed the training course on the Personnel Action Form. While this training is mandatory only for those supported by NSF awards, we encourage you to implement this training broadly to cover all students and post-docs.
10. Time Report Form and Instructions - The NBER will create accounts for the RA and supervisor in our electronic time sheet system. Both will be provided with a user name and password for the system. Instructions for submitting time into the system can be found here. Instructions for approving time are found here. Please read the attached instructions related to time sheet completion and limitations to hours worked. A schedule of payroll dates for the current year is available here.
Optional
11. Tax-Deferred Annuity Plan (403(b) Plan) - Hourly employees are eligible to participate in the NBER's 403(b) Plan. Please complete the attached salary reduction form. Additional information about Tax-Deferred Annuity Plan – Election Procedures.
Additional Information
NBER Drug Free Workplace Policy
Health Insurance Marketplace Exchanges– The federal health insurance reform law (Affordable Health Care Act or ACA) created new options for individuals and families to purchase health insurance from a federal or state-run insurance exchange, also known as the Health Insurance Marketplace. The law requires that we provide the attached notice which explains the Marketplace in more detail. Additional information about the Health Insurance Marketplace can be found at HealthCare.gov.