SCOPE: FACULTY AND STAFF

Issued: 4/1/00

Revised: 5/01/02

1. Mandatory Policies: All new faculty and staff members are required to sign as a condition of employment, the Employee Affidavit which acknowledges receipt of the State Property Accounting Responsibility¹, Political Aid and Legislative Influence Prohibited². New employees also receive the AIDS Policy and Procedure³, Drug-Free Workplace Policy⁴, and an Employee Handbook.

2. Forms Required for Processing New Employees:

2.1 All new faculty and staff will complete the Biographical Data Form and the Internal Revenue Service Withholding Form W-4 during the initial orientation.

2.2 Employees must also provide documentation proving eligibility to work in the United States and fill out the form I-9 (required by the United States Citizenship & Immigration Service).

2.3 New employees hired to fill any position requiring college coursework or completion of a degree or degrees will be required to furnish official transcripts. Any employee who claims completion of college course work or a degree(s) on the original application, shall if recommended for hire, furnish transcripts for hiring department to validate the decision of that department. Falsification of records or claims will void the application and all action taken as a result of the false information.

2.4 New employees who will fill positions requiring use of a university vehicle will be required to present a valid Texas driver's license.

2.5 Male employees between the ages of 18 and 25 years, inclusive, must furnish proof of registration or exemption from registration with the selective service system.⁵ Individuals exempt from registration include:

• Persons not between the ages of 18 and 25 years
• Females 
• Lawfully admitted non-immigrant aliens 
• Members of the armed forces on full-time active duty
  
  This requirement does not apply to a person employed by a state agency before September 1, 1999, as long as the person’s employment by the agency is continuous.

3. Retirement Plan Requirements: All new regular faculty and staff members must supply information required for the Teacher Retirement System of Texas.⁶ Faculty members and eligible professional and administrative staff must supply information for an Optional Retirement Plan (ORP) if ORP is selected instead of Teacher Retirement.⁷

4. Social Security Number: All individuals must have a social security card and number before they can be employed. Human Resources is responsible for ensuring that all new employees have a social security card and number, and that the number placed on the Lamar University Employee Biographical Data Form described in item 1 above is correct. To do so the Human Resources Office may request a copy of the Social Security card.

5. All employees must provide documents that establish their work eligibility and identification at the time of employment. Foreign nationals will be required to have current work authorization before allowed to begin working on the University campus. All new employees must go to Human Resources on their first day of employment and satisfy this federal statute⁸ (if not previously supplied to department).

6. No faculty or staff member of the University may receive any compensation for his/her services until these affidavits and other requirements have been executed.

References:

¹ Article 60 1b, Section 8.02, V.A.C.S., Responsibility for Property Accounting

² Appropriation Bill, Article V.

³ SB 959, 71st Legislature

⁴ Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act of 1989

⁵ Texas Government Code, Subsection 651.005

⁶ Teacher Retirement Law, Chapter 3, Texas Education Code

⁷ Optional Retirement Law, S.B. 279, Chapter 51, Subchapter 3

⁸ Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986