When Are Interns Entitled To Be Paid?

Jeffrey Dretler offered insight to The Boston Globe on internships.

A reader asked for more information about requirements for paying interns.

Jeff explained that there are no new laws requiring interns to be compensated.

“In the past few years, lawsuits were filed against several high-profile employers arguing that unpaid interns were really employees who should have received minimum wage and overtime pay,” he said.

In June 2013, a federal judge in New York ruled that interns who worked on Fox Searchlight Pictures Inc.’s production of the film ‘Black Swan’ did not qualify as unpaid trainees, but were employees entitled to the protection of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.

“In most instances when an intern is performing services for an employer and earning credits as part of a degree or certificate-granting educational program, payment is not required.” explained Jeff. “But if the intern is doing administrative tasks without receiving much training and the employer seems to be taking advantage of free labor, the intern may be entitled to wages.”