The Department of Labor ("DOL") announced its adoption
of a new test on January 5, 2018 for determining whether interns
are employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act
("FLSA"). In recent years, many for-profit employers have
been hesitant to hire interns given the lack of clarity surrounding
the applicable standard and the potential for enforcement actions
or litigation due to risks of misclassifying employees as interns.
The DOL's adoption Friday of the so-called "primary
beneficiary" test brings greater clarity and flexibility to
the classification of interns and may open the door for the
revitalization of diminished internship programs at for-profit
organizations.
The FLSA requires for-profit employers to pay employees for
their work. "Employee" is a defined term under the FLSA,
and interns and students may qualify as employees to whom
compensation must be paid under the FLSA.
