Hiring Summer Interns – Be Sure You Follow the Law

School will be out soon, and many ambitious students will be looking for ways to earn some money and/or expand their experience during the summer break.  If you plan to hire paid interns, the same minimum wage and overtime laws apply to them as apply to your fulltime employees.

If, on the other hand, you are considering hiring unpaid interns, note that in California the Department of Labor considers the following 6 criteria when determining whether an intern is entitled to wages in exchange for his or her services:

1. The internship is similar to training that would be given in an educational environment
2. The internship experience is for the benefit of the intern
3. The intern works under close supervision of existing staff and does not displace regular employees
4. The employer derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the intern, and, on occasion, its operations may even be impeded
5. The intern is not necessarily entitled to a job at the end of the internship
6. The employer and the intern understand that the intern is not entitled to wages for the time spent in the internship

The more you can structure your internship program like that of an academic experience versus the intern engaging in your company operations, the more likely it will be viewed as part of their education and thereby meet the criteria. Job shadowing, for example, where the intern observes various functions under close supervision but performs minimal or no work, can be considered training. Again, the experience must be for the benefit of the intern, not the employer.

For more information, refer to the California Department of Labor Fact Sheet #71.

If you have questions of a general nature regarding this topic, please feel free to contact me. For specific legal advice, contact a California employment law attorney.