Summer Hiring Guide to Hire Minors, Interns

Similarly, internships can also benefit both employers and student learners. While students can gain valuable knowledge for their future profession, employers can gain eager contributors and provide mentoring opportunities for current employees. A bonus is sometimes employers even hire an intern when they graduate, gaining an employee already familiar with coworkers and the business.

Are unpaid internships legal? In California, they can be, but as discussed more below, employers need to use caution and should consult with legal counsel when bringing on “unpaid” interns. Never try to fill a regular employment position with an unpaid intern simply because it’s cost effective. When employers use interns as a source of “free” labor, the law doesn’t look kindly upon them. Interns who do the same work as regular employees without pay or benefits have successfully sued employers for unpaid wages. And remember that interns — like all workers — are protected from harassment and discrimination.

The Basics of Employing Minors

California and federal laws stringently regulate the employment of minors — persons under the age of 18 — including the California Labor Code and Education Code and the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. Some general rules for employing children under 18 years old are:

• They may not work in certain industries or during certain hours of the day;
• They are restricted in the total number of hours per day they may work;
• Employers who hire minors must generally acquire work permits and comply with special recordkeeping requirements for them; and
• Minors must be paid in accordance with California’s minimum wage (and, in some limited instances, subminimum wage) requirements.

Minors are excluded from California’s child labor laws only if they have graduated from high school or obtained a graduation equivalency certificate. However, federal restrictions on hazardous occupations apply to all minors, regardless of graduation status.

And just as with any new hire, employers should introduce their young workers to their employee handbook and company policies, including providing a copy of their required harassment, discrimination and retaliation prevention policy, and obtaining an acknowledgment that the worker received and read it.

Obtaining Work Permits

With only very limited exceptions, employers must obtain work permits prior to employing minors. Permits are required year ‘round — even in summer when school is out.

California law requires employers to have two forms in place before a minor’s employment begins. The following steps must be taken:

• An employer and the minor must complete the first form, known as a Statement of Intent to Employ and Request for Work Permit — Form B1-1. The minor must complete Form B1-1, then the employer and the minor’s parent or guardian must sign it.
• File Form B1-1 with the superintendent for the school district in which the minor attends school. If the minor is visiting from out of town or out of state, the superintendent for the school district in which the minor resides will provide the necessary forms.
• The school district will issue the work permit (a Permit to Employ and Work — Form B1-4).
• Check to make sure the minor’s proposed work schedule complies with the hours on the permit.
• Keep track of the work permit’s expiration date. A permit expires five days after a new school year begins. Employers must obtain a new work permit every time they hire or rehire a minor.

Safety First

Keep in mind that May is “Safe Jobs for Youth Month” in California, so it’s a great time for employers to establish or evaluate their safe work habits for new team members.

Training young workers about safety is critical. Minors are forbidden from working in many hazardous occupations, but injuries can happen in many types of workplaces. The general California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) requirements for implementing an Illness and Injury Prevention Program apply, but beyond that, these tips from the Labor Occupational Health Program can help:

• Provide teens with clear instructions for each task and hands-on training for correct equipment use.
• Observe teens while they work and correct any mistakes.
• Encourage teens to let you know if they don’t understand the directions or if they have a problem.
• Emphasize the need to supervise teens to frontline supervisors who oversee them and make sure the supervisors themselves are setting a good example.

Recordkeeping Requirements and Penalties for Incorrectly Hiring Minors

Either school authorities or the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement may audit minors’ employment records — and failing to maintain work permits is evidence of illegally employing minors. Employers face a $500 fine for the first offense, with increasing penalties for subsequent offenses.

In addition to maintaining the standard recordkeeping requirements applicable to adult employees, like providing itemized wage statements, employers also must maintain records of all minors’ names, ages, dates of birth and addresses.

Plus, starting January 1, 2025, employers who conduct voluntary “social compliance audits” must post a clear and obvious link on their company website to a report listing the audit's findings regarding compliance with child labor laws.

Finally, employers that fail to follow workplace safety laws for minors face significant penalties. For example, employers that allow minors to work in hazardous occupations may incur $5,000 to $10,000 penalties for each infraction. In some instances, agencies may even criminally prosecute employers, enforcing up to six months of jail time for unlawful employment.

Intern Protections

Both California and federal law protect unpaid interns from being treated as unpaid employees and emphasize that the student must gain the most benefit from the arrangement — or be the “primary beneficiary.”

When determining whether an internship can be unpaid, federal law considers the following seven factors when applying the “primary beneficiary” test:

• The intern and the employer clearly understand that no compensation is expected. Any promise of compensation, express or implied, suggests that the intern is an employee — and vice versa.
• The internship provides training similar to that given in an educational environment, including the clinical and other hands-on training provided by educational institutions.
• The internship is tied to the intern's formal education program by integrated coursework or the receipt of academic credit.
• The internship accommodates the intern's academic commitments by corresponding to the academic calendar.
• The internship's duration is limited to the period in which the internship provides the intern with beneficial learning.
• The intern's work complements, rather than displaces, the work of paid employees while providing significant educational benefits to the intern.
• The intern and the employer understand that the internship is conducted without entitlement to a paid job at the internship's conclusion.

Like federal law, California law emphasizes that the internship must primarily benefit the intern, with the employer receiving no benefits — potentially even suffering minor losses for the internship.

A good rule of thumb: If you are hiring an intern for your benefit and not for the student’s educational purpose, you should pay them at least the minimum wage — and when in doubt, consult with legal counsel.

California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) also provides the following protections to unpaid interns and volunteers:

• Protections against harassment to unpaid interns and volunteers.
• Protections against discrimination in an unpaid internship or in another limited duration program that provides unpaid work experience.
• Extends religious belief protections and religious accommodation requirements to anyone in an apprenticeship training program, an unpaid internship or any other program to provide unpaid experience in the workplace or industry..

Employer Takeaways

Summer can be a great time for employers to hire seasonal employees — including minors — and unpaid interns, but employers should keep in mind:

• Make sure to follow all laws for employing minors, including workplace safety and harassment prevention.
• Follow all recordkeeping requirements for employing minors, including all required work permits.
• When offering unpaid internships, make sure the intern is the primary beneficiary under the “primary beneficiary” test.