b'Whataboutdiscriminationlaws:ItdependsonwhethertheWhat Should I Do:person in question receives significant remuneration for theirGood:Payingminimumwagetoallinternsprobablyisthe efforts. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission hassafest bet. You avoid the risk of an audit of all your employment stated that things like a pension, group life insurance, workerspractices because of one dissatisfied intern that calls the DOL.compensation, or access to professional certifications constituteIf you go the trainee route, be sure to meetall the factors.significant remuneration. However, courts have determined that things like academic credit, practical experience, and scholarlyBetter: If you have true trainees, it makes sense to outline the research do not constitute significant remuneration. Becauseseven factors in a short, half-page written agreement. If you thispointissubjecttointerpretation,however,itisbesttouse volunteers, have them sign a one-paragraph agreement treat all interns as though they are employees with respect toacknowledging their status as a volunteer without expectation discrimination laws. of pay or other significant remuneration, to avoid the possibility Common Situations: of an EEOC complaint.Required training: Safety First is ready to hire a new class ofBest: In addition to the items above, require the trainees to keep securityguards.Thecompanyrequiresthatsecurityguardtrack of their hours so you have a record of how much they might trainees receive 40 hours of training prior to performing anybe entitled to if the DOL audits and rules them employees. Be regularworkundertheirservicecontract. Accordingtotheirsure they do not work more than 40 hours to avoid increasing the contract, the training is focused on company practices, policies,risk of overtime. Have the trainees and their supervisors keep a and rules. Does Safety First have to pay the trainee securitylog of their activities so that there is no confusion regarding the guards even though they are not yet performing regular work? type of work they do.Yes. These trainees would be considered employees because: (1) the employer is directly benefiting from their training, (2) the training is given to security guards who will work on contract, and (3) Safety First can only employ specifically trained guards.Homegrownhiring:MaverickFinancehiresinternseach summer.Mavericks intern program is structured much like an academic program.The interns do not do the work of regular employees and are heavily supervised. The interns are not paid and are aware there is no guarantee of employment.However, Maverick hires its first-year analysts almost exclusively from the unpaid interns it has each summer. Does the FLSA require Maverick to pay these interns at least minimum wage?Probably.Although Maverick substantially satisfies the seven-factor test, its practice of hiring analysts from the intern pool is likely enough to tip the balance against the company in the face of a DOL audit. 6'