Episode 106: All Things Internship

Paul: Hello. My name’s Paul Edwards, and welcome to the WTHJH podcast. You’re about to listen to an episode of “What the Hell Just Happened in HR?”.

I’m an HR nerd who loves to talk about HR with just about anyone who will listen. So, during each podcast, we’re going to delve into the solutions for dealing with a real-life HR issue. Plus, occasionally, we’re going to share some big-company, HR-strategy ideas.

Keep in mind that for every HR problem you solve, there are state, federal, and local laws that govern what we can and cannot do. And now, let’s get started.

Nora: Hi, Paul.

Paul: Hi, Nora.

Nora: How are you?

Paul: I’m good. What’s up?

Nora: You know, just HR, all day every day.

Paul: Love me some HR. Let’s do it.

[Nora laughs]

Nora: Okay, cool. So, I’ll just hop right in. This is a question we get a lot, especially recently. I think with COVID, we’re getting more internship questions and we’re getting more young adults wanting to do internships, so like high schoolers. So, this question is about a practice that got contacted by a school about a student who’s interested in the dental field, and they were asking if the practice would be willing to do a paid internship for this student, who is 16 years old. So, the question is, “Are there any legal issues, any HR implications?” And then a secondary question that we get a lot which is, “Can we draft an internship agreement for them?”

Paul: Right. Okay, so, let me answer the second one first. The answer to that is, “Yes.” You know, for the most part, it’s a standardized document that we have and it kind of covers a bunch of bases about HIPAA, and kind of puts you in the best position that you can be in. Because even if someone is an intern, you still have all the other responsibilities that you have with an employee that pretty much apply to them too. The agreement solidifies who is going to pay if this person gets injured at work. Is it going to go on workers comp, or is it going to go to the school’s workman’s comp. You know? Are they going to be trained in HIPAA because they see records? And it just covers all that. It’s almost like a guide to how to legally bring an intern in, if you can legally bring an intern in.

Okay, so you have a lot going on there. And the question… You started off with the paid internship. You took care of one really big issue Nora, which is it’s paid. So, we’re probably pretty safe to move forward with this internship. If I were going to throw something in on top of this, we also get these kinds of requests – Nora, you’ll verify – where it’s an unpaid internship that someone is trying to do and that has a different set of rules around it. And it has to do with the school, and it’s got to be an accredited program in order for it to be okay for you at the practice to participate in the program. There are a bunch of other rules. Do we need to go down the rabbit hole on all those other rules?

Nora: Yeah basically, there’s a seven-factor balancing test from the DOL, because, in order for you to have unpaid labor, it has to be… you have to meet a lot of criteria. And, basically, the idea is it just needs…the benefit of the internship is primarily for the student. It’s educational, not for the practice. And we don’t need to go down that rabbit hole because we’ve already said that this is paid. So, it’s not even technically an internship.

Paul: It really isn’t. And what I think it is, is okay. Except that they’re 16. So, now we need to look to state and possibly local law, but more likely state law. What does state law say about 16-year-olds working? Where does the permission have to come from? Do the parents have to be involved and sign off on this? And how many hours can they work? And, even – and I don’t think we’re going to have this problem inside of any kind of medical or dental practice – but, even the setting. We may not be able to allow, in certain states, a 16-year-old to work in manufacturing or something like that, because it’s dangerous. But again, this just comes back to doing a little bit of work – a little bit of HR work – and finding out what’s okay and what’s not okay for a 16-year-old, how many hours they can work, and then making sure that you do have some kind of document in place where we’re clear who is responsible for this employee and for this underage worker.

Nora: Yeah. So, that’s an important word that you use. Because they’re paid, they are technically your employee…

Paul: They’re going on payroll.

Nora: …they’re not an intern. So you would treat them pretty much like any other employee. You wouldn’t really need an internship agreement…

Paul: Good point!

Nora: …because they’re not an intern, they’re an employee. And…

Paul: Wait a minute, Nora tricked me, everybody!

[Nora laughs]

Paul: Everybody who’s listening, Nora tricked me and I just want to point that out! But, you know, that’s why Nora is who Nora is. She’s in compliance. But, that’s a very good point. No need for the agreement. Because, if we’re gonna hire…it’s not an intern. We’re going to hire them as an employee. They’re going to sign the employee handbook and we’re just gonna run them through the wringer just like we do everybody else. They’ll get the HIPAA training and be fully onboarded.

Nora: Exactly.

Paul: Alright. I don’t think we have anything else on this, right?

Nora: No.

Paul: Maybe we should get us some paid interns.

Nora: Maybe.

[Nora laughs]

Paul: I don’t know what they would do here, but we can figure it out.

Nora: Yeah, we’ve tried it, but not high schoolers. That would definitely add a whole other…

[Nora laughs]

Paul: Not high schoolers. We’re already… We have enough distractions with dogs and everything else. Okay, I think that’s everything we have on not-interns.

Nora: Right

Paul: Thanks, Nora.

Voiceover: Thanks for joining us for this week’s episode of What The Hell Just Happened?! If you have an HR issue or a question you’d like us to discuss on this podcast, send it to podcast@WTHjusthappened.com. For more HR advice and insights from Paul and his team of experts, you can also join our private Facebook group, HR Base Camp, or visit HRbasecamp.com.

Make sure to tune in next week. And remember, when you improve your workplace, you improve your life.

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