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Unpaid Intern and Volunteer Criteria

Unpaid Interns

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act employers must pay employees for all work that is being performed. There is an exemption from the pay requirement for interns that involve the following criteria. The criteria examines intern-employer relationship to determine which party is the “primary beneficiary” of the internship. If the intern is the main beneficiary of the relationship, he or she does not have to be paid.

Volunteers

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act employers must pay employees for all work that is being performed. There is an exemption from the pay requirement for volunteers at a nonprofit institution. The factors include:

If all factors are met, the individual will be considered a volunteer and not an employee under the Department of Labor's standards, which may change from time to time.