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This page provides references, links, documents and multiple sources of information on internship programming for employers. Learn what internships are, how they can be beneficial for your company, and why you should start your own internship program!

Basic Guidelines for Wisconsin Employers To Help Determine If A Work Experience Should Be Defined as an Internship

(Adapted from NACE)

To ensure that an experience—whether it is a traditional internship or one conducted remotely or virtually—is educational, and thus eligible to be considered a legitimate internship by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) definition, all the following criteria must be met:

  1. The experience must be an extension of the classroom: a learning experience that provides for applying the knowledge gained in the classroom. It must not be simply to advance the operations of the employer or be the work that a regular employee would routinely perform.
  2. The skills or knowledge learned must be transferable to other employment settings.
  3. The experience has a defined beginning and end, and a job description with desired qualifications.
  4. There are clearly defined learning objectives/goals related to the professional goals of the student's academic coursework.
  5. There is supervision by a professional with expertise and educational and/or professional background in the field of the experience.
  6. There is routine feedback by the experienced supervisor.
  7. There are resources, equipment, and facilities provided by the host employer that support learning objectives/goals.
  8. Student may not be supervised by other students

Legal Guidelines for Internships

The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) offered employers the following guidelines with respect to how internships are structured in its February 2015 NACE Journal

Compensation

NACE indicates that one of the biggest issues regarding internships continues to be the payment, or nonpayment, of interns. As many employers are aware, in May 2010, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a six-part test to determine if an employer is required to provide payment for an internship. Under this test, an employer is not required to pay an intern if these criteria are met:

  • The internship, even though it includes actual operation of the facilities of the employer, is similar to training that would be given in the educational environment;
  • The internship experience is for the benefit of the intern;
  • The intern does not displace regular employees;
  • The employer that provides the training derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the intern, and on occasion its operations may be impeded;
  • The intern is not necessarily entitled to a job at the conclusion of the internship; and
  • The employer and the intern understand that the intern is not entitled to wages.

Wisconsin employers are urged to evaluate these guidelines as they develop their internship programs

Employment Agreements

Some employers require interns to sign employment agreements when they begin their internship. These agreements explain the scope of duties and could include noncomplete, nonsolicitation, or nondisclosure provisions. Both the intern and the employer should have an attorney review the agreement to ensure they understand the legal requirements that come along with entering into these types of agreements.

NACE indicates that the validity of these agreements are an entirely different issue. In general, employment agreements are necessary if an employer wants to define the way an employee can be terminated, to specify the terms of severance, and to provide certain restrictions on employment. In most cases, an internship has a specific and defined time period so the only true need to have an intern sign an employment agreement is to protect the employer’s business interests.

Nondisclosure agreements

Nondisclosure agreements prohibit an intern from divulging an organization’s confidential information to other parties during while they are employed and after they leave the organization. In general, the intern agrees that he or she will not reveal anything the company considers confidential (e.g., customer lists or research and development plans). Since interns are often provided with unlimited access to an employer’s business, it is not unusual for a company to require interns to sign a nondisclosure agreement when they begin the internship.

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