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Volunteers, Interns and Unpaid Internships

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) provides regulatory guidance for internships and volunteers at public sector organizations such as Texas A&M University. The following information was developed to assist departments on the topics of interns (both paid and unpaid) and volunteers.

For questions on student interns, please contact the Student Employment Office at (979) 845-0686 or jobsforaggies@tamu.edu.

  • Texas A&M University departments may hire interns on a paid basis following the same process for hiring any student worker position. The Student Intern title and description should be used.
  • Duties of Student Interns should be beyond those of typical student employee positions. Your position description should illustrate the level of duties and the required education and experience for the intern title. There should be specific goals listed for the student to achieve throughout the duration of his/her employment that are related to the student's career path. The objective of hiring a student intern should be for the employer to have a skilled worker and for the intern to gain valuable experience directly tied to their field of interest. It may be necessary to work with academic advisors to allow the intern to earn academic credit for their experience.
  • Individuals hired as paid Student Interns must complete a criminal background check and follow pay rates and other requirements. The employee must make at minimum $7.25 per hour (Federal and the State of Texas minimum wage).

Departments should proceed carefully if a student asks to be an unpaid (volunteer) intern. Federal law provides a limited scope for volunteers at Texas A&M and it is very important that departments follow federal law and System regulation with respect to volunteers and interns.

Note: If a department has two employees who perform the exact same job duties, they cannot pay one employee and treat the other as an unpaid intern or volunteer.

Here are some key aspects of compliance:

  • Employees may not volunteer to do their own jobs nor activities closely related to their own jobs.
  • Generally speaking, students may perform voluntary work through student organizations and related activities.
  • However, students may not work for Texas A&M as a volunteer, with the exception of unpaid internships and zero credit course internships. Unpaid internships are part of their degree requirements and for which the student will receive course credit. Further details and criteria regarding unpaid internships are:
    • The experience must be an extension of the classroom: a learning experience that provides for applying the knowledge gained in the classroom. It must not be simply to advance the operations of the employer or be the work that a regular employee would routinely perform.
    • The internship is part of the student's degree plan and they earn course credit.
    • The student is not paid in the internship.
    • There is no guarantee of permanent work once the internship completes.
    • The skills or knowledge learned must be transferable to other employment settings.
    • The experience has a defined beginning and end, and a job description with desired qualifications.
    • There are clearly defined learning objectives/goals related to the professional goals of the student's academic course work.
    • There is supervision by a professional with expertise and educational and/or professional background in the field of the experience.
    • There is routine feedback by the experienced supervisor.
    • There are resources, equipment, and facilities provided by the host employer that support learning objectives/goals.

Further details and criteria regarding zero credit course internships:

  • The experience must be an extension of the classroom: a learning experience that provides for applying the knowledge gained in the classroom. It must not be simply to advance the operations of the employer or be the work that a regular employee would routinely perform.
  • The internship is part of the student's degree plan, they are assessed, and they earn course credit.
  • The student is not paid in the internship.
  • There is no guarantee of permanent work once the internship completes.
    • The key to whether or not these zero-hour internships can be unpaid or if they have to be paid is whether the student's input, etc. will be graded at the end of the internship and will appear on their official transcript.
    • If yes, it can be unpaid and will be treated as any other unpaid internship. If not, they must be placed in a paid internship position (Student Intern) and paid at least the minimum wage.

In all other circumstances, people may volunteer to work at the University only for civic, humanitarian, or charitable purposes. Please note that for volunteers who are not Texas A&M employees or students, it may be difficult to arrange computer access.

Student Intern and Volunteer Waiver forms, once completed, are retained in the department as documentation of the volunteer status. These documents do not need to be sent to the Human Resources and Organizational Effectiveness (HROE) Office.

The child labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) are designed to protect the educational opportunities of youths and prohibit their employment in jobs under conditions detrimental to their health and well-being. Minors (under the age of 18) are limited in their employment regarding duties and hours of work. Department of Labor regulations require employers to keep records of the date of birth of employees under age 19. Violation of the child labor provisions can result in a fine. Employers should take action to limit their liability for unintentional violations of the child labor provisions by keeping on file information that verifies the employee's age.

If a department would like to have a minor volunteer or be hired in their department, please contact the Classification and Compensation Office. Some questions to find out prior to speaking with Human Resources are:

  • What is the age of the minor?
  • What duties are to be performed?
  • How long will the minor be working?
  • What hours and/or schedule will the minor be working?
  • What supervision will be given to the minor?
  • Will the minor be paid or unpaid?
  • Will the minor work in a lab?
  • Will the minor be around hazardous or toxic materials?

The hiring department is responsible for verifying the age of new employees. When there is any reason to believe the person being employed is under nineteen (19) years of age, the department will examine appropriate records to ascertain age. Sources of information can be student records or information used in conjunction with the I-9 form, employment eligibility verification such as a valid driver's license. Should these sources not provide the age information, the department will request that the person being employed obtain a Certificate of Age from the Texas Workforce Commission to accompany a Minor's Employment Release (HR-200). If an individual is under eighteen (18) years of age, a Minor's Employment Release form (HR-200) must be completed, accompanied by a copy of the document that was used to determine age. Copies of these forms are available online.

Resources

Student Interns and Volunteers must complete a criminal background check Criminal Background Check Request Form.

For questions on the Criminal Background Check Form, contact Recruitment and Workforce Planning at (979) 845-5154 or jobs@tamu.edu.

International students must comply with certain requirements for internships and other on-campus employment.

Contact International Student Services for more information at (979) 845-1824 or iss@tamu.edu.

For international faculty and staff, contact Immigration Services for Faculty & Scholars at (979) 862-1719 or isfs@tamu.edu.