Carnegie Mellon University
University Contracts Office  ›  Independent Contractors

Steps to hiring an Independent Contractor

An independent contractor is any vendor who is in business as a sole proprietor or a single-member LLC. Federal law requires additional review to ensure that the vendor fits the classification of independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act.  When requesting a contract for an independent contractor, please follow these steps: 

Submit a contract request to the UCO in-box (university-contracts@andrew.cmu.edu)
Submit a completed ICC form (pdf) with the contract request. This form is to be completed and signed by the buyer, not the vendor.
Once the UCO has received approval, the UCO will create a contract and return it to the buyer for signature by the vendor.
Once signed by the vendor, the contract is returned to the UCO for countersignature. The buyer receives a copy for their files.

Hosting a Speaker

Effective June 10, please use the new Honorarium Agreement/Supplier Information Form which can be found on the Finance Department's Website:  https://www.cmu.edu/finance/forms/files/honorarium-agrmt.pdf.

Please review the UCO's Honorarium Guidance  document for help determining whether an Honorarium can be used or if a Speaker's Agreement is required.  Please note that for the purposes of the FCPA law, foreign public universities are considered government entities. 

Working with Online Freelancers

Before hiring a freelancer from an online service (such as freelancer.com, Upwork.com, guru.com) a request listing the freelancer’s name (and address, if possible, or country of origin) must be sent to the UCO before the freelancer is engaged so that the CMU Export Compliance Group can screen the individual. This screening is required by Federal law. The process can usually be completed in one day if all the information is provided, unless the freelancer is located in a country that requires extra scrutiny. 


To help fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, all institutions are required by Federal law to obtain, verify and record information that identifies any entity or individual with which they do business. 

The screening process is to ensure that Carnegie Mellon is not engaging or paying individuals or entities which are on the restricted parties lists that detail individuals or entities with which we are not permitted to engage or pay under U.S. law. CMU does this for every individual or entity we engage, from agreements to visitors to campus. Discover additional details regarding the restricted parties list. 

Please note that freelancers from the following countries will require additional scrutiny from Export: 

Afghanistan

Armenia

Azerbajian

Bahrain

Belarus

Burma (Myanmar)

Cambodia

Central African Republic

China (PRC)

Cuba

Cyprus

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Egypt

Eritrea

Georgia

Haiti

Iran

Iraq

Israel

Jordan

Kazakhstan

Kuwait

Kyrgyzstan

Laos

Lebanon

Libya

Macau

Moldova

Mongolia

North Korea

Oman

Pakistan

Qatar (ONLY if there is another issue)

Republic of South Sudan

Russia

Saudi Arabia

Somalia

Sudan

Syria

Taiwan

Tajikistan

Turkmenistan

Ukraine

United Arab Emirates (UEB)

Uzbekistan

Venezuela

Vietnam

Yemen

Zimbabwe