Unpaid interns could be entitled to compensation for services rendered
Most students and workers new to their field of work would jump at the chance to gain experience as an intern—even if it means not being paid.
Internships can provide inexperienced workers the chance to learn the ropes, gain hands-on knowledge about the profession, and even get a foot in the door of a company the intern might like to work for some day.
But there is a fine line between being hired as an unpaid intern and being hired as a way to have the company get work done for free. For example, you are a massage therapist working as an unpaid intern for a new beauty salon in town. You perform massages for clients, and then the client turns around and pays the salon. Are you entitled to compensation as a Houston intern or should it be considered part of your training?
The Fair Labor Standards Act protects unpaid interns from situations like this by establishing the definition of an "intern." Let's take a look at the Fair Labor Standard Act's checklist for determining an internship, according to the U.S. Department of Labor:
The internship is similar to the training which would be given in an educational environment, even though it takes place at the employers.
The experience gained in the internship is for the benefit of the intern, not the employer.
The intern works under close supervision of existing staff, and the intern does not replace regular employees.
The intern's employer does not benefit from an immediate advantage from the intern's activities, and there is a chance that the business's operations may actually be burdened by having the intern there.
There is no guarantee that the intern may earn a permanent position with the company after the internship is over.
Both the employer and the intern understand that the intern is not entitled to wages for the time they put in during the internship.
If all of these criteria are met, it means that the relationship between the employee and the intern can be considered an actual internship, and therefore the intern is exempt from compensation. This also means that the minimum wage requirements do not apply in this type of business relationship.
However, if you are an intern and some of the above criteria do not apply to you, you need to contact an experienced Houston, Texas wage attorney immediately. The attorneys at Kennedy Hodges, LLP can help you determine if you are eligible for compensation, and can walk you through the process of obtaining it. Contact us for your free consultation at 888.449.2068 today.
