Normally,
anyone who is performing services for your company must be paid no less
than $8.00/hr (the State's minimum wage). However, student
interns need not be paid at all if your company can qualify the students as bona-fide "trainees" under federal and state wage-hour laws.
The U.S. Department of Labor
as a six-part test to determine if a worker is a bona-fide
trainee. California has adopted the DOL test, but has expanded it
to include six additional requirements which must be met.
The requirements of a bona-fide training program are:
1.
The training, even though it includes actual operation of the
facilities of the employer, must be similar to that which would be
given in a vocational school;
2. The training is for the benefit of the trainee;
3. The trainee does not displace any regular employees and works under close observation;
4.
The employer derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the
trainee and on occasion the operations may actually be impeded;
5. The trainee is not entitled to a job at the completion of the training;
6.
The employer and the trainee have an explicit understanding that the
trainee is not entitled to wages for the time spent in training (a
written understanding is best);
7. Any clinical training is part of an educational curriculum;
8. The trainee does not receive employee benefits;
9.
The training should be general, so as to qualify the trainee for work
in any similar business, rather than designed specifically for a job
with the employer offering the training program;
10.
Upon completion of the program, the trainee should not be fully trained
to work specifically for the employer but should require further
specific training for such employment;
11.
The screening process for the program should not be the same as for
employment and should not appear to be for that purpose; it should
involve only criteria relevant for admission to an independent
educational program; and
12.
Any advertisement for the program should be couched clearly in terms of
education or training, rather than employment, although the
employer may indicate that qualified graduates may be considered
for employment.
Whether
someone is a bona-fide "trainee" is very fact specific. No one
factor is determinative. Keep in mind that even if a student
intern qualifies as a "trainee" and you do not need to pay them, the
company still must follow all of the restrictions (discussed in Part I
of this two part series) regarding hours of work and other working
conditions applicable to minors where the trainee is under age 18 and
still in school.
Your contact at the Firm is ready to be of assistance as needed in responding to your questions about student interns and the employment of minors.
For more information, call us today at (818) 508-3700,
or visit us on the web, at www.brgslaw.com.
Sincerely,
Richard S. Rosenberg
Partner
BRG&S,
LLP
