Hofstra is Raising Minimum Wage for Student Employees
BY: URVI GANDHI
(Sept. 12, 2022) — Hofstra University student employees will see an increase in pay for hours they have worked since September 1, 2022.
President Susan Poser told the Clocktower that approximately 75% of all student employees will be paid $12 and higher and 49% will be paid $15 and higher. Those doing more “specialized” jobs such as IT, lifeguarding and tutoring will receive $15 or higher.
The raise was announced to student employees in an email sent out by Denise Cunningham, Hofstra’s Chief Human Resources Officer, on September 8, 2022.
“This change to the student wage is responsive to longstanding requests to increase the minimum wage for student workers,” the email read.
Until now, pay for student employees ranged from $8.25 per hour to over $15 an hour for select positions. Poser, who began her tenure as president of Hofstra in August 2021, told the Clocktower that she felt the wages had to be raised as soon as she heard they were as low as $8.25 an hour.
Pay for all Resident Safety Representatives (RSRs), one of the most common jobs offered to students on campus, will be raised to $12 an hour. Previously, RSRs on the night shift were paid $11 while those on the day shift were paid $9.50 an hour.
“I think a pay raise is a really good step in the right direction, but it’s still not New York State minimum wage,” said Sybil Eklof, a senior political science and history major, who works as an RSR. “I also don’t think it’s fair that students who are sacrificing their sleep schedule are getting paid the same as the day shift.”
However, student employees Ryder Lazo and Chloe Leatherman, who are in the process of starting an undergraduate student employee union at Hofstra, expressed displeasure at the pay disparity between RSRs and other student employees. Lazo and Leatherman, who are both seniors and work as student aides in the History department, provided the following statement to the Clocktower:
“While we're glad to see a pay raise at all - it is still unacceptable that RSRs will only be making $12 for their incredibly hard and important work on our campus. It's good to hear that some of our student workers will be receiving $15, but at the same time, why has the school decided to make a decision on who deserves a living wage and who doesn't? This leaves student workers wondering why their hard work is being ignored or deemed as less deserving than other students’ work.”
Poser also said the administration was looking into reducing the number of resident hall safety booths and day shifts worked by RSRs.
“There aren’t many universities that have student employees stationed in resident halls 24 hours a day,” said Poser.
Karla Schuster, a university spokesperson, told the Clocktower that only one entrance at the Colonial Square dorm will be staffed, compared to 2-3 entrances in previous years. This change, made occasionally during the Spring 2022 semester, will now be part of the regular schedule. It will not affect access for residents, who will be able to swipe in at all entrances. Residents with guests will only be able to enter through the staffed East entrance. The RSR booth at the Graduate Residence Hall will also be phased out through the course of the Fall semester.
Hofstra’s RSR program currently reports through the Department of Public Safety, but will be moved to the Office of Student Enrollment, Engagement and Success before the end of the Fall semester.
“The changes in RSR staffing are in response to evolving needs on campus, and are not related to the recent adjustments in student employment salary rates,” added Schuster.
In response to questions surrounding whether students’ Federal Work Study awards would be raised, Schuster said, “Federal work study students can work the maximum amount of hours that their federal work study award allows. That is not changing.”
“There are some jobs that are no longer necessary, such as delivering documents from one office to another. We will be putting some of that work online so that we use less paper. It’s the sustainable thing to do,” added Poser.
Poser did not specify which particular jobs she was referring to but she did emphasize that there would be no reductions in jobs from last year.
In a Student Government Association meeting held on February 10, 2022, Poser was asked by an SGA senator on how student employees could express concerns about their employment to the administration.
“I was made aware of this issue and I am awaiting a study about raising the wage for students. We have a spectrum from $8.50 to well over $15 and we are looking to boost these numbers. Just waiting on this research but our goal is to have this ready at the beginning of the Fall semester,” said Poser in response, according to SGA meeting minutes.
Students have long expressed their frustration with pay at Hofstra, which for a long time has been well below Nassau County’s $15 minimum wage. In an article published in the Hofstra Chronicle in April 2022, some students expressed how financially dependent they are on campus employment.
In many states such as New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts, universities are legally allowed to pay students less than the state minimum wage, due to the subminimum wage provision in the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act. The stipulation allows for educational nonprofit organizations such as private universities to apply for a certificate that enables them to pay students at least 75% of the federal minimum wage.
“We are laser focused on student success, particularly retention and graduation rates,” Poser said. “One of the things that affects this is student finances.”
Photo credits: Sabrina Lee for The Hofstra Clocktower
