Letter to The Editor

Dear Editor,

I am writing in response to Friday’s editorial “Pitt’s two-job limit unfair… Dear Editor,

I am writing in response to Friday’s editorial “Pitt’s two-job limit unfair to work-study students.” I am about to receive my undergraduate diploma in December, and I am currently a payroll assistant in the Department of Psychology. I am very familiar with both sides of the payroll fence and used to be a Federal Work-Study student. There are so many issues that have occurred over the years that it was necessary for the University to enact the job limit policy – and not just to burden students.

For instance, this past summer a student was employed partially by two departments and every month there seemed to be a problem with her paycheck. Not because of error but because of the system. She was paid at different rates for each department from different account numbers, for different amounts of hours. Her paperwork passed through numerous hands for signatures before getting to payroll, and not until payday at the end of the month did anyone find out that a problem had occurred because of paperwork.

On top of a poorly integrated payroll system is the fact that Federal Work-Study students are on a strict budget for allotted money, and I find it nearly impossible for two separate work entities to ensure a student does not exceed their money. I also think that the grant system that funds Federal Work-Study would find two University jobs as a double dipping of sorts while some students who could not get Federal Work-Study might not find student positions because of a Federal Work-Study student holding two jobs.

Finally, and more specifically, the problem lies in something called an employee record. To pay a student from two entities requires intricate details on an already complicated form. And considering the amount of students that have payroll processed each month, the problems would far outreach the thousands and students would be forced to bear the burden when their check is not correct.

It has been advised over the years to form an integrated online payroll system, but identities and personal information could be unlawfully accessed. Therefore, privacy outweighs simplicity.

Perhaps you will find that the policy is not as unfair as you make it out to be, and we can inform the Pitt students the right way to ensure they are paid expeditiously.

Best,

Samantha A. Ryan University of Pittsburgh Department of Psychology