Interns and Project-based hires
Anne Edwards
5 Posts
Does the FLSA govern Interns or Project-based hires who are brought on for a limited (2-3 month) duration -- and are working full-time? If so, would they be exempt if they meet all three prongs of the white-collar exemption?
Comments
Does the FLSA govern Interns or Project-based hires who are brought on for a limited (2-3 month) duration -- and are working full-time? If so, would they be exempt if they meet all three prongs of the white-collar exemption?
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Just about everyone is covered by FLSA.
The word "intern", like the word, "manager" doesn't really mean much if it isn't backed by context that supports those words as they may be used in statutes and regulations. The facts of the situation are wrapped up in what a person is doing and why they are doing it. "Intern status" -- the type you don't have to pay money for -- relates to doing work that meets certain standards for course credit. If it doesn't meet the standards set in place to reduce the potential for abusive use of free student labor, then FLSA applies.
Length of intended employment is irrelevent to FLSA as far as I am aware. Full time and part time are also phrases that don't mean much without context. Full time in terms of WARN compliance requirements? Full time in terms of your benefits eligibility threshold? It is most likely that FLSA applies to your situation based on what you have shared. That means that if they meet exemption standards, they can be handled as exempt from the minimum wage and overtime provisions of FLSA.
Do you want to talk a little more about what they will be doing and why to further explore intern and exempt status?