Among many other things, summer brings a wave of high school, college, and graduate students connecting with employers to gain valuable, hands-on experience through internship programs.

Sherrie Gong Taguchi, consultant and principal of Career Inspirations advises employers to follow eight steps to develop or strengthen an existing internship program:

1. Clarify the program’s purpose.
2. Integrate the program with other efforts at targeted schools.
3.  Offer real, meaningful work to the interns.
4. Use the company’s best people as recruiters and mentors.
5. Create opportunities for the interns to interact with key people across the organization.
6. Give interns an up-close look at and feel for the company.
7. Provide timely feedback and offers.
8. Incorporate interns in the company’s on-campus recruiting efforts.

One concern of internships is whether they are paid or not. Employers that may view the value of work experience as the quid pro quo for the “work” being done by the intern must design the activities the intern performs so that the “primary benefit” is for the intern and not the employer.

The U.S. Department of Labor uses a seven-factor test to determine which party – employer or intern - the internship primarily benefits.

Akerman LLP’s Blog provides those tests in its article, The Do’s and Don’ts of Internships.

1. The extent to which the intern and the employer clearly understand that there is no expectation of compensation.
2. The extent to which the internship provides training similar to the training provided in an educational environment, including clinical and other immersive training provided by educational institutions.
3. The extent to which the internship relates to the intern’s formal education program, whether through integrated coursework or the receipt of academic credits.
4. The extent to which the internship accommodates the intern’s academic commitments by aligning with the intern’s academic calendar.
5. The extent to which the internship’s duration is limited to the period in which the internship provides the intern with beneficial learning.
6. The extent to which the intern’s work complements, rather than displaces, the work of paid employees while providing significant educational benefits to the intern.
7. The extent to which the intern and the employer understand that the internship is conducted without entitlement to a paid job at the conclusion of the internship.

Keep in mind that individual states may have their own additional factors or may have different factors to consider.

Michigan does not have a specific law governing internship programs, so Michigan employers would follow the federal guidelines per above.

If the work primarily benefits the employer – especially when it involves minors being paid for summer jobs – Michigan’s Youth Employment Standards Act (YESA) applies. With some exceptions, this law covers workers under 18. It requires minors to obtain a work permit or have a training agreement completed by their school district and employer. Employers may pay minors 85% of the state’s minimum wage, which is currently $12.48 per hour. Work hour limits vary based on the minor’s age.

Employers that employ minors in MI should also display the Youth Employment poster from the state.

For more information on the employment of minors in Michigan, ASE members can research Michigan and other state’s youth employment laws though CCH AnswersNow, Zywvave HR Services Suite, or call our Hotline at 248-223-8057.

Sources:

Lexology. Akerman LLP Blog. The Do’s and Don’ts of Internships (6/5/25)

CCH AnswersNow Expert Guidance: Eight Steps To Effective Internship Programs