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Getting Paid
Upon completion of your job, promptly send a professional typed invoice to the appropriate billing entity (almost always ASLIS see below:”Where to Send an Invoice”). Invoices submitted to a client or ASLIS must have the basic requirements of an invoice (see below:”Invoice Guidelines”). Please read it carefully! If an invoice is not received with in 60 days from the date of the assignment, you will not be paid for that assignment.
As an independent contractor it is up to you to keep track of which jobs you have billed for. ASLIS pays invoices bi-monthly, on the 15th and last day of each month. If your invoice is received in the office between the 1st and 15th of the month your check will be postmarked on the last day of that month. If your invoice is received from the 16th to the last day of the month, your check will be postmarked on the 15th of the next month. See current contract for more details.
Where to Send an Invoice
There are two types of billing situations for all assignments: Billing that goes to ASLIS These are jobs in which ASLIS bills to the client for you. This is usually the option for the majority of our clients. For these assignments you will submit an invoice to ASLIS via our website by logging into your account (blue button top of page), email to accounts@aslis.com, fax or mail. It will be paid by ASLIS at the end of the applicable billing period. Billing that goes directly to the company/client There are some jobs where you bill the client directly for your fees. When you accept one of these jobs, we will provide the name, phone number and address for the billing contact.
Invoice Guidelines
Having a complete and clear invoice is the key to smooth collections! Each invoice must have the following requirements:
While these are all things that may seem like common sense, they are often forgotten on an invoice. Failure to include them on your invoice may lead to a delay in getting your payment. No one likes doing paperwork but having a clear, understandable, and complete invoice will certainly assist you with getting paid in a timely manner. If ASLIS receives an invoice that does not have the correct or complete information required, it will be returned to you for correction. You will be given time to correct that invoice and return it to our office so it can be paid in the same billing period in which it was originally submitted.
Req = Requested
Ur = You are
Mtg = Meeting
Cxld = Cancelled
Tmrw = Tomorrow
Appt = Appointment
*RC1= Job Requires medically qualified interpreter.
LV = Low Vision
MLS = Minimum Language Skills
DB = DeafBlind Tactile
Msg = Message
Mpls = Minneapolis
Dr. = Doctor
F/U = Follow up
Rschld = Rescheduled
SW = Social Worker
PT = Physical Therapy
OT = Occupational Therapy
Not only is there a wide range of interpreting jobs, there is also a wide range of interpreter qualifications. You will be assigned to a paging group(s) based on your skill level. Some customers have specific requirements interpreters must complete before working at their facilities. To assist us in quickly determining who is qualified to take a request we have classified the interpreters into “groups”. As your certifications change and skills increase, your group may change. An interpreter’s confirmation for any assignment will be at the sole discretion of ASLIS.
“A-Med” group – Medically Qualified Interpreters
This group is used to page medical requests. Most medical facilities have specific
certification and/or qualification requirements. To be included in the group, you must hold one of the following certifications: RID CSC, RID CI and CT, NAD/ACCI IV, NAD/ACCI V, NIC, NIC Advanced, or NIC Master. We also require you have; a minimum 2 years of experience in medical settings, professional liability insurance, annual TB test, and immunization record on file.
“A” group – Certified Interpreters:
This group is for all certified interpreters that hold one or more of the following
certifications: RID CSC, RID CI and/or CT, NAD/ACCI IV, NAD/ACCI V, NIC Advanced, or NIC Master. These interpreters are allowed to pick up any work available, except requests requiring a “medically qualified” interpreter as denoted by *RC1.
“A- EW” group – Certified Interpreters:
This group is exactly the same as the “A” group except it is for interpreters who only desire to receive pages for evening and weekend work.
“A-NIC” group – NIC Certified Interpreters:
This group is for all interpreters who have obtained their NIC certification and have a proven track record of experience.
“B-NIC” group – NIC Certified Interpreters:
This group is for newly certified interpreter for a probationary period. Interpreters in this group are closely monitored and evaluated until they have the experience to move up to the A level. Interpreters in this group may accept non-medical and non-legal jobs.
“B5-Cert” group – NAD/ACCI III Certified Interpreters:
This group is for NAD/ACCI III certified interpreters. In some instances a school or business can only accept a certified interpreter but does not have a specification on what level of certification must be held. These interpreters are not allowed to accept any legal or medical assignments.
“B5-Non Cert” group –Approved Pre-Certified Interpreters:
This group is for interpreters that have been evaluated by Pamela Wellumson as having sufficient skills to take freelance work. This group is usually limited to staff meetings, college classes, or other low-risk jobs that do not have any certification requirements. *These interpreters are not allowed to accept any legal or medical assignments.
“Deaf Mentor” group – Deaf Mentors:
This group is comprised of our Deaf Mentors approved to take on mentees.
“Other” groups – Interpreters with special interests:
ASLIS has several other groups that include interpreters with special interests. You may request to be in one or more of these groups depending on your areas of interest. These groups are; Church Service, Cued Speech, Deaf/Blind, Duluth, Faribault, Legal, Mental Health, Platform, St. Cloud, Volunteer and Wisconsin License. We have special groups for interpreters in the non-Twin Cities areas to make it easier for interpreters in those communities to get work that is close by. The special interest groups change over time.
All requests that come in to our office are paged out to the requested interpreter(s) first, if any, in order to honor any preferences that the Deaf person might have. We typically wait for the requested interpreter(s) to respond within 24 hours, depending on when the appointment is scheduled for. In some instances, if the request is last minute, we will only wait between 5 minutes to 2 hours. If the requested interpreter(s) are not available (or do not respond), then the assignment will be paged out to other interpreters who are qualified for the assignment. Our goal is to try and provide the consumer with the most qualified interpreter available for the assignment.
If you are available and interested in accepting an assignment: call, email, or text message our office or bid on our app immediately. Be sure to identify yourself and the job number you are interested in. Interpreters will be assigned according to who responds first and is most qualified. It doesn’t matter whether the response is via phone call, text message, email, or on the app. Anyone in the office will be able to assist you, regardless of whose name is on the page.
If the assignment is available and so are you, we can let you know a little bit more about the job, i.e. specific location, and more details about the situation. If you are still interested in the job and feel that you are qualified for the assignment, tell us that you will accept the job. We will then give you complete details about the assignment, preferably via email, to avoid any miscommunications. The email will include the date/time, consumer(s) name(s), billing address/contact (almost always ASLIS), location address (which is different from the billing address), the situation, the contact upon arrival, etc.
Once you have accepted a job, the first thing to do is make sure you put it on your schedule. The most often excuse we hear when a job was missed is, “Oh, I didn’t have it on my books!” Also make sure you have all of the necessary information regarding the assignment that you need. If you are missing any information, it is your responsibility to contact ASLIS to get the missing information.
ASLIS assumes that you will conduct yourself and your business in line with the contract that you have signed and in compliance with the RID Professional Code of Conduct (see your New Interpreter Packet: Section 10).
Interpreters must wait at least 20 minutes or more at the site depending on the length and type of appointment, keeping in mind weather/traffic conditions, etc. Please contact ASLIS before you leave the site to let us know they did not show.
During business hours call ASLIS. After hours you can call “After hours” at (763) 498-3535. Stay calm and don’t panic! We will do our best to help.
Call ASLIS immediately and we will help you come to a resolution. You need not debate the issue with the other interpreter.
Interpreters scheduled for a specific time frame will bill for the entire time scheduled. If the appointment is finished prior to the scheduled ending time you will still bill for the amount of time scheduled. If you are requested to stay past the scheduled time by an authority on site, then it is up to your discretion whether or not to stay and for how long. You must notify ASLIS about the change within 24 hours of the job. Failure to do so may result in loss of payment for the extra time. ASLIS is not responsible for lost wages if the interpreter fails to call or email in changes within the specified time frame.
Sometimes there are conflicts that arise between team interpreters, consumers, company contacts, etc. During regular hours, call or email ASLIS and talk to the office staff. After hours, you can leave a message or send us an email and we will get back to you the following business day. If it is an emergency, please contact “After hours” (763) 498-3535.
Please call ASLIS as soon as possible to find a substitute interpreter. We will do everything possible to find a replacement. If a substitute is not found, we may request that you offer some kind of compensation to the client, such as providing services for free at a later date. You may find a substitute independently, however it is up to ASLIS’s discretion if an interpreter is acceptable for any given assignment. (see the terms on the current contract)
Notify the ASLIS office staff immediately. We would be happy to help you set up any future appointments with that company or client. If you have a job on your schedule, that you don’t have an ASLIS job number for, then you do not have a job through ASLIS and you may not be compensated for it should you choose to do it anyway. That is why it is so important to notify ASLIS ahead of time. ASLIS will not be responsible for lost wages due to errors on the interpreter’s part.
ASLIS provides Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) consultation and can provide answers to most common questions related to Deaf and Hard of Hearing issues. If there is a question or problem we are unable to help with, we turn to our region’s ADA representative for answers. If you prefer, you can contact to ADA directly for any of your accessibility questions.
Contact information for ADA:
Region V (voice & TDD: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota): 1-312-413-7756
Toll Free (voice): 1-800-514-0301
Toll Free (TDD): 1-800-514-0383
Website: www.ada.gov
Login using the blue button at the top of this page or go here.
Your login is the email address that is on file with ASLIS. You create your password the first time you log in. The password must be between 4 and 12 characters long. If you forget your password, please email or call the office and we can reset it for you.
The first screen you will see when you log in is your Interpreter Profile.
This is all the contact information we have on file for you, such as mailing address, phone numbers, email address, rates and preferences. If there is any information incorrect on this page, please email or call the office and we can change it.
The Available Jobs page allows interpreters to see what work is currently available. This list is in real time, so you see all the jobs we have available at that time. The only jobs that do not appear on this list are jobs that are waiting on requested interpreters.
If you see a job you would like to do, click on the box to the left of that job, and then click on reserve jobs. This takes that job off the list and lets us know you have reserved it. In most cases you will be assigned to the job and sent a confirmation. However if for some reason we can’t let you have the job (i.e. someone else was assigned to the job before you reserved it, you are on the Deaf person’s no list, you are not qualified to do the job, etc.) we will send you a page to let you know you can’t do it. Please note, non-certified interpreters are not allowed to do any medical or legal requests.
The Check Your Schedule page shows all jobs that ASLIS has assigned to you. This list shows 60 days of past jobs and all future jobs. You can click on the blue Job ID to see details about the particular job. You can also submit invoices for jobs that are billed to ASLIS.
When you are looking at the job details screen, fill in the fields at the bottom of the page for invoice number, hourly rate, total hours, total amount due, and any additional information, and then click the submit invoice button. An email will be sent to your email address and to ours with a copy of the invoice. (Asterisks indicate required fields).
Funding for interpreting skill development in specific settings
Certified Interpreters
Applications for conferences and/or specialty trainings can be completed by filling out the Specialized Learning Support Application If accepted, the applicant must submit proof of RID CEUs earned and provide proof of payment for the event expenses associated with event attendance requested in the application.
Stipend for interpreters providing internship supervision
Certified Interpreters
Interpreters who serve as hosts for interns within S.H.I.P. are eligible to receive a portion of a $1,500 stipend, divided among the other internship hosts. The stipend is divided among the group of hosts, based on a percentage of hours worked.
Certified Interpreters who wish to be considered as a potential supervisor should email stategrants@aslis.com.
Financial reimbursement for the purchase of VRI Equipment
Certified Interpreters
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Funding to build or improve interpreting skills in a specific area
Certified Interpreters
Applications for conferences and/or specialty trainings can be completed by filling out the Specialized Learning Support Application If accepted, the applicant must submit proof of RID CEUs earned and provide proof of payment for the event expenses associated with event attendance requested in the application.
Earn CEUs through live or self-paced workshops
All Interpreters
Interpreters can attend Grant-sponsored workshops for free by inputting a unique code, which serves to waive the registration fee. Available opportunities can be found in the following locations:
ASLIS Attend page Suggestions for Case Conferencing or Reflective Practice ideas can be sent to stategrants@aslis.com
Provide opportunities for reflective practice in group settings
All Interpreters
Current Case Conferencing and Reflective practice sessions are topic-based and advertised as they are available. In order to register, find the link in the grant newsletter and on the ASLIS Attend page Suggestions for Case Conferencing or Reflective Practice ideas can be sent to stategrants@aslis.com
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All Interpreters
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Paid freelance opportunities for Non-Certified Interpreters
Non-Certified Interpreters
Non-certified interpreters can receive supervised freelance work in a variety of settings. Participants are eligible to receive up to 25 hours of supervised work with a certified, experienced interpreter. Both non-certified interpreters and supervising interpreters will be compensated for their work.
Applications to participate in the practicum can be submitted by filling out the Apprenticeship Application If accepted, the apprentice will be offered work which aligns with their desired growth areas and schedule. The apprentice can utilize a mixture of observation and hands-up time under the supervision of an experienced interpreter. Both the apprentice and the supervising interpreter will be compensated for their work up to 25 hours per fiscal year.
As an important note, in order to accept work as an apprentice, an interpreter must complete an evaluation and establish a contract with ASLIS. In order to do so, please email info@aslis.com
Opportunities for skill development and application in simulated environments
Non-Certified Interpreters
Individuals who wish to participate in the Skills Lab can complete the [Skills Lab Application] form. Participants will receive the opportunity to interpret simulated scenarios in a controlled environment. Participants will gain the opportunity to discuss their interpreting work and they decisions they made, while observing others doing the same. They will do this while receiving feedback and support from experienced mentors.
Quarterly stipends for interpreters relocating to Greater MN for work
Working Interpreters
Applications for this program can be submitted by filling out the Relocation Stipend Program Application To maintain eligibility for the program, an individual must continue to reside in Greater MN and work at least 30 hours per quarter to continue receiving a stipend.
Eligibility applies to new interpreters who have graduated from an Interpreter Training Program within the past 5 years and are residing in Greater MN.
Special considerations can be made to maintain eligibility for individuals living in areas with insufficient amounts of work available to novice interpreters.
We need this info.
Non-Certified Interpreters?
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Funding for interpreting skill development in specific settings
Certified Interpreters
Applications to participate in the practicum can be submitted by filling out the Supervised Practicum Experience Application If accepted, the practicum interpreter will be offered work in the desired growth area, or can provide ASLIS with specific job opportunities for which they would like to be considered. The practicum interpreter can utilize a mixture of observation and hands-up time under the supervision of an experienced interpreter. Both the practicum interpreter and the supervising interpreter will be compensated for their work up to 25 hours per fiscal year.
