Interns Lead To Legal Liability
It’s summer. That means its time for bathing suits, suntans, long vacations and most importantly, at least in the wage-and-hour world, summer interns. Though many people may not understand it, unpaid college interns can actually present a serious legal liability for the companies who employ them.
The issue is not interns that are paid for their work; these workers are essentially temporary summer hires and can be given a wide range of responsibilities with no problem. The issue is when companies hire interns to work for free in exchange for college credit. The case that recently illustrated this point was filed against Fox Searchlight Pictures, which is being sued by two interns who worked on the movie, “Black Swan.” While the highly paid actors were having their makeup done, dozens of interns were scrambling around the set for doing work they should have been paid for according to a suit before he U.S. District Court in New York City.
The suit claims the interns performed bookkeeping work, acted as production assistants and even performed janitorial duties. Paid employees could have done all of these duties and this substitution of interns for paid workers presents a legal problem. Such problems are seen commonly in areas where young people are eager for a foot in the door, including entertainment, media, publishing and even local television stations.
Experts say the lesson is simple: you cannot use interns purely to fill in for employees. That’s true even in cases where the interns are happy to work for free just to have the experience. The law states unequivocally that the primary beneficiary of any unpaid academic internship must be the intern, not the company hosting the intern. Those interns doing the work of a normal staff member thus have the ability to file a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board or even a civil lawsuit.
In the wake of worries over hiring summer interns, the U.S. Department of Labor issued guidelines explaining that unpaid internships must meet the following six criteria to be considered appropriate: First, the internship must be similar to training that might be given in an educational environment. Second, the internship experience must be designed for the benefit of the intern. Third, the intern must not displace regular employees, but must instead work with and under the supervision of existing staff. Fourth, the employer cannot derive any immediate advantage from the activities of the intern and on occasion, it must actually have its operations impeded. Fifth, the intern is not necessarily entitled to a job at the end of the internship. Finally, the employer and the intern must both understand that wages are not part of the transaction.
Internships can be valuable for students and employers alike who are able to make a good impression with future workers. While no one wants internships to go away, it’s critical that the internship program be constructed in such a way that the unpaid intern truly receives the benefit. Follow the rules and there shouldn’t be a problem, go astray and use the intern as free labor and you might be opening yourself up to a lawsuit.
Source: “Be Cautious When You Hire Unpaid Interns for Summer,” by Michael Brownlee, published at VailDaily.com.
Source: “Revenge of the intern: wage and hour class actions keep employers on their toes,” by Alicia M. Feichtmeir, published at Lexology.com.
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