Can you pay interns a stipend

HR's role concerning internship programs depends on the situation. If an organization has no internship program, then HR's first task is to convince upper management of the wisdom of establishing one.

Making that case will entail coming up with some specifics on organizational needs, wages, hours, policies, legal issues and metrics. The specifics of a new internship program will probably focus mostly on how it would benefit the employer in the short term. With established internship programs, the specifics will center on the quality of the experience for the interns and the strategic benefits for the employer over the long term. HR is the functional unit that is primarily responsible for the effective management of an internship program and should take a hands-on approach to ensuring a proper balance between the employer's interests and the intern's.

Periodic meetings should be held with each intern and the intern's supervisor to assess how the internship is going. Such meetings are similar to the standard exit interview except that they are ongoing. These conversations will give HR valuable insight into the human relations within an organization—insight that can go well beyond the scope of the internship program itself.

An intern may tell HR details about the working experience that regular employees would be reluctant to talk about—such as bullying, harassment and dishonesty. Similarly, an intern may bring to light qualities in supervisors that HR and the supervisor's supervisor were only marginally aware of, such as compassion, ethical behavior, diligence, depth of knowledge, loyalty and creativity.

An internship should be similar to a mentoring relationship. It is the job of HR to use the feedback received from interns and supervisors to modify internship policies and procedures as necessary, to continually establish the business case for internships to upper management, and to continually improve the internship program.

See Tips for Recruiting Summer Interns. There are potential legal issues involved when employing interns, mostly around wage and hour laws. First, employers should be careful not to violate state or federal laws regarding underage persons. All states have child labor standards, and age limitations differ from state to state.

Once an employee is age 18, there are no federal child labor rules. Similarly, employers should be careful not to discriminate illegally based on age against older applicants for internships, who may have been laid off or are seeking different experiences in their retirement years. Older workers may be just as qualified as, or even more qualified than, other applicants in satisfying an organization's goals for adopting an internship program in the first place.

Second, employers should be aware of state and federal laws on minimum wage and overtime. State rules are often more generous than federal law on payment of minimum wages and overtime. Wages need to meet both state and federal requirements to be compliant.

The rules applicable to interns are likely to be different for government and private employers, with private employers having stricter rules.

In the public sector and the nonprofit sector, unpaid internships are often permissible. Third, interns are likely to perceive that they are not subject to the employer's policies even if they sign documents saying that they are. Similarly, supervisors may think that the workplace rules for regular employees are not necessarily applicable to interns. Internships may be abused by interns and supervisors alike. Generational differences between interns and supervisors can lead to claims meritorious or not of sexual harassment, invasion of privacy and defamation.

Employers should maintain order in their operations—and internships should be no exception. Periodic meetings between HR and interns and between HR and supervisors can help prevent inappropriate conduct or stop it before it gets out of hand. Fourth, internship can be a path of illegal immigration and employment in the United States if interns overstay their visas.

Employers should be careful to comply with all federal and state immigration laws when employing interns. The FLSA defines the term "employ" broadly as including to "suffer or permit to work" "suffer" is a synonym for "allow". Technically speaking, the FLSA does not define or explicitly recognize the existence of "interns. In January , the DOL provided updated guidance to reflect the following seven criteria to identify the primary beneficiary in determining whether an employment relationship with an intern or student exists:.

According to the DOL, "courts have described the 'primary beneficiary test' as a flexible test, and no single factor is determinative. Accordingly, whether an intern or student is an employee under the FLSA necessarily depends on the unique circumstances of each case.

Depending on the organization, you may have the opportunity to negotiate an increase in your stipend. Do your research and consider the following factors before asking for an increase:. When asking for a stipend raise, show appreciation for the opportunity, explain your research findings and clearly state the amount you need. Before accepting or negotiating a stipend, take into account these key differences between a stipend and a salary:. Some of the key characteristics of salaries include:. Keep in mind additional benefits a salary position or stipend may offer.

For example, an apprenticeship may allow you to work directly under an expert in the field you want to enter, which gives you an academic or job experience advantage when entering the workforce. On the other hand, the health insurance benefits of a salary position may be more appealing to you if you have a family or incur large medical expenses over the year.

Many types of stipends exist to cover the expenses of various voluntary and unpaid work. Here are some common situations where employers may offer stipends:. Institutions commonly offer stipends to researchers to allow them to focus on their projects without the distractions of a full-time or part-time job. Similar to grants, third-party interests may provide these stipends because of their interest in seeing the advancement of the specific research.

Foundations also sometimes offer stipends for similar reasons. For researchers to receive a stipend, their projects must meet the following criteria: the project goes beyond the collection of data and the information gathered gets analyzed and interpreted. Employers may offer healthcare stipends to cover the cost of health insurance if the employer does not provide these benefits. Additionally, some employers may offer stipends to cover the cost of a gym membership, encouraging employees to exercise and live healthier lives.

Some companies provide stipends to employees who wish to further their careers with additional job training. Apprentices receive stipends to cover their living expenses while they complete their apprenticeship. Related: What Is an Apprenticeship? Nonprofits that host interns are in essence mentoring a future nonprofit leader.

An interesting assignment, with opportunities for feedback and growth, that is clearly tied to the mission of the nonprofit, will send the signal that the nonprofit community is a meaningful place to work. On the flip side, another type of internship experience could easily "turn off" a potential leader from considering employment in the nonprofit sector in the future.

Document expectations. While your nonprofit may not have a written job description for an intern, do what you can to document the expectations for the position. If so, share the reimbursement policy with the intern. They may be paid periodically, such as weekly or monthly, or in a lump sum. Generally, stipends are paid for the following:. Therefore, you'll often see interns, apprentices, and trainees receive a stipend to cover living expenses while they are in training. Clergy may receive a stipend so that they don't have to take on an additional job to cover their costs.

Sometimes, stipends also may be offered to encourage certain activities. For instance, academic institutions may offer stipends that work like grants, to create incentives for researchers to further their work on certain projects, such as writing books and scholarly articles, translating works, or interpreting and analyzing collected data.

Some schools offer stipends to help with specific added expenses, such as a computer or other necessary equipment. Similarly, some employers offer employees a stipend in addition to their regular pay, to cover some or all of the costs of specific things such as health insurance , a gym membership, or continuing education for career development. Sometimes companies offer stipends to help an employee cover business expenses such as meals for clients.

If employers plan to offer interns a stipend instead of an hourly wage, they should include that information on the advertisement for the internship and reiterate it during the interview. If you believe you might be eligible for a stipend, ask your organization if you are able to receive one, and ensure you are given a written agreement acknowledging the stipend and when it will be paid.

You should inquire how a company's stipend pay process will work so that you can plan around the payments if you need to. You may want to inquire about the conditions under which a stipend would not be paid to ensure you do not do anything to jeopardize payment.