2008 Woodie Awards
Student employment rights non-existant at ISU
Neil Mattsan
Issue date: 1/25/06 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
Imagine losing your job tomorrow.
No compensation, no advance notice, no explanation. Your services are no longer needed. Poof!! You're out. Now what?
For many ISU student employees, this scenario is a real possibility. Fortunately, it is not a prevalent occurrence, but it does happen. If the student employee is not the victim of discrimination, they have little recourse.
Student employees at ISU work on an "At will" basis. What this means is that the employee and the employer come together of their own will, and there is no contractual agreement. Either party can terminate at any time. The employee, if unhappy, has the right to quit at any time. And the employer, if they deem it necessary, can dismiss a student employee with little or no warning.
It may or may not be right, but it is legal. "Campus employees working on an at-will basis can be let go with little or no explanation," explains Associate Dean of Students Lee Krehbiel "And there are no protections against it, other than ensuring the employee is not the victim of discrimination".
According to ISU's office of human resources, there are over 2,000 employees working on campus on "At-will" status. Many students are satisfied with their employment, but there is a wide spectrum of arrangements, and no safety net for them should something happen.
In Idaho, employees are not legally entitled to any kind of rights or benefits. That does not mean they cannot ask. "An employer can give more rights to employees than the state requires if they choose to do so," Says ISU Director of Human Resources David Miller, "It's up to them. At ISU, that decision would be made by the (University) President".
If a student has not been discriminated against, but still feels they got a raw deal in being fired, there is little they can do. "There is no mechanism in place for grievance procedures," says Krehbiel, "but if the students wanted to put something together, I would be happy to work with them."
Working one's way through college is challenging. Amid long hours studying and doing homework, students scramble balancing school with family, and trying to salvage some semblance of a social life. Then there's actually attending class. It's like a full-time job in itself. Finding work with an accommodating schedule is not easy.
Finding the right job can be like a weight off a student's shoulders. Such jobs can be hard to come by. Students are more able to meet the challenge by balancing all of these elements, and losing a job unexpectedly should not be part of the equation.
No compensation, no advance notice, no explanation. Your services are no longer needed. Poof!! You're out. Now what?
For many ISU student employees, this scenario is a real possibility. Fortunately, it is not a prevalent occurrence, but it does happen. If the student employee is not the victim of discrimination, they have little recourse.
Student employees at ISU work on an "At will" basis. What this means is that the employee and the employer come together of their own will, and there is no contractual agreement. Either party can terminate at any time. The employee, if unhappy, has the right to quit at any time. And the employer, if they deem it necessary, can dismiss a student employee with little or no warning.
It may or may not be right, but it is legal. "Campus employees working on an at-will basis can be let go with little or no explanation," explains Associate Dean of Students Lee Krehbiel "And there are no protections against it, other than ensuring the employee is not the victim of discrimination".
According to ISU's office of human resources, there are over 2,000 employees working on campus on "At-will" status. Many students are satisfied with their employment, but there is a wide spectrum of arrangements, and no safety net for them should something happen.
In Idaho, employees are not legally entitled to any kind of rights or benefits. That does not mean they cannot ask. "An employer can give more rights to employees than the state requires if they choose to do so," Says ISU Director of Human Resources David Miller, "It's up to them. At ISU, that decision would be made by the (University) President".
If a student has not been discriminated against, but still feels they got a raw deal in being fired, there is little they can do. "There is no mechanism in place for grievance procedures," says Krehbiel, "but if the students wanted to put something together, I would be happy to work with them."
Working one's way through college is challenging. Amid long hours studying and doing homework, students scramble balancing school with family, and trying to salvage some semblance of a social life. Then there's actually attending class. It's like a full-time job in itself. Finding work with an accommodating schedule is not easy.
Finding the right job can be like a weight off a student's shoulders. Such jobs can be hard to come by. Students are more able to meet the challenge by balancing all of these elements, and losing a job unexpectedly should not be part of the equation.