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  6. 法律问题:国际学生和无薪实习

法律问题:国际学生和无薪实习

法律问题:国际学生和无薪实习

by Mark B. Rhoads 
December 2015

关于国际学生和无薪实习的法律问题是什么?

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is rigorously investigating "unpaid internship" programs to determine if the work performed is properly "volunteer" work under the law, 或者相反，工资和小时法是否要求工作得到补偿.

DOL关于实习可以“无薪”的规定并不新鲜, and have been in place for many decades. 然而，直到最近，DOL还没有把执行这些规则作为优先事项. It is a priority now.

以下是为什么这个问题对国际学生很重要:

  • 如果实习在DOL规则内是“无薪”的, 那么它就不是“就业”，因此不需要外国学生获得“就业许可”," i.e., F-1 Optional Practical Training (OPT) or Curricular Practical Training (CPT); or J-1 Academic Training.
  • If, on the other hand, 根据DOL的规定，无薪实习应该是有薪实习, 然后，学生必须获得“就业许可”才能进行实习. 如果学生在没有获得适当授权的情况下进行这样的实习，例如.g., CPT, OPT, 那么学生将违反身份，因为学生从事了未经授权的就业.
  • With the DOL emphasis on enforcement, it is important for employers, college career services professionals, 学生们也需要了解志愿者工作和无薪实习的相关规定. This article summarizes those rules and discusses the ramifications for international students who engage in unpaid internship programs.

无薪实习与国际学生:值得关注的原因

多年来，许多雇主和许多学生(美国学生).S. citizens and international students) have engaged in unpaid internship programs that are in flat violation of DOL rules and the "wage" requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). FLSA通过要求雇主为工人所从事的工作支付工资来防止剥削工人.

在某些情况下，雇主可以让实习生或练习生无偿工作, but those circumstances are very limited, 而且实习必须符合非常严格的标准，才能合法获得“无薪”待遇." For students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents, 如果学生从事的是应该有报酬的无薪实习项目，对学生来说没有任何风险, although, of course, 雇主可能会被要求偿还实习生的工资.

然而，对于外国学生来说，风险要大得多.

外国学生在没有适当工作许可的情况下从事无薪实习, 而DOL或法院随后判定该实习应该是带薪就业, 该外国学生违反了移民身份，有被驱逐出境的危险. As a result, foreign students, employers, 职业服务专业人士需要了解无薪实习的规则.

确定无薪实习是否合适

Are your international students or interns at risk of violating their immigration status by engaging in a volunteer internship program? The answer requires the following analysis:

  • 实习项目是否符合DOL关于“志愿工作”的规定?? 如果是这样，那么这项工作在法律上是“自愿的”，不被认为是雇佣. 国际学生可以从事这种类型的实习，没有报酬, and without any type of work authorization.
  • 如果该项目不符合DOL关于志愿工作的规定，那么该工作就是“就业”." In this case, 国际学生只有在有适当的工作许可(即工作许可)的情况下才能参加实习.e. F-1 OPT or CPT; or J-1 Academic Training). 如果学生从事的工作不符合DOL关于志愿工作的规定, and does so without proper work authorization, 该学生从事未经授权的就业，不符合身份, even if the student receives no pay.

The key point is this: Whether an international student in F-1 or J-1 status requires work authorization is not governed by whether the student is paid. 国际学生可能需要适当的F-1或J-1工作许可，即使是无薪工作. Only if the work is properly "volunteer" unpaid work under DOL rules can the international student perform the work without proper work authorization.

DOL Rules Governing Unpaid Internships

The general rule under the FLSA is that, 如果一个人在公司或组织的指导和控制下工作, 并为公司或组织提供有益的服务, 个人应该得到至少联邦最低工资的服务.

这条规则也有例外，但例外是有限的. For example, an individual can provide truly volunteer services for a charitable nonprofit organization (such as working a church bake sale, helping the homeless, and so on).

但是与私人营利性雇主的志愿者培训或实习项目呢?

The DOL Wage and Hour Division has established a six-factor test for determining whether work is legitimately volunteer training (for which no pay or work authorization is required) or whether it is employment (for which pay and work authorization is required).

If all six of the following criteria apply, 受训者并非FLSA所指的雇员, 并被恰当地归类为不需要“就业授权”的无薪志愿者:

  1. The training, 即使它包括雇主设施的实际操作, 类似于职业学校的课程;
  2. 培训是为了学员的利益;
  3. 培训生不会取代正式员工，而是在密切监督下工作;
  4. 提供培训的雇主不能从学员的活动中获得直接利益, 有时，雇主的经营实际上可能受到阻碍;
  5. The trainees are not necessarily entitled to a job at the completion of the training period; and
  6. The employer and the trainees understand that the trainees are not entitled to wages for the time spent in training.

在许多情况下，第四项是最有问题的. Note that all six factors must be satisfied.1 This is not an easy test to apply. 例如，假设一个学生暑期在一家金融机构实习. If the student shadows regular workers, observing operations, sitting in on meetings, and so forth, that is probably permissible unpaid training because the intern is providing no immediate advantage to the employer. 但如果实习生是研究金融市场的呢, 然后将其包含在提交给高级管理层的报告中? 雇主是否从工作中“获得了直接利益”? 可以说，是的，在这种情况下，这将是“就业”."

The DOL Wage and Hour Division issues opinion letters to employers that request guidance regarding "internship programs." Examples include:

  • DOL will not consider students as employees when they are involved in education or training programs that are "designed to provide students with professional experience in the furtherance of their education and training and are academically oriented for their benefit.(《mg手游fpei5水果派》，1988年1月28日). (换句话说，这个项目有学术成分.)
  • In a letter dated May 10, 1983, the DOL determined that students who received college credits for performing an "internship…which involves the students in real-life situations and provides the students with educational experiences unobtainable in a classroom setting" would not be considered employees.
  • Other examples of exempt student trainees include interior design students working in exchange for an opportunity to receive supervised practical design experience as part of the school curriculum (Wage and Hour Opinion Letter, March 31, 1970); paralegal students earning credits for working under attorney supervision ("Wage and Hour Opinion Letter," March 8, 1977); and pharmacy students working for no pay as part of instruction required by the state for obtaining a license ("Wage and Hour Opinion Letter," April 11, 1973).

These examples seem to indicate that volunteer work is acceptable for training programs in which the educational curriculum at the college or university has a "practical experience" requirement. There may be other acceptable programs, 但每个程序都必须根据DOL的六因素测试进行评估.

安全的规则是:如果国际学生实习生将为雇主提供有益的服务, even if unpaid, 然后需要适当的工作授权.

Work Authorization for International Students

什么是国际学生的工作许可?

That depends on the student's status. International students in the United States can attend university in any one of a number of immigration statuses:

  1. Students using "dependent" visas (for example, 配偶或父母以工作签证身份在美国的受抚养人, such as H-1B, E-1/E-2/E-3, L-1, O-1). In general, 使用受抚养人签证上学的学生没有工作资格, 除非根据六因素测试，工作是自愿的.
  2. Students in F-1 status (这是一种典型的“学生”身份，用于注册学术项目的学生). 没有必要的授权，F-1学生是不允许从事工作的. 对于F-1学生，工作授权选项是:
    • On-Campus Employment: F-1 students maintaining their status may work on campus for up to 20 hours per week while school is in session and full time during school vacations, 只要他们打算注册下学期的课程. 工作必须在校园里，或在校外与学校有教育联系的地点. No U.S. 这项工作需要公民和移民服务(CIS)的授权.
    • Curricular Practical Training (CPT): F-1 students can be approved by a school's designated school official (DSO) to work for a specific off-campus employer for a specific time period as CPT. In order to qualify for CPT, 该工作必须是学生学习课程中既定课程的组成部分. CPT可以被批准为兼职(每周20小时或更少)或全职工作(例如, in a cooperative situation). DSO approval, 以及学生SEVIS记录和I-20表格的批注, are required prior to beginning CPT.
    • Optional Practical Training (OPT): OPT是F-1学生作为雇员或实习生工作的另一种常见方式. OPT允许学生为任何雇主工作，从事与学生学位课程相关的工作. 大多数F-1身份的学生有资格获得总共12个月的OPT, 哪些可以在学位课程中使用，哪些可以在毕业后用于工作. OPT可以是上课期间的兼职工作，也可以是休息期间的全职工作. 学位课程期间使用的OPT将从学位完成后可用的OPT时间中减去.
    • Economic Hardship: An F-1 student who has maintained F-1 status for an academic year and is in good academic standing may apply for off-campus employment based on "economic hardship." Economic hardship refers to financial problems caused by unforeseen circumstances beyond the student's control. 学生必须根据经济困难向CIS申请工作许可.
    • Designated International Organizations: 某些组织被允许雇佣F-1学生工作经验(联合国, IMF, World Bank, and so forth).
  3. Students in J-1 status (适用于在美国大学从事指定项目的“交流访问者”.S. university). For J-1 students, the options are:
    • On-Campus Employment: J-1 students may engage in part-time employment on campus for no more than 20 hours per week while school is in session and full time during breaks and holidays. The employment must be authorized in writing by the university foreign student adviser before it begins and can be for no longer than 12-month increments at a time.
    • 与奖学金、助教奖学金和研究金相关的就业: 这项工作需要大学DSO在开始雇佣之前的书面批准. 如果J-1项目是由学校以外的机构赞助的, 然后，学生将需要从该机构获得书面的就业授权. The J-1 student can work no more than 20 hours per week while school is in session and full time during breaks.
    • Unforeseen Economic Circumstances: J-1学生因严重问题，必要时可获准校外就业, urgent, 以及获得J-1学生身份后出现的不可预见的经济状况. 这种类型的J-1学生在上课期间每周最多工作20小时.
    • J-1生、博士后学历培养就业情况: Most J-1 students are eligible for academic training during or after completing their education in the United States (18 months for most J-1 students; up to 36 months for post-doctoral research). This is similar to F-1 optional practical training; however, unlike F-1 students, 从事学术培训的J-1学生不需要获得CIS的正式就业许可.

Safest Path for International Students

鉴于DOL六因素测试的难度和模糊性, 对于国际学生来说，最安全的规则应该是这样, 如果学生为雇主提供有益的服务, whether paid or unpaid, 学生应获得适当的工作许可.

Endnotes

1 There are two recent Federal Court lawsuits that have addressed the issue of whether a "volunteer internship" position should be paid. In the lawsuits, 志愿者实习生声称，事实上他们应该这样做, 因为DOL“六因素”测试不符合而被支付. 两个联邦法院采用了更灵活的“经济现实”测试. 这个测试分析了谁是工作的“主要受益者”:雇主还是实习生. 这项测试还评估其他因素，包括工作是否与实习生的学年一致, 工作持续的时间是否超过了“培训”所需的时间等等. 到目前为止，DOL还没有采用这种测试，而是遵循传统的六因素测试.

Note: 本专栏提供了关于外国学生工作选择的一般信息. 它不是法律建议，也不建立律师/客户关系. Each situation is unique, 学生和雇主应该咨询他们的法律顾问，以确定工作资格. 

Mark B. Rhoads is an attorney with McCandlish Holton, PC.