HR Compliance Requirements and Summer Internships: 3 Key Considerations 

In 2022 especially, employers must be vigilant about maintaining HR compliance.  The Department of Labor (DOL) has begun conducting more audits for wage and hour violations.  (These audits may trigger steep fines and penalties—sometimes enough to damage a business severely.) As part of their preparations this year, employers should also remember to review their summer internship programs to ensure compliance.  Employers should note that internships are regulated by both the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and state-specific labor laws. Often, interns should be compensated similarly to season or temporary employees.  Organizations may also want to consult legal requirements for seasonal and temporary employees when ensuring HR compliance for their internship program.  MP’s HR experts share three key considerations for reviewing compliance requirements and summer internships. 

3 Key Considerations for HR Compliance Requirements and Summer Internships

1. Compensation

When hiring interns, whether full-time, part-time, college students, etc., they must be adequately compensated.  Most often, interns in the “for-profit” private sector should be paid.  An organization’s human resources department should ensure that the unpaid interns meet all of the below Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) guidelines.  FLSA Guidelines for the primary beneficiary test specify that interns:  

• Receive education environment-level training, even though it includes tasks that are directly related to the actual operations of the employer’s facilities  
• Benefit from the experience, for example: they get academic credit 
• Work under the close supervision of current staff  
• Don’t displace regular employees or the work they perform 
• And their activities don’t immediately benefit the organization  
• May sometimes impede the organization’s activities 
• Are not necessarily entitled to a job at the conclusion 
• Understand they won’t be earning wages for their internship 

To maintain FLSA compliance, employers should pay interns if their labor reduces: 

• The hours their current staff must work  
• The amount of staff the organization needs to hire 

Interns are paid because they either substitute for regular workers or augment an organization’s workforce.  They must earn at least minimum wage and overtime compensation when performing more than forty hours in a workweek.  Employers should note that minimum wage changes from state to state.  Interns must be paid the minimum wage in the state they’re working in.  To meet HR compliance requirements for summer internships, organizations with remote interns should ensure they’re correctly compensating, and in compliance with, the state laws where their interns work.  

 

2. Employing Minors. 

When organizations hire interns, they must be aware of age guidelines in the state where work will be performed.  These laws may include requirements for work hours and prohibit certain jobs or tasks.  Additionally, in many cases, the state laws require a work permit for minors, which employers must retain in their records.  

3. Earned Sick Time (EST). 

Paid interns may be eligible in some states to accrue paid or unpaid sick time. It’s essential to work with an employment lawyer or HR expert (such as the ones at MP) to ensure the organization’s practices are in compliance for every state employees (including interns) are working from.  Additionally, interns may also retain the right to use their accrued sick time after a break in service, whether voluntary or not, if they return to work. (A key to HR compliance requirements and summer internships is that paid and unpaid interns may also be eligible for other legal protections.)