Graphic from Stony Brook University
As an intern, it is important for you to know your compensation rights. If you are working at a “for-profit” organization, you will usually be considered an employee and must be paid at least minimum wage and overtime compensation. However, the U.S. Department of Labor has developed criteria to decide if interns can be unpaid.
The test for unpaid internships:
- The internship is similar to training that would be given in an educational environment. The more the internship program is structured like an academic experience, as opposed to the employer’s training program, the more likely the internship will be considered an educational experience. The skills the intern learns must be less specific to the company and more specific to multiple employment settings.
- The internship experience is for the benefit of the intern.
- The intern does not displace regular employees, but works under close supervision of existing staff. If the intern is substituting for regular workers or the employer would have hired additional employees instead of the intern, then the intern must be paid. If the intern is participating in job shadowing opportunities but they are not carrying out the work, the intern does not have to be paid.
- The employer that provides the training derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the intern, and on occasion its operations may actually be impeded. The intern should not perform routine work of the business on a regular basis, and the organization should not be dependent on the intern’s work. Even clerical or customer service work will not exclude the employer from paying the intern minimum wage because the organization receives benefit from the intern, but the intern is not gaining a new skill.
- The intern is not necessarily entitled to a job at the conclusion of the internship. The internship should be for a fixed period of time and decided upon before the internship begins. It should not be considered a trial period for individuals seeking employment at the end of the internship. If the intern is hired for a trial period, they should be considered a paid employee.
- The employer and the intern understand that the intern is not entitled to wages for the time spent in the internship.
If each of these bolded criteria are met, the intern is not considered an employee and is not required to receive minimum wage and overtime compensation. Read more about internships and the FLSA here.
Employers: In order to protect yourself against Fair Labor Standards Act, you should offer compensation, agreement to help the intern obtain college credit or both. Learn more about the journalism’s department’s internship class.
Graphic from Stony Brook University.
