Summer Interns: The Top Three Ways to Hire Interns Without Getting Burned

1. No unpaid interns! That's right, most interns do not qualify for unpaid status. The legal definition of who is an employee is broad and will cover 9 out of 10 situations. This means at least paying minimum wage and overtime for virtually every intern.

2. For everyone who does not believe Rule No. 1, read it again. Now, there are six criteria, all of which have to be met to have an unpaid intern.

• The internship has to be similar to what the intern would learn at school;
• The internship is for the benefit of the intern (not the employer). In other words, the intern can't take the place of your employee while the employee goes on vacation;
• There must be an agreement from the start that the intern will not be paid;