There are certain federally-funded programs (e.g. Americorps) whose charters specifically exclude the participating individuals from the normal employee status or from some benefits. Although these individuals may be on the employer’s payroll, receive a W-2, work more than 20 hours a week, and may even receive benefits, they are considered “non-employee employees”.
Employees hired and paid through programs of this type may be ineligible to participate in any of the defined benefit or defined contribution plans offered by URS. Employers should not include these individuals on their contribution reports to URS; however, they should maintain documentation on the eligibility status of all individuals on their payroll. Appropriate documentation on the participants in these programs could be a letter of determination from URS or the program sponsor, the specific program contracts, statute citations or legal opinions, etc.
There is no form required to document this status with URS; however, it is the employer’s responsibility to maintain sufficient documentation relating to that individual’s employment status to prove ineligibility should a question arise.