Many entertainment businesses offer college students the
opportunity to hold a summer intern position. These can be rewarding for the
college student as well as provide some help to the business. Most States now
require these positions to be paid. Before you bring that person on board, make
sure your business is well prepared.
- Have a clear job description, hours, and line of authority.
- Check to see if there are any state regulations that might be impacted.
- If you offer a paid internship, you will need to treat the intern like any other employee.
- If the internship is a paid position, don’t forget about workers’ compensation.
- Make sure you comply with Healthcare Reform relating to employee benefits.
- Make sure the intern understands they are not entitled to “regular” company benefits, i.e. retirement, insurance, vacation, etc.
- The internship must provide similar training that would be given in an educational environment.
- There must be a “true” benefit for the intern.
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Unpaid internships for for-profit companies are
subject to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Fair Labor Standards Act. There are
provisions if you offer educational credit. Here is a link to the U.S. Department of
Labor.
We recommend you check with the department of labor to make
sure your program meets all of the requirements. There have been many businesses who have
been sued as a result of improper internship programs.
The staff at John Hart Insurance has over 60 years combined
experience in the field of entertainment insurance. We focus exclusively on understanding the
unique needs of motion picture, television, video, music and theatrical
companies. This knowledge base allows us
to structure an insurance program specifically for each client that will be a
balance of the best coverage and most economical solutions to help them manage
the risks inherent to their unique businesses.
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