Independent Contractors

What It’s For

We create an IC contract when we want to pay an individual for providing a service. The payee cannot be a UNC affiliate.

The contract must be approved BEFORE they do any work.

IC agreements cannot cover more than one year. If the work is to continue, we must submit a new IC request.

Obtaining Documentation

When someone in ESE wants to hire an individual for their services, the account manager should determine the required documentation.

The account manager should:

1. Check the vendor/supplier database.
   1. If the person is not in it, request the appropriate paperwork from the contractor.
   2. If they are in it, check the S: drive to see if we have the appropriate paperwork already.
      1. If we do not, request it from the contractor.
      2. If we do, you will be required to upload it as part of the IC process.
2. Send the hirer a standard email explaining what determines an IC and what forms are required. The forms should be attached to the email.
3. Start an IC Checkoff List.
4. Review the completed documents to ensure the individual meets the criteria to be an IC and that the forms are completed correctly.
5. Sign off on the forms.

Required Documentation

For all independent contractors, the following documents are required* and should be filled out by the contractor.

*Guest speakers may be exempt from some documentation. Speakers must meet the criteria listed at the policy page and fill out the Speaker Checklist and a W-9. None of the documentation below applies to them.

1. 708.1.1f Independent Contractor Determination Checklist – aka EICDC (They should NOT include their social security number.)

709.1.1f Foreign Vendor Withholding Assessment
I-94 and Travel History information

4. Background check*

No background check is required if

• The assignment meets the following criteria:
  • The assignment is < 10 calendar days
  • The contractor has no continuous relationship
  • The contractor has only supervised access to sensitive populations/facilities
• or the contractor will perform the assignment in their own facilities and has no access to sensitive info/populations.

Exception: all photography and video-related services must include background checks.

If the cost will be greater than $10,000 over the fiscal year, the following additional documents are required:

5. 708.1.2f Independent Contractor Services Agreement and Statement of Work
6. 1232.1.1f Waiver of Competition
7. Sole Source Justification

If the IC will be paid on a sponsored project, the following additional document is required:

8. Independent Contractor & External Personnel Questionnaire

If the IC will be creating a software application, the following additional document is required:

9. Proof that PI has submitted University Data Assistance request. ITS guidance is to select “review data use” and to provide detail of what the project will involve in the description field so ITS has a good idea of what is being developed and any impact it may have on university resources.

Submitting the Request in Connect Carolina

1. Go to Navigator > Finance Menu > UNC Campus > Independent Contractor
2. Click the “Add a New Value” tab.
3. Enter their first and last name.
4. Enter their SSN, which will disappear after you click out of the field.
5. Using the hard copy of the EICDC form, complete all the required fields in the drop downs.
6. Attach all of the required documents.
7. Save & Submit.

Once the IC Reviewer approves the request, notify the IC and the original requester. The IC can begin work and invoice. Make sure the IC is aware that invoices must include

• a unique identifying number
• the invoice date
• the date of the service
• details of the service provided

Vendor/Supplier Status

If the IC is not already a vendor, they will need to be added into the vendor system. Once they are approved as an IC, they can be added. Their documentation will transfer over, but you will have to enter and verify any banking information.

Filing (Account Manager)

File physical originals in 355 Rosenau.

Save electronic copies of both the documentation and the approval in secure/ese_post_awards/Independent Contractors-Active/ICNAME – REQUESTER/.

To save the approval, go into the form in Connect Carolina, expand all, and then print the frame. (In Chrome, click inside the frame, Ctrl+A, Ctrl+P.)

File invoices in the appropriate CFS folder.

Resources

IC Checkoff List
IC Email of Documentation Needed
Independent Contractors Presentation
708 – Policy on Independent Contractor
708.1 – Procedure on Independent Contractor Predetermination Process
708.2 – Procedure on Paying an Independent Contractor