The U.S. Supreme Court has held that the words "to suffer or permit to work," as used in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to define "employ," do not make all workers employees. For example, workers who work for their own advantage on the premises of another without any express or implied compensation agreement are not employees under the FLSA.

Whether trainees or students are employees of an employer under the FLSA will depend upon all of the circumstances surrounding their activities on the premises of the employer. If all of the following criteria apply, the trainees or students are not employees within the meaning of the FLSA:

• The training, even though it includes actual operation of the facilities of the employer, is similar to that which would be given in a vocational school;

• The training is for the benefit of the trainees or students;

• The trainees or students do not displace regular employees, but work under close supervision;

• The employer that provides the training receives no immediate advantage from the activities of the trainees or students and, on occasion, his operations may even be impeded;

• The trainees or students are not necessarily entitled to a job at the conclusion of the training period; and

• The employer and the trainees or students understand that the trainees or students are not entitled to wages for the time spent in training.

In Vermont, as in the rest of the United States, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) provides the framework for determining whether an individual is considered an employee. The U.S. Supreme Court has clarified that not all workers are employees under the FLSA, particularly highlighting that the phrase 'to suffer or permit to work' does not automatically create an employment relationship. This is especially relevant for trainees or students, whose status as employees depends on the specifics of their situation. In Vermont, if trainees or students meet certain criteria—such as receiving training similar to a vocational school, the training being for their benefit, not displacing regular employees, not providing immediate advantage to the employer, not being entitled to a job post-training, and having a mutual understanding that they are not entitled to wages—their activities do not classify them as employees under the FLSA. These criteria help distinguish between educational and employment relationships, ensuring that trainees or students engaged in learning opportunities are not improperly classified as employees when they are not compensated for their work.