It is likely that you or someone you know has interned at one point in your professional career. Interning has become something of a rite of passage for high school, college students and young professionals eager to gain “real-world experience”. But did you know that, unless very specific criteria are met, using an unpaid intern may be in violation of federal and state wage law?
Recent civil cases brought by former interns against a magazine publisher, a public television program and a Hollywood production company have cast a spotlight on the practice of companies using – and allegedly abusing and overworking – unpaid interns. In a case currently pending against the publisher of the magazine Harper’s Bazaar, a former intern alleges she worked 55 hours per week without pay. While this may be an extreme example, companies and organizations that want to establish or maintain unpaid internship or “trainee” programs and avoid costly litigation and penalties must follow very strict restrictions and laws in place.
According to a recent article by SHRM, “Employers get into trouble when they view unpaid internships as a way to accomplish work tasks rather than as educational programs aimed at assisting students.” In fact, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not specifically exempt “interns”; a narrow exception does exist for “trainees”, therefore an unpaid internship program can qualify as a training program if it is properly structured. In addition, it is important to the Department of Labor (DOL) that “individuals must genuinely be acting for their own benefit” to qualify as unpaid interns. The more an intern program resembles a vocational or college course, the likelier it is that the program is compliant with the FLSA.