The United States Department of Labor has issued a guidance on the hiring of interns, and when such relationships must be paid. The DOL uses the following six criteria to determine that an internship can be unpaid:
1. The internship, even though it includes actual operation of the facilities of the employer, is similar to training, which would be given in an education environment;
2. The internship experience is for the benefit of the intern;
3. The intern does not displace regular employees, but works under close supervision of existing staff;
4. 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;
5. The intern is not necessarily entitled to a job at the conclusion of the internship; and
6. The employer and the intern understand that the intern is not entitled to wages for the time spent in the internship.
With summer fast approaching, make sure you review these criteria and pay interns who do not clearly satisfy all of them.
SOURCE: HR Legal Update, May 13,2010