Are You An Intern? Do You Need To Be Paid?
Photo by Elijah O'Donnell from Pexels
In the last two blogs I have defined what an Independent Contractor is and what a Volunteer is, and have provided various resources to assist you in making this determination. But what about other forms of work?
An additional category of worker is that of an intern. Interns are usually individuals who enter an organization for a fixed period of time where the work that they do is in connection with developing skills or amassing experience in a particular field that the individual is seeking to enter. Intern programs may or not be organized by a school or a placement firm, and examples of intern programs in our Movement include technology interns, fundraising interns, and marketing interns. Importantly, it is essential that if you are going to become an intern, that you understand your rights, and whether or not you should be paid.
I will treat the rules about interns in Canada first, and then the rules in the United States.
Canada
Like all matters related to employment in Canada, workplaces are either governed federally or provincially, depending on the nature of their business operation. In our Movement, all groups would be provincially regulated, so we would turn our attention to the employment standards legislation in each province.
Interns who are required to work as part of completing their formal education are not required to be paid. In order to qualify for this exemption, there are six tests that were developed in the province of Ontario that need to be met, and they are laid out below. Please note that while these tests apply in Ontario, the tests are not binding in other jurisdictions, but they will still be important to consider as provinces that have not yet treated the matter in law often look to the provinces that have.
The six tests to determine if you are an intern in Ontario that does not need to be paid are:
the training must be similar to that in a vocational school,
the training must be for the benefit of the intern,
training organizations must derive little, if any, benefit from the intern’s activities in the organization,
the intern does not displace employees,
the intern is not entitled to become an employee of the organization, and
the intern must agree there is no remuneration for the training.
All other types of interns, again, other than the one above, must be paid.
Other types of internships are professional internships (such as those for the professions of law, accounting, and engineering), and work experience internships (such as those for marketing and campaigning that do not meet the six tests above). Not only do interns need to be paid, in many cases, interns are entitled to all of the same rights and protections in law as other employees such as being entitled to paid leaves, vacation pay, etc. There are a few exceptions to certain employment standards laws, particularly in the areas of law and accounting.
For a summary of internship regulations across Canada, please click here.
United States
The governing legislation in the US for interns is the Fair Labor Standards Act, or the FLSA. In order to determine if an intern is entitled to be paid, there is a seven part test that must be applied.
The seven parts are:
Both parties understand that the intern is not entitled to compensation,
The internship provides training that would be given in an educational environment,
The intern's completion of the program entitles him or her to academic credit,
The internship corresponds with the academic calendar,
The internship's duration is limited to the period when the internship educates the intern,
The intern's work complements rather than displaces the work of paid employees while providing significant educational benefits, and
The intern and the employer understand that the internship is conducted without entitlement to a paid job at the internship's end.
Unless all of these tests are met, the intern needs to be paid.
In both countries, the common thread is that of determining whether the employer or the intern is the primary beneficiary of the work. If the employer is the primary beneficiary, the intern should be paid.
There are some exceptions to the above in the nonprofit sector for individuals who choose to volunteer their time, but I would suggest that if you are seeking to do so, look closely at what qualifies as volunteerism in this context.
I want to help to empower you to be the best activist you can be. Please reach out with any questions and I’ll try to answer them in future blogs, anonymously of course!
Always for the Animals,
Krista
Please find a factsheet titled Internship Programs Under The Fair Labour Standards Act here.
Krista is the Executive Director of For The Greater Good where she consults with animal protection organizations across North America on matters of organizational development and governance. In addition to holding five degrees and designations in human resources, including a master’s degree in organizational development and leadership, she is pursuing her doctorate focused on the employment experiences of animal rights activists in Canada and the United States. Krista first joined the Animal Advocacy Movement as the VP of Mercy For Animals in Canada where she led twelve undercover investigations into factory farms and slaughterhouses. Krista also served as the President of the Board for Happily Ever Esther Farm Sanctuary for over five years, also now serves on several other Boards including One Protest, The Rancher Advocacy Program, Egg-Truth, and Dairy-Truth. Krista is also a member of Womxn Funders in Animal Rights. Prior to joining the Movement, Krista founded a boutique employment and labour law firm in Toronto where she consulted to employers across Canada and the U.S. for a decade, and before that she spent fifteen years in human resources including as the Vice President of HR for one of the largest software companies in the world.