Legal Question in Employment Law in Florida

Is it legal for a potential employer to request that I create work for free in order to be considered for a position with the company?

I received the following email.

"It was a pleasure meeting with you yesterday. Unfortunately, because this was the first time a design candidate has requested payment for this design test, I will not be able to offer you compensation. We have several other qualified candidates who are also going to try their hand at designing a sleeve and sheet.

I understand your concerns and the principal behind your request for payment, but seeing as we are considering you for a full time position and would be paying you a salary, as opposed to a contractual freelance basis, we feel that this test is not only reasonable but required for further consideration.�

In my experience and the experience of the other designers in our company, it is common when design firms are hiring possible candidates to ask for program knowledge or design skills tests such as these. �At Beber Silverstein Group where I worked before Decowraps, I also had to take a test to make sure my skills could be applied to the work at hand, and the same at my job before that. �Perhaps it can be thought of as an audition for the position.

If you can accept this and would still like to be considered for the position, I am still very interested to see what you can do and I hope that you understand and remain enthusiastic about the prospect of joining our team."

Thank you for your help.


Asked on 5/11/12, 4:22 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Eric Trabin Lucid Legal, PLLC

There is nothing illegal about a potential employer asking someone to work without pay. If the employee agrees then that is fine. The employee is also free to walk away. Florida is an "at will" state, which means a person can pretty much be hired or fired at the will of the employer. It is not unusual for employers to have unpaid volunteers. Whether or not it is a good idea to do work for free in the hopes of obtaining paid employment is up to the individual.

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Answered on 5/16/12, 8:37 am


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