Internships: Caution May Be Required
The hope of almost every college student is to find a great job right after graduation. In today’s market, this often requires time spent in an internship along the way. These internships, if unpaid, may be illegal.
For-profit employers must comply with very strict guidelines in order to avoid paying interns.
“If you’re a for-profit employer or you want to pursue an internship with a for-profit employer, there aren’t going to be many circumstances where you can have an internship and not be paid and still be in compliance with the law,” said Nancy J. Leppink, the director of the Department of Labor’s wage and hour division as quoted in The New York Times.
In other words, most internships should be paid part-time jobs. According to the Department of Labor, unpaid internships with for-profit employers must be characterized by the following factors:
The internship, even though it includes actual operation of the facilities of the employer, is similar to that which would be given in an educational environment.
•The internship is for the benefit of the trainee.
•The intern does not displace regular employees, but work under close observation.
•The employer that provides the training derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the intern and on occasion the employer’s operations may actually be impeded.
•The intern is not necessarily entitled to a job at the completion of the internship.
•The employer and the intern understand that the intern is not entitled to wages for the time spent in the internship.
Any student hoping to work as an intern should keep these factors in mind to get the compensation to which they are entitled and to be in compliance with the law.
The internship issues are not simply a result of legal disputes, however. Recently, the Local 2091 firefighter union made a decision to stop all correspondence with intern students from UCC due to a disagreement between the union and the District No. 2 board. The district was planning to rely more heavily on interns and volunteers which would displace some professional firefighters. The board’s proposal has been repealed and the union has resumed correspondence with UCC. This issue is obviously not limited to firefighters and students may encounter such disputes while searching for internships.
Internships can be a vital part of one’s education and can teach invaluable lessons about a particular field, and they should be dealt with in a lawful manner. Because law enforcement seems to be cracking down on this area, students need to be aware of their rights and responsibilities as they transition into their careers.
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