Sonoma State University

Employer Approval Policy

A primary goal of the Sonoma State Career Center is to help our students connect with employers who will enhance their career goals. Our main priority is the safety of our students, therefore, we will enforce the following policies when approving employers to recruit on our campus: 

  1. To be approved as an employer with Sonoma State University, you must have a valid business license in your state of operation. This includes but is not limited to having a physical business address (non-residential) and current insurance policies.
  2. If the business is located in a personal place of residence or co-working space, all work performed by the student or alumni must be performed remotely. Proof of a valid business license or tax-exempt identification number will be required before approval.
  3. Positions for international and self-employed opportunities will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
  4. All employers must comply with the requirements of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). 
  5. Sonoma State is a federally funded institution, therefore all employers must comply with all federal laws. We will not approve any employers or jobs that pertain to the use or production of cannabis or any other federally prohibited substance or practice law. 
  6. Sonoma State is a smoke and tobacco-free campus. Any employer or job that promotes or works with tobacco and smoking products will not be approved. 
  7. Jobs taking place in residential households such as baby-sitting, moving services, tutoring, house-sitting, and in-home care services are prohibited.
  8. Employers must be able and willing to provide all requested contact information, and/or documents requested to verify company background.
  9. Employers may not require an initial payment or investment such as the requirement to attend unpaid orientation or training sessions; direct payment of a fixed fee; payment to attend orientation or training sessions; and/or purchase, rent, or pay deposits on starter kits, sales kits, samples or supplies.
  10. Employers may be denied if a job posting requires personal information at the time of application, such as bank and social security numbers or photos of applicants.

Sonoma State values relationships with third-party employers, such as staffing agencies. To ensure the safety of students we require that third-party employers adhere to the following guidelines:

  1. Any recruiting agency or staffing company must identify itself as a third party when registering on Handshake and when posting job opportunities.  
  2. No charges or fees to the applicants may be permitted, including retainer fees, contingency fees, or service fees.
  3. Third-party recruiters will disclose to applicants the names(s) of the client(s) that the third party is representing and to whom the student’s credentials will be disclosed.  Third-party recruiters may be asked by the Career Center for the name of the client(s) that the agency is representing and to whom the student’s credentials will be disclosed. In turn, the Career Center must respect confidentiality with this information.  
  4. Third-party recruiters must comply with the requirements of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and only release candidate information with the written permission of the applicant and only for the specific listed position. 
  5. Under no circumstances can student information be disclosed for anything other than the original recruiting purposes, nor can it be sold to other entities.