As summer swiftly approaches, companies should consider their
hiring practices for summer interns. The law governing paid and
unpaid interns can be murky, but is becoming better defined and
most often favors paying interns minimum wage and classifying them
as non-exempt, hourly employees subject to overtime laws.
The law is redefining how companies treat interns. In fact,
effective June 14, 2014, New York City will expand its local
anti-discrimination and harassment law (the New York City Human
Rights Law) to paid and unpaid interns. This is in response to an
October 2013 ruling in a New York district court that dismissed an
unpaid intern's sexual harassment complaint under the law
because unpaid interns are not employees and therefore not
protected by it. The expansion will also require employers to
reasonably accommodate interns' disabilities under certain
circumstances.
