A group of student employees has complained to UTRGV top administrators about receiving late paychecks “without notice or explanation.”
In a Nov. 5 letter sent to President Guy Bailey, Academic Affairs Executive Vice President Patricia McHatton and Executive Vice President for Research, Graduate Studies and New Program Development Parwinder Grewal, the Student Workers for Labor Rights suggests the university notify student employees when they will be paid and who to contact in regard to their payment.
The group works to make sure student workers are paid on time, every time, according to its Facebook page.
The letter was signed by research assistants Stephanie Kasper, Faeqa Mohsin, Aminur Rashid Chowdhury and Istiak Hussain; graduate research assistants Thomas Yamashita and Amy Bogolin; teaching assistants Habraham Lopez, Julianna Kurpis and Briante Najev; student project associates Matthew Kutugata, Allison Kaika and Joy Youwakim; and graduate student Roxana Carrion.
Three of the letter writers chose to remain anonymous.
The Office of the President acknowledged the letter on Nov. 29 and referred the group to Michael James, chief Human Resources officer.
The Rider emailed Bailey, McHatton and Grewal for comment about the late paychecks.
McHatton replied via email, stating, “I am forwarding your request to Patrick [Gonzales] as I am not the person handling this and thus would not be able to respond to questions.”
Patrick Gonzales, UTRGV’s associate vice president for University Marketing and Communications, told The Rider that McHatton and Grewal “haven’t been involved in the review of this issue,” and said the correct contact is James.
In an interview with The Rider, James said, “there are some things that are emerging that we are going to be focusing. … I’m going to be meeting with several members of HR and payroll staff to really to go deeper and to look at more information … that will help inform how we adjust our processes.”
He said the letter “was written by a group of people who were very concerned, and rightfully so, and it’s solution oriented.”
“I think the spirit which has been taken is very serious. It … puts light into a subject that requires some attention and I’m proud of the students that submitted it,” James said.
Asked if he received complaints about student employees not getting paid on time, James replied, “I have been aware there have been time cards submitted after payroll close and that they would have to been run on a special payroll, yes, but as far as complaints, no.”
The letter also states it is difficult for students to find resources regarding pay issues.
“We are then forced to seek our own answers through repeated emails, phone calls and office visits, most of which are disregarded or passed along laterally to different departments,” the letter states. “As students, we should not have to pressure staff or faculty to process our wages. The university does not live up to its obligation as our employer and is disrespecting our rights as student workers.”
Kasper, a member of Student Workers for Labor Rights, was paid 34 days late for the month of August and five days late for the month of September.
She said one of her main complaints was the complexity of the university system.
“I get thrown into this very complex system with many offices and many people responsible and it’s very hard to tell,” Kasper said. “There’s no, like, adequate introduction as a part of, y’know, orientation or being hired. [There are no] resources.”
Kasper has faced financial issues due to receiving late paychecks.
“It’s been incredibly stressful because I’m not from the [Rio Grande] Valley,” she said. “I moved here and I live here on my own. I have an apartment by myself and, so, I am solely responsible for all of my bills.”
James said the university is willing to work with the student employees in regard to training.
“If they would like us to do a timecard training on how to submit and how that process works, we would go to them,” he said. “I think we should schedule something and have a training session.”
Gonzales recommends that student employees bring up the payment issue to the payroll office as soon as possible.
“Whenever there’s something like this happening, there’s been a mistake along the way and we need to know about it soon,” Gonzales said. “This is inexcusable for UTRGV not to pay students on time. So, when students feel like there’s been a delay, they need to let the payroll office know immediately or their immediate supervisor know immediately because there’s something that happened along the line.”
Kasper said advisers lend money to their student employees when they are not paid on time.
“My adviser offered to lend me money, and I know that’s something professors commonly offer to do,” she said. “I’ve talked to folks that have had to borrow money from their professors and, like, that is very kind and generous of those folks to do.”
James does not condone the practice of lending money to student employees.
“I don’t believe that’s the right solution,” he said. “I believe the right solution is to get on the phone with me, call me. I mean, students can call me directly if they need to because I will get to the bottom of it and will help them if they’re experiencing a delay in getting paid.”
Kasper said she has been in contact with other student employees who have been facing the same problems with late paychecks.
“I’ve been in contact with at least 25 people who have had issues either receiving wages or stipends on time from the university,” she said. “I’ve also heard of some in other departments having issues as well.”
James said the next step is for students to understand the requirements for timesheets.
“That they understand they’ve done everything they’re supposed to do to be properly onboarded,” he said. “Also, that they are staying close to their departmental administrators to make sure that everything is in order to be paid in a timely manner.”
James also said that departments and administration “have to work together to make sure everything and all of the processes are in place to effectively support student processes.”
