Temporary Employment (OPS)

OPS, or “Other Personnel Services” employment comprises the University of Florida’s at-will, temporary jobs. This page is not intended to be comprehensive, but will give you a basic picture of what OPS employment entails. Please note that OPS appointments are distinct from time-limited TEAMS appointments.

General OPS Employment

If you are a typical hourly OPS employee (i.e., you are not a student employee, faculty member, graduate assistant, or health center resident) you fall into this category. Some exempt (i.e., non-hourly) OPS employees also fall within this general OPS category. Depending upon the category of work, OPS employees are subject to a 4,176-hour threshold, the equivalent of 2 years of employment at 1.0 FTE. Please review the non-student hourly OPS employment policy to ensure compliance.

Pay
For every hour worked over 40 during UF’s workweek, hourly non-exempt OPS employees must be paid 1 1/2 times their regular hourly rate. No other arrangements (such as flex time) are allowed. Please remember that overtime pay is calculated on a weekly basis that runs Friday through Thursday, and not by biweekly pay period. OPS employees are not eligible to earn overtime compensatory leave. Exempt OPS employees are paid based on their established FTEs; they are not eligible for overtime payment.

Time Worked
As an hourly employee, you will complete a weekly punch, web-clock, or approved time card, and you are not permitted to work before or after your established work schedule unless specifically authorized by your supervisor. You may work from home only if approved under UF’s Alternate Work Location Policy. Exempt OPS employees do not complete any time records.

You are encouraged to leave your workstation during your regularly scheduled lunch periods. If you participate in any job-related activity during these periods, you should record it as time worked.

Leave
As an hourly OPS employee, you are not eligible to receive paid vacation, sick, or administrative leave, or paid holidays. However, you may have eligibility for unpaid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). If you have been employed at UF for at least 12 months (consecutive or not) and have worked a minimum of 1250 hours during the 12-month period preceding the event, you will be eligible for up to 12 workweeks of unpaid leave for an FMLA-qualifying event. Exempt OPS are eligible for holiday pay.

Benefits and Retirement
Hourly OPS employees may be eligible for benefits through the state of Florida if reasonably expected to work 30 hours or more per week in all positions upon hire, work an average of 30 hours or more each week over the defined measurement period, or within the defined measurement period, expected work hours increase to 30 or more in the same position or due to an additional position. If an OPS employee is eligible for benefits at the point of hire or becomes eligible following the defined measurement period, notification will be sent by the state of Florida.

If eligible, benefits must be elected within 60 calendar days of the date of hire or eligibility. For more information on each plan, visit http://hr.ufl.edu/benefits.

OPS employees participate in the FICA Alternative Plan. Under the FICA Alternative Plan, OPS employees (who are not students) deposit money into a private retirement plan rather than contribute to Social Security. The program is mandatory for eligible employees, who are enrolled automatically. OPS employees are also eligible to participate in some of the university’s other tax-deferred savings programs.

Student OPS Employment

Job opportunities exist for all UF students, regardless of financial aid eligibility. You are considered a student OPS employee if you are registered at UF (i.e., not a community college) and you are not a graduate assistant or resident. Your employment should not interfere with your educational goals, and you are not permitted to work during scheduled classes or exams.

Pay
As a student employee, you are “FICA exempt,” which means that Social Security payroll taxes are not collected on your pay. To protect this status, you must be registered at least half-time. For undergraduates, this means you must be enrolled for six hours each semester; for graduate and professional students (i.e., not graduate assistants), half-time will be determined by your classification and the college you attend.

Workweek
As a result of the guidelines listed above, a normal student workweek should be approximately 10 to 20 hours per week, with 20 hours typically being the maximum you may work on campus. Up to (but not including) 32 hours may be approved by petition with approval from your academic adviser. You will complete a weekly punch, web-clock, or approved time card, and you are not permitted to work before or after your established work schedule unless specifically authorized by your supervisor.

For more details on student employment, visit https://www.sfa.ufl.edu/types-of-aid/employment/.

Work Permits

Students seeking FWS jobs should print a copy of their Financial Aid Award Page, which contains the Federal Work Study award, and take this with them to job interviews as proof of FWS eligibility. Students already employed at UF should present a copy of their Financial Aid Award Page to their current employer. To print your Financial Aid Award Page, go to https://one.uf.edu/financialaid/aidyear/

Student Employment Office (S-107 Criser Hall)
PO Box 114025
Gainesville, FL 32611-4025

For assistance, please contact Student Employment at (352) 392-0296.

Academic OPS Employees

Academic OPS employees include adjunct faculty, graduate assistants, and residents. Some may have limited benefits and all are considered “exempt” (i.e., non-hourly) employees.

Adjunct Faculty
As an adjunct faculty member, you may have a 9-, 10-, or 12-month appointment. Your appointment will be for up to one year at a time, and you are not considered tenure-track. You will not earn vacation or sick leave, but you will receive holiday pay.

Adjunct faculty may be eligible for benefits through the state of Florida if reasonably expected to work 30 hours or more per week in all positions upon hire, work an average of 30 hours or more each week over the defined measurement period, or within the defined measurement period, expected work hours increase to 30 or more in the same position or due to an additional position. If an adjunct faculty member is eligible for benefits at the point of hire or becomes eligible following the defined measurement period, notification will be sent by the state of Florida.

If eligible, benefits must be elected within 60 calendar days of the date of hire or eligibility. For more information on each plan, visit http://hr.ufl.edu/benefits.

Adjunct faculty participate in the FICA Alternative Plan. Under the FICA Alternative Plan, OPS employees (who are not students) deposit money into a private retirement plan rather than contribute to Social Security. The program is mandatory for eligible employees, who are enrolled automatically. Adjunct faculty are also eligible to participate in some of the university’s other tax-deferred savings programs.

Graduate Assistants
As a graduate assistant, you must be appropriately registered and working toward a graduate degree. If you have a .25 FTE or greater assignment, you are eligible to participate in GatorGradCare health insurance. To participate, you must enroll in GatorGradCare during the designated enrollment periods. More information about GatorGradCare and the link to the online enrollment application can be found here. You are considered FICA-exempt, although you are eligible to participate in some of the university’s tax-deferred savings programs.

UF graduate assistants are represented by the Graduate Assistants United bargaining unit. All graduate assistants are credited with five personal days at the beginning of each semester that they may use in whole-day increments. Personal time is not cumulative and is designed for use when you are unable to otherwise perform your duties due to injury, illness, or for other personal reasons.

For more information, please contact your department HR for further assistance.

Residents
Residents, or members of the “house staff,” are trainees of a health center professional school. As a resident, your benefits are provided through your college’s office. You will be automatically enrolled in the FICA Alternative Plan. Under the FICA Alternative Plan, OPS employees (who are not students) deposit money into a private retirement plan rather than contribute Social Security. The program is mandatory for eligible employees, who are enrolled automatically. You are also eligible to participate in some of the university’s other tax-deferred savings programs.

For more information, please contact your department HR for further assistance.