We are informed that the U.S. Department of Labor and many state labor departments are clamping down on employers that use unpaid internships. Therefore we thought it important as the summer hiring season is in full swing to repeat an article on criteria that must be satisfied for an internship to be unpaid. If you do not meet these criteria the student must be paid at least a minimum wage. The six criteria for free labor are as follows:

1. The training is similar to that which would be given in a vocational school and it is simply supplementing classroom study with job study.

2. The training is for the benefit of the student, which means it becomes a challenge when the person is actually generating revenue, rather than simply learning a skill.

3. The student does not displace regular employees and works under close supervision. Except in a small office situation, where all employees perform certain clerical duties, the work generally should not be clerical in nature.

4. The employer providing the training derives no immediate advantage from the activities, the student may indeed impede work flow. For example, job shadowing would create an impediment in most situations.

5. It is critical that the student is not necessarily entitled to a job at the conclusion of the training period.

6. The employer and the student understand that the student is not entitled to wages for time spent in training.

See Department of Labor Fact Sheet #71: http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs71.pdf