Contracts - Honorariums and Personal Service Agreements

Important Note: No member or group of members is empowered to enter into a contract, promise to pay or in any other way obligate their club, the SGAF, or the University without following proper procedures. All credit purchases, contracts, and other forms of purchase agreements must have the approval of the Student Activities Office and SABO.

* * All forms and guidelines related to the purchase of services can be found under the Personal Service Agreements and Honorariums link on the Purchasing web site at Purchasing - Eastern (easternct.edu).

Personal Service Agreements (PSA)

The Personal Service Agreement (PSA) is used for the commitment of funds concerning all non-employment contracts for personal services that are required, Personal services include assistance and services performed by individuals, partnerships or corporations of a professional or technical nature. PSAs are not to be used in place of hiring regular, full-time, part-time, or temporary employees. PSAs will not be authorized for work that has been recognized as belonging to one of the collective bargaining units within the Board of Regents for the Connecticut State Colleges and University.

Honoraria

The Services and Honoraria Request Form is used for the commitment of funds concerning all non-employment contracts for personal services under $5,000 that are required. Services and Honoraria Request Form services include assistance and services performed by individuals, partnerships, or corporations of a professional or technical nature, professional services normally associated with academic guest lecturers or speakers for a university event. Honoraria are not to be used in place of hiring regular, full-time, part-time, or temporary employees. Honoraria will not be authorized for work that has been recognized as belonging to one of the collective bargaining units within the Board of Regents for the Connecticut State Colleges and University.

 
The forms (which can be found online) must be submitted at least 10 business days prior to the event. Club minutes need to be submitted along with the respective contracts (with all required signatures). Additionally, a W-9 for the person whose name appears on the check (and the contract is made out to) must be up to date and on file.

Under no circumstances are any services to be performed without prior approval, and event may be subject to cancellation if paperwork is not received within the stated time frames. 

If the vendor is a state employee a Dual Employment Form is required. The individual service provider will be paid through the University's Personnel/Payroll system. Payroll Office will apply the charges to the club account for the service including fringe benefits.

Sales of advertising and sponsorships by the Campus Lantern and radio station respectively, and lifeguard services for the pool, have already been determined that an employer/employee relationship exists and will be paid through the University's Personnel/Payroll System.

Student clubs and organizations may hire ECSU students using the PSA/Honorarium process, however, student employees already on the payroll may not be hired by a club or organization for any purpose, even if it is for a one-time DJ, it is not allowed.

Out of State Entertainer Withholding Tax is withheld for out-of-state vendor contracts totaling $1,000.00 or more. The vendor will receive a 1099 form at the end of the calendar year.

Due to IRS rules and penalties concerning the failure to secure social security or taxpayer identification numbers from service vendors (contractors), all PSA's or Honorariums cannot be considered "complete" until either a social security number or taxpayer identification number and a mailing address for the vendor appear. If a vendor returns a PSA or Honorarium with this block incomplete, no payment will be made. There are no exceptions to this policy as the IRS penalties are substantial. Under no circumstances will payment be made until we have this information and the contract is fully executed by the University.

Once the PSA/Honorarium is reviewed and finalized by the University, a copy is returned to the contractor (vendor) and to the agreement monitor of the club/organization.

After the engagement takes place, an authorized signature authority must verify that services have been rendered.  To request the payment, a voucher must be completed and submitted to Student Activities for processing.  If payment is required on or before an event, it must be noted. (NOTE: It is the responsibility of the requesting club or organization to notify SABO if the scheduled contract is not completed, and return the check if necessary).         

Students should be extremely careful when verbally agreeing to the provision of services on behalf of their club. Students do not have the authority to enter into any agreement that might be binding on the organization, the SGA, or the University, only an authorized University administrator may do this. Students who enter into an agreement without going through these steps for approval could be held personally liable and possibly be sued for any debt and collection fees.