In light of our recent blog on MA Child Labor Law updates, here is some information about regulatory updates regarding unpaid internships from Business West.
As a business owner in MA it might seem like a no-brainer to hire unpaid interns; give local students experience in your industry, get some training in to potentially see if you can eventually get some fresh new resources added to your work force and maybe even to help out with some of the things that you just haven’t found time to get around to.
However, starting and maintaining an internship program takes a little more planning. Students and graduates alike are always looking for experience but, it’s important to know what the boundaries are with hiring them to work unpaid or even for a small sum of money.
Here are some critical things to keep in mind: the internship is more like educational training than regular operations, the intern must directly benefit from the experience (rather than the company reaping immediate advantages), interns do not fill the place or temporarily hold the place for regular employees, the internship program is closely supervised by existing employees, and there must be a clear and agreed upon understanding between both intern and institution that the intern is not entitled to wages during or a position after completing the internship.
In short, its extremely important to keep informed on the newest laws and regulations as well as with the laws that are already in place. Visit the Massachusetts Department of Labor and Federal Department of Labor for more complete info.
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