I'm hoping to get some guidance sorting out the issues of intern vs employee, and subcontractor vs employee, as it relates to the following situation.

We expect to employ a couple of college students this summer on an externally funded contract. They will have to follow study protocols (i.e., we will have the ability to specify exactly how they perform their work), but they will also receive instruction/education beyond that needed for the sponsored program at hand, and will have the opportunity to conduct their own mini-projects. We are a private, non-profit research institution, with education programs but not degree granting.

Our Project Leader wants to hire them as "interns", at a fixed pay amount per week, regardless of their hours worked.  However, my understanding is that they are simply temporary, part-time, non-exempt employees, who must be paid by the hour worked, with overtime for extra hours.  Thus, paying a fixed amount per week would not be appropriate. Is this correct?

I've also been asked whether they could be employed as "subcontractors". However, they are students, do not have their own insurance (e.g., liability) in place, and do not offer their services widely and support themselves as subcontractors - they are simply getting summer jobs.  Woudn't it be correct to say that a designation of "subcontractor" would be definitely inappropriate?

Dan Snyder
Patrick Center for Environmental Research
Academy of Natural Sciences
Philadelphia, PA

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