Intern vs. Employee
In chapter
11 of my book I dealt with this subject as it is often misunderstood. I jested
by saying 30 years ago if you wanted to find an intern, go to a hospital. Now
days they are often found in industry working in technical positions to provide
students with practical work experience related to their majors and a look at
things in their future.
I reported
that due to the controversy over whether they should be paid or not, the
government issued a six-part test three years ago to help decide. Now I learned
that this past January, they created seven part test to facilitate the process.
Briefly, they are:
1. A promise of compensation implies,
suggests an employee position
2. The internship provides training
similar to an educational environment
3. The internship is tied to the formal
education and receives academic credit
4. The internship accommodates academic
commitments according to the academic calendar
5. The interns duration is limited to
the specified period of learning
6. The extent the interns work
compliments the work of paid employees
7. The intern understands the work is
without entitlement to a paid job at the conclusion of the internship
So as you
can see, this “primary beneficiary test” is flexible and every situation is
different. I pointed out in my book that a former coworker of mine interned for
a manufacturer while working on his engineering degree but received no
compensation nor did he accept a position with the company upon graduation.
If
compensation is essential, consider a cooperative (co-op) position. More on
that subject in my book.
