Regulations of Student Employment

There are various sources of regulations that affect your work as a student employee of California Lutheran University. You can find an overview of these regulations below.

Wages and Leave

Hourly Wages

Student wage rates at Cal Lutheran are set to the California Minimum Wage, with some exceptions based on work location (notably PLTS and the Westlake Village locations). Earnings are paid to students in the form of a bi-weekly paychecks (every two weeks). Paychecks are available via Direct Deposit; paper paychecks will no longer be printed.

For more information about wages, see Eligibility, Hours, and Pay.

Sick Leave

Student employees who work at least 30 days within a year, are eligible to take paid sick leave.

Employees requesting sick leave should provide reasonable notice of their absence to their supervisor. Paid sick leave may be used for the illness of an employee or an eligible family member; preventive care, diagnosis, care, or treatment of an existing health condition for an employee or an employee's family member; or for specified purposes if an employee is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking. Family members include the employees or spouse's parent(s), child, spouse, registered domestic partner, grandparent, grandchild, and sibling.

Effective January 1, 2024, student, temporary, and adjunct employees may receive paid sick leave and accumulate up to a maximum of ten (10) days (80 hrs.). To review HR Policy 002, please visit the HR Website.

Student employees accrue at a rate of .033/per hour worked (~3 hours for every 100 hours) beginning their date of hire. Paid sick leave balances may be carried over to the following calendar year and accumulate up to a maximum of 80 Hours (10 Days). 

To carry over sick leave, you must contact Student Payroll at: 805-493-3961.

Student employees who cease their employment, and are rehired within one year from the last date of employment will have previously accrued and unused sick pay leave balances reinstated, up to the maximum allowable. Unused sick leave is not payable upon termination of employment.

Vacation Time

Student employees do not accrue vacation time.

Chapel/Sabbath Hour

Chapel or Sabbath Hour at California Lutheran University takes place on Thursdays from 11:15 AM-12:15 PM.

Student employees are permitted to take this hour and still get paid if they are scheduled to work during this time. However, supervisors may opt to reschedule/adjust your schedule if they still require coverage during this hour. This is to still allow for supervisors to still have regular coverage if a student employee plans on taking Chapel/Sabbath Hour every week.

Bereavement Leave

Under a new California law that went into effect on January 1st, 2023, all employees -- including student employees – are entitled to 5 days of bereavement leave.

Unlike full-time employees, however, student employees are not entitled to paid bereavement leave (that is, it’s not paid).

• The 5 days need not be contiguous/consecutive, meaning the student can take several leaves for the same loss.
• From Payroll: Students can use sick time if they have accrued enough hours.

General Employment Laws and University Policies

General Employment Law

For student workers, please be aware the Student Employment Office adheres to the general Cal Lutheran employee handbook regarding employment law and Human Resources matters.

For more comprehensive information on the use of sick leave, please review the most updated information in the Handbook & Policies from Human Resources.

Absences and Doctor Notes

Per the university’s general Human Resources policy, a doctor’s note is not required to certify your absence and ability to return to work unless your absence and use of sick leave exceeds five consecutive days.

However, if you do have reasons for being absent, we recommend proactively communicating with your supervisor if you do need to make alternative arrangements or if you need specific accommodations.

Required Training: Sexual Harassment Prevention for Non-Supervisors

Under California Law, Sexual Harassment Prevention Training must be completed every two years by all employees. Student employees are considered as "non-supervisors", and therefore must complete a 1-hour training. Training will be assigned on the Vector Platform, which can be accessed on MyCLU. The Student Employment and Human Resource Offices will assign and notify student employees when this required training is assigned.

Maximum Weekly Hours

As stated in Eligibility, Hours, and Pay, Undergraduate and graduate hourly student employees may work a maximum of 20 hours per week during the academic year (while school is in session) and a maximum of *40 hours per week during the summer, winter, and spring breaks.

• Students must not exceed 8 hours of work in one day.
• If your scheduled shift is 5 hours or longer, you are legally required to take a 30 minute meal break (make sure to do this).
• You may waive your meal break if your shift does not exceed 6 hours total. However, you must notify our supervisor in writing (email/note) that you intend on doing this. That note must be shared with Payroll as well.

General Work Expectations

When you are hired for an on-campus position you become a member of a team that depends on you. While individual departments will have different expectations, you should expect to:

• Be enrolled during the academic year at least half-time. You must cease working after withdrawing or graduating from school or dropping below part-time status.
• Set up a work schedule with your supervisor that compliments your class schedule and your supervisor's needs.
• Earn no more than your FWS award amount each semester.
• Report to work promptly, ready to begin work.
• Notify your supervisor as soon as possible and no later than the beginning of the scheduled work shift, when you are unable to work.
• Consider the employer's needs as well as your own when requesting time off.
• Work with a cooperative and positive attitude.
• Refrain from conducting personal business during work hours.
• Perform your work in a satisfactory manner.
• Dress appropriately for your work location.
• Take your job seriously. The experience you gain in your position can be invaluable.
• Develop and maintain good working habits.
• Report your hours accurately each day that you work.
• Discuss problems with your supervisor as they arise.
• Students found to have engaged in gross misconduct (i.e. breach of confidentiality, theft, fraud, etc.) will be terminated and referred to the Dean of Students' Office for disciplinary action.

Concurrent Employment

Typically, students are limited to one on-campus position. However, concurrent employment for up to 2 positions may be approved by the Student Employment office. Requests for concurrent employment must be submitted via the Student Employment Authorization form.

• Students who are authorized to work more than one job are still held to the 20 maximum hours per week regulation.
• Sodexo and Follett employment opportunities are not considered a part of Student Employment as the positions exist with external contractors/companies.

Resident Assistants and On-Campus Work

*Note: This is a joint policy set by the Student Employment and Residence Life Offices.

Students who are serving as Resident Assistants (RA) for the academic year are not eligible to work on-campus in another position unless one of these two specific conditions are met.

1. Departmental Assistant: If an RA is provided the opportunity to serve as a Departmental Assistant (DA) within the same academic year, these two positions may be permitted. The DA Role is a designated position offered to specific scholarly students by faculty members and hours are minimal.
2. Internship for Credit: If an RA works in an on-campus position and obtains academic credit for their work in that department, this may be permitted. Internships approved for credit must already have been approved by the student’s academic department via the Cooperative Education Form, found at https://www.callutheran.edu/students/career-services/jobs-internships/about-internships.html.

In either case, the maximum hours that a Resident Assistant may work on-campus in either a DA or Approved Internship capacity is 10 hours per week in addition to their RA responsibilities.

Safety in the Workplace

All student employees should be careful while at work in order to avoid injury on the job. Whenever an item of concern relative to the safety or health of others needs to be corrected, it should be immediately reported to the student’s Supervisor.

Harassment

Harassment refers to unwelcome behavior that is offensive, fails to respect the rights of others and interferes with work effectiveness. Cal Lutheran believes that all members of the campus community should be free of harassment based on race, color, religion, age, natural origin, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or gender. As such, Cal Lutheran does not tolerate any form of harassment and anyone who engages in harassment and is in violation of this policy will be subject to immediate disciplinary action, up to and including termination.

Important Information Regarding Health Insurance

For more information on The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) please visit the Human Resources website.

Grievance/Complaint Procedure

Cal Lutheran has a grievance procedure designed for hearing complaints of harassment or problems on the job. The student employee should first discuss your concerns with their immediate Supervisor. If your grievance or concern involves your supervisor, there are a few contacts and resources that can assist:

• Student Employment Coordinator: 805-493–3279
• Director of Career Services: 805-493–3199
• VP for Student Affairs and Dean of Students: 805-493–3553

For incidents involving harassment, discrimination, or bias, California Lutheran University also has a more formalized incident report mechanism of Incident Reporting for those that witness or experience these incidents.

Termination or Leaving Your Job

Typically, a part-time job at Cal Lutheran will conclude at the end of the academic year, or at the end of the semester, if applicable. Students have the right to leave their job at any time. 

• If you find it necessary to resign, you should give a two-week notice to your Supervisor and have them complete a Student Employment Update Form (see Getting Hired).

A student may be involuntarily terminated if their performance is continually unsatisfactory for reasons such as (but not limited to): violating any of the applicable policies identified in the Student Handbook/Standards of Conduct; continued poor work-performance or attitude; continued excessive tardiness or absence; falsification of employment or University records (including reporting hours worked); disobedience, insubordination, or harassment of other individuals.

Seeking Future Employment After Termination/Resignation

If a student employee is terminated, resigns, or leaves their position, that former student employee is not barred from seeking reemployment in the same position or from applying to other positions.

Rules for Student Conduct

For the complete version of university Standards of Conduct, please see the Student Handbook.

Workers' Compensation Information

Student employees are also eligible for workers' compensation. See the handouts below for more information. For further questions, please consult Human Resources.

• Workers' Compensation Pamphlet
• Presdesignation of Personal Physician Form
• Important Information About Medical Care for Work-Related Injury or Illness (English)
• Important Information About Medical Care for Work-R
• If they are injured and require care before Human Resources can communicate with them, please refer students/send them to: Concentra Urgent Care in Camarillo at 4934 Verdugo Way, Camarillo, CA 93012

Off-Campus Work Study Positions

The Student Employment Office at Cal Lutheran partners with the organizations in the community, which can be explored on the Community Service Partnerships page.

In order to work for these off-campus employers, students must be Federal Work Study eligible and apply directly to the employer in CLUPostings. Student wages are paid through the Student Employment Office and paychecks are made available by Direct Deposit.

DSS Note Takers

Each semester, students volunteer to serve as a Note Taker for their classes to assist their peers who may require additional assistance with taking notes in class. Note Takers are provided with a specific link to complete a stipend request form by the Disability Support Services Office. You may email them at dssnotes@callutheran.edu to submit the stipend request or opt for the advanced registration option instead.

Note Taker Stipend Request Form