Legality of an extended internship?

Parents Forum
1

<p>I’m a regular poster under a different name for the sake of anonymity, and I was hoping to get some advice from parents about my employment situation.</p>

<p>I’m a recent college grad, and while I had post-grad plans lined up abroad, they fell through over the summer. That left me trying to find a FT job. Without going into the specifics of my academic background, I decided to do an internship with a company in a relevant industry. I was interviewing for several positions at the time, and the internship sounded like a great learning experience. Since it was the first thing to come through, I took it. At the time of acceptance, I was told that they would discuss FT opportunities at the end of the internship. I should note that it is a paid internship, so it’s not a compensation issue. </p>

<p>The end date of my internship was back in November. My boss told me that they would have to extend the internship, since they weren’t sure whether they could offer me a FT job right then (what I had been hired to do wasn’t exactly taking off, so I understood their POV). I didn’t sign a new contract after the original one expired, but I am still paid at the same rate. </p>

<p>I asked my boss again a couple of weeks ago about my future at the company and was then told that my position, though called an internship, was structured (compensation-wise) as a contract position. She said that if I were to convert to FT, my salary would be lower than my current comp due to benefits. She also mentioned that the company would only be able to keep my position as an internship for so long before they would have to consider certain legal issues (but my boss herself doesn’t seem very familiar with these employment laws, so I don’t know how accurate the information is), but she did say she saw me staying with the company in the longterm (FT position or not). She said she’d ask about converting me to FT in January, but I haven’t heard mention of this recently. </p>

<p>My parents have been urging me to continue looking for a FT position–they’re concerned about the impact of being an intern for too long. At the same time, I think the company feels that it’s doing me a favor because the compensation is very generous. At this point, I feel like I’m in limbo because despite what my boss says about my longterm prospects, I would feel a lot better if this actually turned into a job or if they could give me a definitive end date. I’m also beginning to worry about the legal issues, if any. I don’t want to be inadvertently led into a questionable situation that would affect my employability down the line.</p>

<p>So, if you made it through all that, thank you, and I really would appreciate advice on how to handle this situation.</p>

<p>Edit: I should probably mention that I’ve been with the company for a total of 4 months now.</p>

2

<p>I am an HR professional, and I don’t see any concerns here for you, other than whether you are letting the possibility of this position turning into regular employment keep you from looking for another opportunity. </p>

<p>The company is treating you as a contract worker. They may have potential liability to the IRS for taxes, etc. if the position doesn’t meet the IRS criteria for an independent contractor. Are they paying your wages through a temporary or contract agency which is deducting taxes from your checks? If not, you’ll need some advice about your tax situation.</p>

<p>The concern the manager mentioned is probably around keeping temporary or contract workers for long periods of time. Microsoft and several Western Washington government agencies got into trouble with this several years ago, and they and other companies are very cautious now about making clear distinctions between employees and contractors/temps. Google combinations of microsoft, permatemps, city of seattle, king county to see new stories about this. </p>

<p>If you like this company, and the potential full time job, I don’t think you need to worry about what this looks like on your resume, but you should continue to look for other opportunities in case it doesn’t work out.</p>

3

<p>My organization hires interns every summer and some are extended, assuming the intern is willing to extend. Given the state of the economy, I would suspect your company is trying to figure out where your FT position will land come Q1. So be happy your employed, keep looking for a better opportunity and let your current company work it out on their end (because it sounds like your boss likes you or they wouldn’t have extended your employment … trust me on that). The best scenario for you is that you find another great opportunity and your current employer figures out what they want to do … you then have options and options are good.</p>

<p>Good luck and Happy New Year!!</p>

4

<p>Thanks, AmicaMom and CatnPhx, for your input so far. I definitely feel grateful for the employment, especially for one that draws directly on my liberal arts background. And I do think my resume is the stronger for it. </p>

<p>To answer a few questions, I filled out a W-2 at the beginning of employment, so all taxes, SS, and Medicare costs are deducted accordingly (i.e. I’m paid as an employee/intern of the company). This position was very clearly labeled as an internship, and the contractor-like issue wasn’t raised until I asked my boss about my status at the beginning of December. This is still a pretty small company, and I think I was hired before there was even an official HR person, so I have a feeling some of this may simply be due to lack of organization. (At the risk of beating a dead horse, so it’s all right that I haven’t signed any new contracts to indicate that my internship was extended?)</p>

<p>I’m glad to hear, though, that everything is above-board right now. I guess it was just the ambiguous nature of the position that confused me (am I an intern or a contractor?). The question of looking for another job has been troubling me, since I have been verbally reassured by my boss that my position is stable. </p>

<p>And yes, happy new year!</p>

<p>Edit: I realized that I may have caused confusion in my OP when I said the compensation was contractor-like in nature. What I meant was by the amount and the fact that it’s a weekly rate, not by how I’m paid in terms of taxes and such. Does that change any of the above answers?</p>

5

<p>You are in an enviable position where no matter what you do, you will be praised.</p>

<p>No one can fault you if you continue to look for a more secure and permanent position.
If you stay in your current position, you are wanted.
You are gaining experience.
Pay is good in comparison to fulltime position. See my rant/rave in Nov/dec 2011. I’ll try to find it.</p>

6

<p>You are in an enviable position where no matter what you do, you will be praised.</p>

<p>No one can fault you if you continue to look for a more secure and permanent position.
If you stay in your current position, you are wanted.
You are gaining experience.
Pay is good in comparison to fulltime position. See my rant/rave in Nov/dec 2011. I’ll try to find it.</p>