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We have been working on some process changes where the University is dealing with Independent Contractor issues. We realize this has been a difficult issue for everyone. Still, we would like to assure the campus community that the changes being made are necessary and important to assist the University with bringing our policies and procedures into compliance with Federal and State regulations. After you review these procedures, should you have any questions, please feel free to contact Miguel Gabertan in the Payroll Office at (904) 620- 2715 or by email at mgaberta@unf.edu.

In this context, we would like to provide the campus with some guidance and contact information to assist departments with handling these issues. Accordingly, the following is provided for your assistance when your departments anticipate hiring a person as an Independent Contractor:

1. Procedures:

    

   1. When a requesting department needs services provided and feels strongly that the person they wish to hire should be considered an Independent Contractor, they must complete the  to help determine the employment status.
      1. When completing the Independent Contractor checklist, if the department answers Part # 1 with a YES, that the person is a current employee in the hiring department, the individual will be considered an employee and departments may not process as an Independent Contractor agreement. Departments must contact the Office of Human Resources to hire the person as an employee.
       
   2. To expedite the review and determination process, once the checklist is completed, the department head should:
      1. Sign and date the checklist.
      2. Upload the checklist to the iContracts container Attachment Tab as supporting documentation to the Service Agreement.
      3. An unsigned copy of the contract must accompany the checklist and include a complete description of the requested services.
      4. Departments may attach/upload any additional information or comments in iContracts they feel may support their position to have an Independent Contractor Agreement issued. For example:
         1. It would be pertinent to know whether or not there were any intentions of ever hiring this person as an employee.
         2. If the services are similar in nature to services currently being performed by a current or prior employee.
          
       
   3. If the contract is viewed as a true independent contractor, the Payroll Office will approve the contract through iContracts, which notifies Procurement Services to authorize the completion of the contract with the contractor.
      1. In situations involving Sponsored Research departments, Payroll will also notify ORSP so that they may provide any additional review or approvals necessary before forwarding to Procurement Services.
      2. Once Procurement Services has all the paperwork, they will turn the contract around within approximately 24 to 36 hours.
       
   4. If the contract is viewed as being an employment (employee) situation, the Payroll Office will by email, contact the requesting department and copy Procurement Services, ORSP, and the Office of Human Resources to alert them of the change in status.

       

   5. If after review by the Payroll Office, the contract is determined to be an employment (employee) situation, the requesting department will be instructed to contact the Office of Human Resources and required to submit a service agreement contract form that may be found on the OHR website. The individual must visit HR to process payroll and complete a W-4, I-9 and other employment documentation. For more information, please contact the Office of Human Resources.
    
2. Contacts: 
   1.  Payroll Department:
      1. Miguel Gabertan, Assistant Controller. You may reach Miguel at (904) 620-2715 or mgaberta@unf.edu. If Miguel is not available, please forward this to Valerie Stevenson.
      2. Valerie Stevenson, University Controller. You may reach Valerie at (904) 620-2989 or vstevens@unf.edu.
       
   2.  Procurement Services:
      1. Contact (904) 620-2730 or at Banner-purchase@unf.edu
       
   3.  The Office of Human Resources:
      1. Laura McCloskey, Associate Director. You may reach Laura at telephone number (904) 620-2943 or l.mccloskey@unf.edu