Bill would require government and nonprofit Washington employers to pay interns
Employers in Washington state could soon be required to pay interns under a new bill proposed in the Legislature.
On Monday, the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee held a public hearing for Senate Bill 5327, legislation sponsored by Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Des Moines.
The legislation would require state and local government agencies, as well as educational, charitable, and non-profit organizations that get funding from the public to pay interns the state minimum wage.
Keiser said she proposed the legislation to make internships more equitable and accessible for those who cannot afford to take unpaid positions to pursue their dreams and advance in their professions.
“This is, I believe, a modest attempt to open that door to that conversation,” said Keiser, who is chair of the committee.
Susan Jones, Senate committee staff, noted during the hearing that interns who are enrolled at colleges out of state would be paid under the proposal if they intern in Washington.
Currently under the Fair Labor Standards Act, for-profit companies must pay employees, but because interns and students are not defined as “employees,” they are not required to be paid under the FLSA, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Washington’s laws are similar.
Keiser’s proposal defines interns as those who are “enrolled in an in-state or out-of-state institution of higher education; participating in an internship to gain job experience or clinical or other hands-on training, that is for the intern’s primary benefit; and not displacing employees.”
Farm interns under farm internship programs are not included, according to the bill.
Only one person testified in support of the legislation.
Bernal Baca, executive director of Mi Centro in Tacoma, said he supports the bill for many reasons, including the fact that he himself was once an intern.
Baca noted that he has paid interns as well as unpaid interns who work for his nonprofit. The unpaid interns are designated to the organization by their school, he added. He said the unpaid interns struggle because they provide “wonderful services” but at the same time have families they need to provide for.
Even though interns may get college credit, Baca said he doesn’t believe unpaid internships meet the standard of fair employment.
Others testified against the measure.
Bob Battles, a lobbyist for the Association of Washington Business, told the committee that the agency does not support the bill but that they “appreciated the intent.” He said the agency has concerns about the actual implementation of the proposal, including making interns subject to the Minimum Wage Act.
If interns are subject to the MWA, they would then be subject to other “subparts,” he claimed, such as workman’s compensation benefits.
“Basically, you’re making them employees — they’re no longer interns,” Battles said.
The Washington Hospital Association also testified against the bill.
Washington’s current minimum wage is $15.74 an hour, with higher rates in some places such as Seattle and SeaTac.
If passed, the legislation would go into effect 90 days after the session adjourns.
