New Fact Sheet Clarifies Unpaid Internships

The U.S. Labor Department has released a fact sheet that provides guidelines for determining when business can use unpaid interns. The fact sheet outlines six criteria that must be met to be exempt from paying interns minimum wage. They are:

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 educational 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.

For the full fact sheet, visit:  http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs71.htm