• 29
  • June
    2011

In the current economic climate, many young people are feeling desperate to get jobs. High school and college students throughout San Francisco are looking for ways to build their resumes and help ensure they have the necessary experience when they are looking for full-time employment.

With so many companies struggling to stay afloat during the recession, many employers do not think they can afford to pay their student employees. Internships can be a great opportunity to help prepare students for the workforce. However, unless the internship meets specific requirements, interns must be paid at least minimum wage. Employers who fail to do so may face wage and hour claims, and they can be forced to pay interns back wages for unpaid work that has already been completed.

According to a recent story in the San Francisco Chronicle, there are six criteria that an internship must meet in order for it to be legally unpaid.

First, the internship must provide training that is similar to what a student would receive in an educational environment.

Second, the internship must actually benefit the intern. Stuffing envelopes and making coffee runs do not usually count.

Third, the intern must be closely supervised, and he or she cannot replace existing employees.

Fourth, the employer should not receive any immediate advantage from the activities of the intern. At times, having an intern could decrease productivity for an employer.

Fifth, interns should have a clear understanding that they are not guaranteed paid jobs once their internships are completed.

Finally, interns should have a clear understanding that they are not entitled to compensation for their work.

One individual with the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement summarized the criteria well by stating, "An internship program is not to provide free labor and a resume stuffer for somebody. It has to be for the benefit of the trainee or the student. They are learning a skill, a craft, under the direction of people at the placement site."

Source: Naples news.com, "NetWorth: Internships usually must pay minimum wage," Kathleen Pender, San Francisco Chronicle, 22 June 2011