Camille Olson: A Valuable Idea, If We Follow the Law

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Camille Olson A Valuable Idea, If We Follow the Law

Camille Olson, a management-side employment attorney, is a partner at Seyfarth Shaw LLP in its Chicago and Los Angeles offices.

1Unpaid student internships have increased in recent years, and it is not surprising that federal and state regulators are concerned that employers are increasingly using internships to violate wage and hour laws by using the services as labor as opposed to providing training to the students. While students may be willing to accept unpaid internships or volunteer work in exchange for on-the-job experience and a potential connection to a future job, it is critical that employers follow applicable laws that closely regulate the circumstances under which a for-profit employer can accept these offers without paying at least minimum wage for the worker’s services.

2For-profit companies are obligated to pay interns unless all of the following criteria are met:

  • the training is comparable to that given at a vocational school
  • the training must primarily be for the benefit of the student
  • the student must not replace a regular employee;
  • the employer cannot immediately benefit from the student’s activities (for example, the intern cannot deliver mail, sort files, conduct market research, write reports, schedule interviews, or perform any other work that assists the employer in running its business unless the benefit received by the employer is outweighed by the training time that is provided to the intern);
  • there can be no promise of a job following the training;
  • and both the employer and the student understand that no wages will be paid.

3As a practical matter, most internships fail to meet at least one of these requirements. Employers who are in violation may be subject to penalties from federal and state administrative agencies as well as lawsuits brought by individuals who worked as interns without pay. As with most wage-related claims, cases involving failure to pay interns also pose the risk of a class action.

4Employers should continue to offer short-term positions to students, as either paid or unpaid internships. Clearly there is demand on both sides. Employers should be careful, though, that those opportunities stay within both the spirit and the letter of the law.

Courtesy of Camille Olson

Source: Olson, Camille. “A Valuable Idea, If We Follow the Law.” New York Times. New York Times, 4 Feb. 2012. Web. 20 Sept. 2012. http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/02/04/do-unpaid-internships-exploit-college-students/internships-are-valuable-if-they-follow-the-law.