HR Q&A – What Should We Know About Hiring Summer Interns?

Internships offer students opportunities to gain real-world experience and hands-on career development. The most important thing to know is that interns are, in many cases, employees and need to be paid as such. There are some practical things to consider as well.

Here are some steps we recommend you take a look at before hiring an intern:

• Determine whether the internship should be paid or can be unpaid. For this, use the Department of Labor’s “primary beneficiary test” explained here. If there’s any doubt about whether an intern should be paid, the safest option is to pay.
• Define the internship clearly so both parties understand their duties and expectations, including any pay and benefits offered.
• Be clear about how much supervision the intern will receive, and who should be providing it. Reliable supervision is key to preventing problems and maximizing the benefit for both parties.
• If the internship is unpaid, get documentation from the intern’s school explaining the educational relevance of the internship and whether it will earn the student credits.
• Review your business liability insurance policies for coverage or exclusions of unpaid interns.
• Ensure that you’re complying with child labor laws. If you’re hiring minors, federal and state child labor provisions might apply.

This blog does not constitute formal HR or legal advice and does not address state or local laws. Our HR Resource Center by Mineral offers further guidelines for this and many other topics. For a small additional fee you can also speak to a live HR Specialist. Contact your friendly APlus Payroll CSS for further information (including login details) or login here. Want to know how we can help your Payroll or Time & Labor process? Please contact us here. Consultation is friendly and free!