Home      Login

Abstract: 

With summer comes a wave of students on break who are looking for experience, education, or an opportunity to develop relationships in a potential career field. This seasonal influx of workers can be a timely boon to an understaffed and overworked nonprofit organization, but organizations need to beware: The consequences of misclassifying the summer help can be severe, including fines, back pay, and attorneys’ fees. To help readers avoid an unfortunate outcome, this article discusses federal and select state employment laws and regulations that impact the relationship between a nonprofit employer and its volunteer, intern, or employee, as well as the factors relevant to appropriate classification of the worker.

Keywords: Educational environment requirement; Expenses and reasonable benefits; Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

Affiliations:  1: Strasburger & Price, LLP.