Takeaway: This case represents a victory for employers operating unpaid training programs that provide trainees with valuable practical experience and training despite also providing some benefit to the entities. The 11th Circuit's opinion also has important lessons for entities that operate unpaid training programs; these lessons include the importance of establishing the educational value of an unpaid training program and communicating that trainees or interns should have no expectation of pay or a job following the completion of the training.
This case also provides clarity on the applicability of the FLSA's internship exception to public agencies—namely, that a public agency may argue that an individual qualifies as either a volunteer or an intern.
When classifying individuals as interns or trainees under the FLSA's internship exception, employers should remember that differences in the facts might result in a different outcome.
In addition, employers with unpaid training programs must ensure that they comply with applicable state laws, which may be different from the FLSA, and with any differing interpretations of the exemption by federal courts in other applicable jurisdictions.
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) did not require a public agency to pay wages to a participant in its training program for autopsy forensic photography because she was an intern, not an employee, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled.
The plaintiff filed a lawsuit in the U.S....
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