????美國的失業(yè)人口已近1400萬人，許多人已經(jīng)到了走投無路的地步，甚至就連不付薪水的工作也愿意做。使用免費工人可能導致一些法律風險和監(jiān)管問題，因此許多企業(yè)對此非常謹慎。但已經(jīng)使用了免費員工的企業(yè)卻表示，只要用法得當，使用免費員工是可以帶來很好的效果的。

????Remote Stylist公司是一家位于多倫多和紐約的初創(chuàng)公司，主要提供基于網(wǎng)絡(luò)的室內(nèi)設(shè)計服務(wù)。該公司的首席執(zhí)行官凱麗?法利斯指出：“零薪酬的員工比拿薪水的員工更加賣力，因此他們的表現(xiàn)也會更好，他們也會盡量更討人喜歡，盡量變得更有創(chuàng)造性。從節(jié)省成本的視角來看，這是一個很大的優(yōu)勢，尤其是如果你是小企業(yè)的話?！?/p>

????在過去三年里，大約有50名零薪的實習生在法利斯的公司里從事營銷、編輯、廣告、銷售、客戶管理和公關(guān)等工作。法利斯相信，零薪將成為人力資源的發(fā)展趨勢。她說道：“在未來十年里，零薪將成為一種常態(tài)。”

為什么人們會免費工作？

????零薪員工為企業(yè)帶來的好處是不言而喻的。不過與此同時，零薪酬就業(yè)也能為員工帶來一些好處，比如它能帶來許多員工亟需的經(jīng)驗以及推薦信，甚至能在經(jīng)濟低迷的當下，為員工的自尊心打上一劑強心針。

????今年27歲的凱西?約翰遜居住在加州的圣馬科斯。她本來是一所網(wǎng)絡(luò)大學的注冊顧問，2009年她丟了飯碗，然后領(lǐng)取了整整一年的失業(yè)救濟，后來終于在星巴克（Starbucks）找到一份協(xié)理的工作。這份工作離家很遠，她的大部分薪水都花在汽油上了。今年二月，她又找到了一份公關(guān)實習生的工作。雖然是零薪水，不過她又重新有了明確的目標。

????凱西表示：“我學到了很多東西，而且我對這份工作的感覺很不錯。我很快樂，我覺得自己是個有用的人。雖然我沒有掙錢，因此過得很艱難，但我覺得它為我?guī)砹艘粋€全新的職業(yè)生涯。盡管現(xiàn)在我的存款賬戶里只有1.5美元了，不過好在我和男朋友一起生活，他一直很支持我?！?/p>

????有時候，免費工作甚至會直接帶來付薪的工作機會。特麗莎?波特從事營銷高管的職位已經(jīng)30年，在她的職業(yè)出現(xiàn)暫時停滯時，她曾免費為俄亥俄州哥倫布市的Coalescence調(diào)料公司做過一些營銷活動。

????波特表示：“如果你積累了很多此類信息，你就會樂于分享這些信息。因為你愿意看到企業(yè)成功?！?/p>

????后來，Coalescence公司的創(chuàng)始人請波特執(zhí)掌總裁大印——當然這是個付薪的職位，波特花在這家公司上的精力最終得到了回報。波特也覺得心安理得，因為她對這家公司的企業(yè)文化和業(yè)務(wù)目標已經(jīng)非常熟悉了。

零薪工作是否合法？

????盡管許多雇主都希望使用免費勞力來達成他們的業(yè)務(wù)目標，但是在美國，從聯(lián)邦法律到各州法律都嚴格規(guī)定，企業(yè)必須向員工支付最低薪水，如果加班的話，還要支付加班費。此外企業(yè)還需遵守《公平勞動標準法案》（Fair Labor Standards Act）的其它規(guī)定，該法案適用于730萬家企業(yè)的1.35億員工。不過《公平勞動標準法案》并不適用于年收入在50萬美元以下的企業(yè)，除非他們從事跨州業(yè)務(wù)——所謂的跨州業(yè)務(wù)可能小到接受另一個州的信用卡，或者往另一個州打電話等。

????亞利桑那州菲尼克斯市博恩凱悟律師事務(wù)所（Bryan Cave）的合伙人、主攻勞工法的杰?茨威格表示：“在美國，我們沒有一個讓你可以零薪工作的體系，只有極少數(shù)的例外情況。一般情況下，如果你想使用零薪員工，總會有州法律介入，告訴你除非你滿足某些特定標準，否則政府一定會找你的麻煩?！?/p>

????除非你是一名實習生、培訓生或獨立承包人，否則你只要一開始為某家公司工作，你就與這家公司構(gòu)成了雇傭關(guān)系。聯(lián)邦政府和州政府都非常警惕企業(yè)利用就業(yè)難來繞開勞動法規(guī)的行為。

????勞工部有一個嚴格的“六點測試”，用來判定某人是否是實習生或培訓生，此外還對獨立承包人有單獨的指導方針。實習職位必須首先有益于實習生的發(fā)展，實習生必須在密切的監(jiān)督下工作，而且實習生不能取代現(xiàn)有員工。而獨立承包人不能在雇主的控制下工作，也不能在經(jīng)濟上依賴于這家公司。

????美國勞工部（Labor Department）的一位發(fā)言人表示：“如果某人與一家公司構(gòu)成了雇傭關(guān)系，公司就要為他的工作支付薪水。我們加強了執(zhí)行力度，確保這些企業(yè)符合《公平勞動標準法案》的規(guī)定。我們已經(jīng)額外招募了250名調(diào)查員?！?/p>

????亞特蘭大專注于勞工法的Fisher & Phillips律師事務(wù)所合伙人約翰?湯普森表示，隨著聯(lián)邦的監(jiān)管更加嚴格，像所謂的“觀察期”和“試用期”等不付薪的工作安排，可能會比過去更難符合監(jiān)管機構(gòu)的要求。

????湯普森表示：“許多雇主并不明白，這項法律不是關(guān)于個人的責任或成年人之間的協(xié)議；而是為了按照法律的要求，讓人們勞有其酬。”

????湯普森指出，如果企業(yè)違反了該法律，一經(jīng)查實，則可能必須支付欠付工資，此外每次違規(guī)還需繳納最高為1100美元的罰款，以及與工資額相等的損失賠償。

雇傭和管理當代“農(nóng)奴”的挑戰(zhàn)

????像其他使用了免費勞動力的雇主一樣，Remote Stylist公司的凱麗?法利斯推薦企業(yè)首先制訂一份非常詳細的職務(wù)描述，然后進行一次徹底的招聘流程，將不愿意免費工作的人篩選出去。

????那些在Cragslist和Facebook網(wǎng)站上回復了法利斯的招聘帖的人，必須填寫一份詳細的電子郵件調(diào)查問卷，經(jīng)過兩輪電話面試和三輪真人面試。

????而對于最終加盟Remote Stylist公司的人來說，不管他們是學生還是社會人士，不管他們是20出頭還是30多歲，他們都必須接受四個月的試用期，并且簽訂一份雇傭合同。法利斯要求實習生每周工作30個小時。不過為了獲得一份付薪工作，許多實習生都干得非常努力，給法利斯留下了很深的印象。

????不管你信不信，有些零薪酬工作的競爭居然也非常激烈。例如Nomadic Nation是一家多媒體集資公司，這家公司為一個從德國駕駛塑料汽車到哥倫比亞的項目做了招聘廣告，僅過了一個星期，該公司的執(zhí)行董事約翰?洛夫喬伊就收到了300份編輯職務(wù)的申請，另有700人申請這個項目的攝像師一職。這些職務(wù)不僅沒有薪水，應(yīng)聘成功者還需支付自己的所有開銷。

????在應(yīng)聘成功的人中，有一名編輯和兩位攝像師由于不堪忍受艱苦的條件和長達16個小時的工作時間，而在這段跋涉還沒有結(jié)束的時候就退出了。洛夫喬伊檢討道：“我應(yīng)該在篩選的時候做得更好些，應(yīng)該讓他們明白，這個項目并不是度假?！?/p>

????Your Social Butterfly公司是一家位于佛羅里達州塔拉哈西市的活動策劃公司。由于有些免費員工沒有認真履行他們的職責，因此他們的工作效果也良莠不齊。有時候免費員工做錯了事，該公司的老板克莉斯托?格林還得重新為他們收拾爛攤子，并且向被得罪的業(yè)務(wù)伙伴道歉。

????“他們都需要學習。而作為一個單獨的企業(yè)家來說，要面面俱到地照看這些人是很難的。另外他們又沒有拿薪水，所以你必須非常耐心?！备窳终f。

????在這些雇主中，沒有任何一位雇主表示他們擔心自己會違反法律——不管他們事實上是否違反了法律。不過大多數(shù)雇主也并沒有從免費員工身上獲得什么實質(zhì)性的好處，令人不禁質(zhì)疑，如果他們使用了另一種久經(jīng)考驗的方法——給這些員工發(fā)薪水，那么效果是否會更好些。

????格林表示：“一個拿著不錯薪水的員工，勝過九個零薪酬的員工。零薪酬的員工會把事情弄得很難辦，因為他們要么工作懈怠，要么很難管理?！?/p>

????譯者：樸成奎

????With nearly 14 million unemployed workers in America, many have gotten so desperate that they're willing to work for free. While some businesses are wary of the legal risks and supervision such an arrangement might require, companies that have used free workers say it can pay off when done right.

????"People who work for free are far hungrier than anybody who has a salary, so they're going to outperform, they're going to try to please, they're going to be creative," says Kelly Fallis, chief executive of Remote Stylist, a Toronto and New York-based startup that provides Web-based interior design services. "From a cost savings perspective, to get something off the ground, it's huge. Especially if you're a small business."

????In the last three years, Fallis has used about 50 unpaid interns for duties in marketing, editorial, advertising, sales, account management and public relations. She's convinced it's the wave of the future in human resources. "Ten years from now, this is going to be the norm," she says.

Why do people work for free?

????The benefit unpaid labor offers to a business is pretty clear, but it can also give employees needed experience, a reference letter or even a self-esteem boost in a depressing economy.

????Cassie Johnson, a 27-year old in San Marcos, Calif., lost her job as an enrollment adviser for an online university in 2009 and was receiving unemployment benefits for a year before finding an assistant manager position at a Starbucks (SBUX) that's so far from her home she spends most of her pay on gas. Since starting a public relations internship in February, she feels a renewed sense of purpose.

????"I'm learning a lot and I feel really good about it. I'm happy. I feel relevant. I'm not making any money, so it's tough, but I feel it's setting me up for a career," Johnson says. "I only have $1.50 left in my checking account right now but I'm living with my boyfriend and he's been really good about supporting me."

????Sometimes, gratis work can even lead directly to a paid opportunity. Theresa Potter had been a marketing executive for 30 years when, during a career lull, she agreed to work on a few marketing initiatives for free at Coalescence, a Columbus, Ohio-based custom spice blending firm.

????"You have amassed a lot of this information and you like to share it. You like to see companies become successful," Potter says.

????Potter's year of volunteering at Coalescence paid off when the company's founders asked her to take the reins as president -- a salaried position. She felt comfortable taking the job because she'd become so familiar with the corporate culture and business goals.

But is it legal?

????Unfortunately for many employers hoping to use unpaid labor to advance their business goals, there are strict federal and state rules that workers must be paid the minimum wage and paid for overtime, and must abide by other provisions in the Fair Labor Standards Act, which applies to about 135 million people working for 7.3 million employers. The FLSA doesn't apply to companies with less than $500,000 in annual revenue unless they engage in interstate commerce -- which can be as little as accepting credit cards or placing phone calls to another state.

????"We don't have a system in this country where you can work for free," says Jay A. Zweig, a partner who works in employment law at Bryan Cave in Phoenix. "The exceptions are very, very rare, and generally there are state laws that would fill in to say that, unless you meet specific criteria, you're going to get in trouble with the government."

????Unless someone is an intern, trainee or independent contractor, he or she has entered into an employment relationship when starting to work for a company. Federal and state authorities are alert for employers who may be taking advantage of the tight job market to skirt the rules.

????The Labor Department has a strict six-point test to determine whether someone is an intern or trainee and separate guidelines for independent contractors. An internship must primarily benefit the intern, who must work under close supervision and not displace existing staff. Independent contractors cannot work under the control of the employer or be economically dependent on the firm.

????"If a person has entered into an employment relationship with a company, they need to be paid for their work," a U.S. Labor Department spokesperson says. "We stepped up enforcement to ensure these businesses are complying with FLSA. We've hired an additional 250 investigators."

????With the additional federal scrutiny, unpaid arrangements such as auditions or tryouts are even less likely to pass muster than in the past, says John Thompson, a partner at employment law firm Fisher & Phillips in Atlanta.

????"A lot of employers don't get that the law is not about personal responsibility or agreements between consenting adults; it's about getting the pay to people as the law requires," Thompson says.

????Companies that are found violating the law will likely have to provide back pay, monetary penalties up to $1,100 per violation and damages that equal the amount of wages, Thompson says.

The challenges of hiring and managing modern day serfs

????Like others who have used unpaid labor, Remote Stylist's Kelly Fallis recommends beginning with a very specific job description and conducting a thorough hiring process to screen out people who aren't going to give their all for nothing.

????Candidates who respond to Fallis' postings on Craigslist and Facebook must fill out a detailed email questionnaire and undergo two rounds of phone interviews and three in-person interviews.

????Those who join Remote Stylist, whether they are students or out-of-work 20- or 30-somethings, must agree to a four-month run and sign a hiring contract. She asks interns to commit 30 hours a week; she has been burned in the past by people who were trying to juggle a paid job with their commitment to Remote Stylist.

????Believe it or not, the competition for some unpaid gigs can grow intense. John Lovejoy, managing director of multimedia fundraising company Nomadic Nation, received 300 responses for an editor position and 700 cameraman applications after only one week of advertising a project to drive from Germany to Cambodia in plastic cars. Not only were the positions unpaid, but successful candidates had to pay their own expenses.

????One editor and two cameramen ended up quitting before the end of the trek due to rough conditions and 16-hour workdays. In retrospect, Lovejoy says, "I would screen a little bit better and make sure they understood that this wasn't a vacation."

????Crystal Green, owner of Tallahassee-based event planning firm Your Social Butterfly, has had mixed results with unpaid staffers who didn't take their responsibilities seriously. She's even had to retrace the missteps of unpaid staffers and apologize to alienated business partners.

????"It's really hard as a single entrepreneur to babysit these people who need to learn. They're not making any money, so you have to be very patient," Green says.

????None of these employers said they were concerned that they were violating the law -- whether or not they actually are -- but most get what they pay for, raising the question of whether they'd be better off just going with the time-honored tradition of paying employees.

????"It's better to have one decently paid person than nine unpaid people who are making it so difficult because they're slacking off or they're difficult to manage," Green says.