This section is about paying individuals and businesses for work undertaken to support research, not for regular, hourly-paid work. For information about employing students to support research, see the Hiring a Student Worker page.
>> go to the Hiring a Student Worker page
Self-Employed Individuals and Businesses
Self-employed individuals or established businesses that undertake work for faculty may be paid directly by the University. The following must be provided:
- An invoice with the name, address, phone and email of the individual or business, the nature of the work completed, and the amount due.
- A W-9 form or (if the individual/business is based overseas) a Tax Compliance Notification form.
- A Services Performed Outside the US form, if the payee is an individual based overseas and some or all of the services occur overseas.
- Details of the account to be charged.
Alternatively, a faculty member may pay the individual or business directly and then seek reimbursement, in which case proof of payment (receipt, or bank or credit card statement) must also be submitted along with the above documentation.
Please note that a self-employed individual may not be paid more than $3000 in a calendar year. If you intend on hiring someone as an independent contractor for work totaling more than $3000, contact the Department Administrator as a formal contract will need to be approved with HR prior to the work being performed.
Research Subjects and Fieldwork Assistants
Nominal payments to research subjects and fieldwork assistants are allowed, provided you obtain the appropriate documentation:
If you pay a research subject, you must obtain a receipt of some kind (you may generate your own), to include:
- The subject’s name (or some other coded identifier to preserve confidentiality)
- The amount paid
- Indication of the task undertaken
- The subject should also sign the receipt (an ‘X’ or fingerprint is sufficient in the case of an illiterate subject)
If you pay a fieldwork assistant (researcher, translator, etc.) while in the field, you must obtain a receipt of some kind (you may generate your own), to include the following:
- The individual’s full, legal name
- A statement of citizenship (e.g., “I am a US citizen”)
- A home address
- Social security number (if available)
- The amount paid
- A brief description of services rendered
- The individual’s signature