Public Interest Project
The Public Interest Project (PIP) is a 100 percent student-run organization formed in 1984. Through various events, PIP raises money to fund summer grants for first- and second-year law students who work in otherwise unpaid public interest and government summer internships.
Accepted PIP applicants please see below for important dates, payroll instructions, necessary documents, and contact information. The shortcut guide and and instructions will also be of help to you. If you are an international student that does not have a social security number, please proceed to the employment documents page. All international students must obtain a social security number before they can be hired.
Should you have any payroll questions, please contact Law Payroll at lawpay@bu.edu. Please provide your first and last name as well as your BU ID when contacting Law Payroll. Any other questions should be directed to the Public Interest Project at buslpip@gmail.com.
Important Dates:
| What? | When? | Where? |
|---|---|---|
Payroll forms |
April 27, 2009 |
Submit to Priscilla in room 452 |
Work study |
April 27, 2009 |
Submit FAFSA and email Cheryl at cherylc@bu.edu |
First day that you may work for PIP |
May 18, 2009 |
Earliest that you can see your job on STEP |
Last day that you may work for PIP |
August 30, 2009 |
Last day that you will see your job on STEP |
STEP Deadline |
Thursday, 11:59pm |
You may start entering hours for current week on Monday, 12:01am. Forecast your hours for the entire week. |
Contact Information
All questions should be directed to lawpay@bu.edu.
Priscilla Louie |
Irene Moustakas |
E-mail is preferable to phone calls. **In your e-mails, please put in the subject line: PIP and your BU ID, so that your messages are not deleted by our system**
Instructions for Public Interest Project Recipients
Money Disbursement: The BU Law Payroll Office (Room 452) disburses the money awarded to summer grant recipients. School policy dictates weekly disbursements to recipients. Lump sum awards are not allowed. Administrative questions during the summer should be directed to Law Payroll at lawpay@bu.edu.
STEP Procedures: Hours must be submitted via the Student Time Entry Process (STEP) by 11:59pm every Thursday. Please forecast your hours for Friday and the weekend, if necessary. Please note that you will be paid the following week, on Friday. If you have direct deposit, the money should be available in your bank account on Friday morning. BU Law Payroll mails the direct deposit stubs/checks on the day they are issued, but allow up to a week to receive your stubs/checks. We require that all PIP participants sign up for direct deposit.
40-Hour Rule: The payroll office pays each grant recipient hourly, up to 40 hours per week. The payroll office cannot pay a grant recipient for overtime or any extra hours worked. Therefore, each week, the hours that you enter via the Student Time Entry Process (STEP) must not exceed 40 hours, under any circumstances.
400-Hour Rule: If at the end of the 10-week assignment, the grant recipient has not worked up to the maximum 400 paid hours (maximum: $4000 gross total), the grant recipient may work into the 11th week up to those maximums. Pursuant to the Public Interest Project contract signed by each grant recipient, no grant recipient may be paid for hours not worked, and must contact the Public Interest Project if unable to work the full 10 weeks. Under no circumstances should your total hours paid for PIP exceed 400 hours for the summer.
Time Off / Holidays: Grant recipients get no holiday or vacation pay. If the grant recipient works on a holiday, the time entry should be filled out normally, and payment will be for the time worked. A grant recipient may take a few unpaid days off from work, with the employer's approval.
Mandatory Preliminary Paperwork:
The following forms must be completed before you can work:
- I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification Form
- W-4 Form
- M-4 Form
- Direct Deposit may be signed up for through the Student Link (instructions)
- Participant Data Sheet
For the I-9 form, all employees must provide the payroll office with proper identification (required under federal regulations). The following are examples of acceptable documents:
- Passport OR
- Photo ID and social security card OR
- Photo ID and birth certificate
For more examples of proper employment identification, please refer to the back page of the I-9 form.
Direct deposit is required for all PIP participants. Please have your routing and account numbers available when you sign up for direct deposit.
Completion of PIP: Once you have completed 400 hours through PIP you will automatically be terminated by our system. If you finish your job before you have completed 400 hours please notify us at lawpay@bu.edu so that we may terminate you from the system.
Questions
Should you have any payroll questions that are not addressed on our list of Frequently Asked Questions, please contact Law Payroll at lawpay@bu.edu. Please provide your first and last name as well as your BU ID when contacting Law Payroll. Any other questions should be directed to the Public Interest Project at buslpip@gmail.com.