Mason's Onboarding Portal
Wage and Student Wage
Welcome!
We are delighted to welcome you to the Mason community and look forward to working with you! As you embark on your career as a Mason Patriot, we hope you will find the information below of assistance. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at (703) 993-2600 or via email at hr@gmu.edu.
Select from each of the boxes below to access the New Employee Welcome (NEW) Center, including MasonOnBoard (new hire documents) as well as information on benefits, policies and handbooks, and the many resources available to you to enhance your well-being.
Before visiting the NEW Center, complete your MasonOnBoard hiring documents.
Please visit the International Tax Office
If you are a Foreign National who does not have U.S. Lawful permanent residence (green card), please follow the steps in the International Employees document.
Wage employees receive several benefits while working at Mason. These benefits include tuition assistance, ability to contribute to a supplemental retirement plan, participation in the Staff Senate and wonderful discounts!
Tuition Exemption
Faculty and staff (including adjunct faculty and non-student wage) are eligible for the tuition exemption. Conditions apply. Please see the Tuition Exemption page.
Supplemental Retirement Plans
Non-student wage employees are eligible to contribute to a supplemental retirement plan, such as a 403b or 457, to set aside money each pay period for long-term savings. The money deducted is invested in your choice of a number of stock and bond options. This contribution is deducted from your pay before state and federal income taxes are taken, lowering your current income and resulting in lower taxes as you save. While wage employees are not eligible for a cash-match contribution, supplemental retirement plans are a great way to start saving for the future. The interest or investment growth also accumulates free from income tax until the year you withdraw your funds.
The University offers two types of tax-deferred annuity plans:
Family and Medical Leave
Employees who have been employed with George Mason University for at least a year, and who have worked at least 1,250 hours during that year, are covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Under FMLA, the University is required to provide up to twelve weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave to eligible employees for certain family and medical reasons.
Student employees should abide by all applicable student policies, including the code of student conduct.
For our full Title IX Statement, please visit the Title IX page.
For the full Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action Statement, please visit the Compliance, Diversity, and Ethics page.
Please review the Policies and Handbooks page which contains important information for all university employees at George Mason University. This is not intended to cover every applicable law, rule, or regulation or provide answers to all questions that may arise.
During the first few months at Mason, new employees are required to take a series of trainings. To access the trainings (including instructor-led and online) please log in to MasonLEAPS and search the titles below.
- FERPA 101 → Due upon employment*
- Security Awareness Training → Due within the first 14 days of employment*
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Required Trainings → Due within the first 30 days of employment
- Civility and Violence Prevention Training → Due within the first 90 days of employment*
- Emergency Preparedness Training → Due within the first 90 days of employment*
*This training will automatically be assigned to your MasonLEAPS transcript.
For additional details, including a full breakdown of the trainings, please view our State Mandated Training handout.
Payroll Information
The Payroll Department is responsible for the timely and accurate processing of all University payrolls. We also make all payroll related tax deposits, reconcile health care billings, make retroactive pay adjustments, pay all third parties payroll vendors as well as collect and disburse all garnishments, tax liens, and child support orders.
Payroll Schedules
Most Faculty and Classified employees are paid under the Semi-monthly payroll, with some exceptions for Facilities, Police, Freedom Center, Housing, and HR & Payroll departments. All wage employees are paid under the Bi-weekly payroll. Please check with your Department to confirm your payroll schedule. Visit the Payroll Calendar & Schedules page to find the most up-to-date schedules.
Timesheets
You will receive e-mail reminders to your Mason e-mail account to inform you about the submission deadlines. You can also refer to our Payroll Calendars for those dates.
Administrative and Professional Faculty, and Classified Staff:
May be categorized as exempt or non-exempt employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act. All wage and student wage employees are considered non-exempt employees.
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- Exempt employees do not receive overtime pay and should only report leave used on their timesheets.
- Non-exempt employees receive overtime pay and should submit the hours they worked on their timesheets each day worked.
Adjunct Faculty, 9 Month Instructional/Research Faculty, and Graduate Assistants:
These employee types are not required to complete timesheets.
Timesheet Approvers
If you are a timesheet approver, you can correct a submitted time sheet in Patriotweb before approving it and also submit a time sheet for an employee who has missed the deadline. For further information, see our details on the process.
We recommend all timesheet approvers to set up a proxy who can take care of approvals if needed. Please see How to Create a Proxy for Timesheet Approval.
If you anticipate approving timesheets for wage employees under the bi-weekly payroll, please refer to the timesheet charges FAQ for more details.
Tax Forms
New employees who do not submit Federal or State tax forms completed correctly will be taxed at the rate of single with zero exemptions (withholding allowances). This tax rate will not be changed until the correct W-4 and State Tax forms are received. Taxes withheld at the higher single/zero rate, due to incorrect submission, will not be refunded to the employee by the Payroll Office.
International employees should contact the International Tax office to complete any tax forms.
Federal Tax
Once we setup your Federal tax information you should be able to update your W-4 Form any time via patriotweb.gmu.edu. While we cannot provide tax advice, we can give you some tools to address your needs:
State Tax
Due to the complexity of the state tax regulations, we do not offer the ability to update the state tax information via Patriotweb. If you need to update your State tax information, you will have to complete the tax form and send it to HR & Payroll.
Virginia Withholding Calculator for VA-4 Form
Virginia has reciprocal agreements with Kentucky, Maryland, District of Columbia, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. If you are resident of one of these states, you can submit the corresponding state tax form, so no withholding for Virginia will be taken from your payments. Find your state tax form.
Mason does not provide courtesy withholding, so residents from other states will have to complete a VA-4 Employee’s Virginia Income Tax Withholding Exemption Certificate and claim exemption.
If you are an employee working remotely from another state, please look for your state tax form.
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Spouse and Partner Employment
HR assists Mason employees' spouses and partners find local job market information tailored to their interests and experience. For more information, visit the spouse and partner employment page.
Please visit our Well-Being page to view all of the resources available to new and current employees.