Timeline for Should I continue to work for free?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
18 events
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| Nov 25, 2015 at 14:23 | comment | added | Lilienthal♦ | @R_Kapp I think you'll find that the more you read up on particular legal/government-regulated topic, especially labor law, the more you start to realise that none of it makes sense. I should also point out that while it is illegal, it's not all that uncommon. Large corporations, including universities, are very unlikely to skirt the law on this though as they're prime targets for lawsuits or fines from the state's Department of Labor. IIRC, fines for pay-related violations are actually common because it's fairly trivial to prove them and as a result they're also effective. | |
| Nov 25, 2015 at 13:52 | comment | added | emory | @R_Kapp unpaid internships are for the most part illegal, but they are common. WRT internships where the intern pays, aren't these interns paying matchmakers to find the internship. Though I suspect if an internship met all the criteria to be unpaid, it might actually be worthwhile to pay for it (hint: none do) | |
| Nov 25, 2015 at 12:55 | comment | added | R_Kapp | @Lilienthal: I find it difficult to believe that a country that allows unpaid internships (and even, until recently, internships where you have to pay the employer to work), would disallow a student to work for his/her department for free. That just seems incredibly backwards to me... | |
| Nov 25, 2015 at 12:44 | history | edited | emory | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Nov 25, 2015 at 12:38 | history | edited | emory | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Nov 25, 2015 at 12:31 | comment | added | Lilienthal♦ | @RossDrew You are simply incorrect. "With the exception of nonprofits, the Department of Labor requires that unpaid work be primarily for the benefit of the volunteer, not the employer. And if it’s not, they can reclassify you as an employee..." (Source). The university could be non-profit in which case volunteering is possible but even that is subject to restrictions. Because the OP is already being paid for this work it's close to impossible to legally classify it as volunteer work. | |
| Nov 25, 2015 at 12:22 | comment | added | Ross Drew | @Lilienthal There's no fancy rules in the U.S. either. The Federal Fair Labor Standards Act, (FLSA) defines individuals that provide services without any expectation of compensation, and without any coercion or intimidation, as “volunteers” (non-employees) So if OP is not being required to work then it is volunteering until OP asks for compensation. | |
| Nov 25, 2015 at 12:17 | comment | added | Lilienthal♦ | @RossDrew Yes, it is illegal. OP is in the US where labor laws prevent exactly this sort of situation. Certain requirements need to be met for someone to qualify as a volunteer or unpaid intern and the very fact that the OP is currently being paid is enough proof that he's doing actual work for which he has to be paid. Regardless, this answer is too short to be of any real use to the OP and should be expanded. | |
| Nov 25, 2015 at 11:05 | comment | added | emory | @Magisch I don't know what "autoclaving biohazard waste" means, but it sounds dangerous to me. If OP is truly a volunteer and gets injured does the university have an liability? Alternatively, maybe incorrect autoclaving poses a risk to others. Can the university impose best practices on a volunteer? | |
| Nov 25, 2015 at 10:56 | comment | added | Ross Drew | Tax isn't an issue if you are unpaid. Income tax only applies to income. OP is in fact a volunteer if he is not being forced and continues regardless. I don't know of any country where volunteering for experience is illegal. In fact, it's generally encouraged. | |
| Nov 25, 2015 at 10:54 | comment | added | Magisch | @emory If he works for free of his own volition despite not beeing required to, he can be for his remaining time in the semester. The government levies tax on paid work, more specifically on the wages paid. If there are no wages paid, there is no tax. | |
| Nov 25, 2015 at 10:53 | comment | added | emory | @Magisch the OP is not a volunteer - ehstoday.com/news/ehs_imp_38123 | |
| Nov 25, 2015 at 10:48 | review | Low quality posts | |||
| Nov 25, 2015 at 12:41 | |||||
| Nov 25, 2015 at 10:46 | comment | added | Magisch | @emory thats dependant on a lot of things. A lot of people work entirely for free, untaxed, they are called volunteers. | |
| Nov 25, 2015 at 10:42 | comment | added | emory | @RossDrew I suppose as long as the government gets paid its share of wage taxes it would be legal to work for free. But if you are working for free and the government is not getting paid, then that is tax evasion and is illegal. | |
| Nov 25, 2015 at 10:40 | comment | added | dirkk | "against the law" always depends on the law of the specific country. And as we don't know the country, we can for sure not know if it is against the law. | |
| Nov 25, 2015 at 10:37 | comment | added | Ross Drew | It is not against the law to work for free. It is against the law for an employer to require or demand that you work for free. That is not the case here. | |
| Nov 25, 2015 at 10:31 | history | answered | emory | CC BY-SA 3.0 |