II-28 – The New Relaxed Intern Standard and Implications for Employers
II-25 – Top 10 New Year’s Resolutions for Employers in 2018
I recently shared commentary with SHRM regarding unpaid internships, including the legal considerations that employers should keep in mind. When are internships allowed to be unpaid and when they must be paid?...more
As internship season ends, now is a perfect time for employers to review their internship programs to ensure compliance with federal, state and local labor and employment laws. Overview of Internships - ...more
On June 9, 2022, a divided panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit decided an unpaid intern who participated in a forensic photography training program was not entitled to wages under the Fair...more
As the summer approaches, many businesses will be looking to hire a summer intern. Internship programs can be a great option for both the intern, who has the opportunity to learn new skills, and the employer, who is able to...more
It is getting closer to summer and that means students are looking for work experience. Many companies offer unpaid internships. While both the student and employer may see benefits to this arrangement – the employer doesn’t...more
A February 2020 jury verdict against county music star Martina McBride’s production company highlights – albeit indirectly – the perils of unpaid internship programs and the issues they can cause under the Fair Labor...more
In 2013 the United States Department of Defense founded Skill Bridge, a program that partners the U.S. Armed Forces with private employers to provide internships to active duty service members during their last six months of...more
Netflix is (figuratively) on fire this summer, as it has released tons of new content clearly calculated to keep us indoors during the (literal) heatwave. Season two of Workin’ Moms was released on July 25, 2019 (see my...more
Hospitality remains at the forefront of demanding industries where employers must be ever vigilant in their efforts to ensure full compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws and regulations. We highlight below...more
Spring is in the air and summer is around the corner. You can see the signs everywhere. Flowers. Chirping birds. Increasing temperatures. And summer intern resumes. Experienced HR professionals know they will soon receive...more
On February 5, 2019, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals held that students at a for-profit cosmetology school who provided cosmetology services to the general public at the school's salon as part of the requirements to...more
In yet another challenge regarding the employment status of students and interns as employees, the Second Circuit has concluded quite rightfully that vocational students – even those at for-profit institutions – are still...more
Concluding that a student at a for-profit cosmetology academy was the “primary beneficiary” of the hours he spent training at the academy’s salon, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the district’s court’s...more
The law regulating the payment of wages and work hours is a vibrant area: the “fight for $15.00”; battles over who can receive tips (and whether the tip credit should be eliminated entirely); whether workers should be given...more
Once thought to be the next wave of wage-and-hour cases, suits involving interns and students have tended to founder because most training programs are intended to train rather than to provide employment....more
It is estimated about half of the United States’ 1.5 million internships a year are unpaid, a number that may go up due to changes in the Department of Labor’s (DOL) rules governing unpaid internships. ...more
July 26, 2018 is National Intern Day – the perfect day to take a look at the employment law issues that impact internships! The primary issue employers need to be concerned about is whether an unpaid or stipend “intern” is...more
July 26, 2018, is National Intern Day according to WayUp, the job site for college students and recent graduates. The organization’s campaign to acknowledge the role of interns in the workforce is intended to “encourage[]...more
With summer internships in full swing, it’s high time to revisit the Department of Labor’s recently-revised guidance on unpaid internships. Guidelines issued in January abandoned the Department’s prior test – which required...more
With summer upon us, so is the season for interns seeking work experience and opportunities to meet educational requirements. But, for employers, unpaid internships can get sandy if they use their interns like employees....more
Dear Littler: I work in the corporate office of a national retailer. We plan to hire several local student interns to work for us this summer, primarily in accounting and marketing. We enjoy sponsoring this program, and it...more
Unpaid internships are controversial. Proponents argue that they provide valuable opportunities for students to learn about an industry and for companies to scout up-and-coming talent, while critics contend the practice is an...more
As summer months approach and students begin searching for seasonal employment, many employers are faced with the logistics of internship programs, specifically whether an unpaid internship meets the requirements of the Fair...more
The U.S. Department of Labor rang in the new year by announcing that it will abandon its rigid six-part test for determining whether interns qualify as employees under federal wage and hour law, introducing some much-needed...more
On December 8, 2017, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (which has jurisdiction over federal district courts in Connecticut, New York and Vermont) ruled in favor of an employer, holding that six unpaid...more