Unpaid Interns: What You Need to Know
Many companies – especially startups – like the idea of using unpaid interns as free labor. This post discusses whether and how a California company can use unpaid interns.
Paid or Unpaid Interns vs. Employees
If individuals are interns under California law (as discussed below), then they need not be paid. Furthermore, they are not subject to other employment protections, because they are not employees.
If, on the other hand, individuals are determined to be employees, then they must be paid at least minimum wage.
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Should I pay employees or vendors first?
I answer questions on Avvo pretty regularly. From time to time, I will reproduce (perhaps with modest editing) some of the questions and answers here on my blog.
Question: If an employer has cash flow problems, who should be paid first: employees or vendors?
Answer: I see this situation as requiring analysis from both the business and the legal perspectives.
Business: I believe that employees are more important, and are less able to do without the money to which they are entitled, than (most) vendors, so I would pay employees first.
Legal: While either employees or vendors could bring suit against the employer, employees also would have the ability to file, at no cost, a wage claim with the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. In my opinion, DLSE investigation of a wage claim is worse than a lawsuit, so for this reason, too, I would pay employees first.
This blog does not provide legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. If you need legal advice, please contact an attorney directly.
