On-Campus Jobs: Students can use FWSP funds for any on-campus position.
Off-Campus Jobs: The following off-campus employers qualify for FWSP:
- Recognized 501(c)3 non-profit organizations such as shelters, hospitals, youth organizations, etc.
- State, local and federal government agencies
- For-profit organizations whose business activity is related to the student's concentration
- Positions at religious organizations that do not involve constructing, operating, or maintaining any part of a building used for religious worship or sectarian instruction. For example, students can work at a church that is operating a homeless shelter but can not assist a religious leader in making a space ready for religious service.
Federal Guidelines for FWSP Employers
To qualify as an eligible employer, the agency and positions offered must meet the following conditions established by the U.S. Department of Education:
- FWSP employment must be governed by employment conditions, including pay, that are appropriate and reasonable according to the type of work performed, the geographic region, the employee’s proficiency, and any applicable federal, state, or local laws.
- FWSP employment must not displace employees (including those on strike) or impair existing service contracts. Also, if the university has an employment agreement with an organization in the private sector, the organization’s employees must not be replaced with FWSP students. Replacement is interpreted as displacement.
- FWSP positions must not involve constructing, operating, or maintaining any part of a building used for religious worship or sectarian instruction. In determining whether any FWSP employment will violate this restriction, a university should consider the purpose of the part of the facility in which the work will take place and the nature of the work to be performed. If the part of the facility in which the student will work is used for religious worship or sectarian instruction, the work cannot involve construction, operation, or maintenance responsibilities. If that part of the facility is not being used for religious worship or sectarian instruction, the school should make sure that any work the student will perform meets general employment conditions and that other limitations are not violated.
- FWSP positions must not involve lobbying on the federal, state or local level. A student cannot work as a political aide for any elected official. Positions also cannot be involved in any partisan or nonpartisan political activity or associated with a faction in an election for public or private office.
- FWSP cannot be used in positions that primarily benefit members of an organization that has membership limits, such as a credit union, a fraternal or religious order, or a cooperative.
- Agency must agree to pay a percentage of wages. Non-Profit Organizations have to pay 25% of the wages along with the current fringe benefit rate, which may vary year to year. The rate for the 2023 fiscal year is 9.9%. For-Profit Organizations have to pay 50% of the wages plus the fringe benefit rate.