Intake Brief
Intake Brief: Unpaid Intern or Employee The FLSA Internship Test and Back Pay
A labor and employment intake brief focused on intake, evidence, claim routing, and issue review for "Unpaid Intern or Employee? The FLSA Internship Test and Back Pay".
At a glance
Intake Brief: Unpaid Intern or Employee The FLSA Internship Test and Back Pay: intake map
Three topics to organize before an employment-law case review.
Triage Focus
Use this brief for protected activity, leave, accommodations, investigations, unsafe conditions, retaliation, and employee-status questions.
Intake Questions to Ask
Ask what right the worker exercised, when the employer learned about it, what changed afterward, whether the worker is still employed, and whether any agency or internal deadline i
Evidence to Request
Request HR complaints, leave requests, accommodation paperwork, policy documents, schedules, discipline, investigation notices, pay records, and communications with management.
Triage Focus
Use this brief for protected activity, leave, accommodations, investigations, unsafe conditions, retaliation, and employee-status questions. The employee-facing source topic centers on interns can be employees. Keep the analysis tied to workplace claims, protected rights, employer conduct, deadlines, and provable damages rather than general document drafting or deal advice.
Intake Questions to Ask
Ask what right the worker exercised, when the employer learned about it, what changed afterward, whether the worker is still employed, and whether any agency or internal deadline is pending.
Evidence to Request
Request HR complaints, leave requests, accommodation paperwork, policy documents, schedules, discipline, investigation notices, pay records, and communications with management.
Blog-Specific Signals
Key employee-facing signals to translate into intake review: The Fair Labor Standards Act can require minimum wage and overtime for an intern who is really an employee; The Department of Labor and many courts ask who benefits more from the arrangement, the intern or the employer; An internship tied to school credit is not automatically unpaid-legal. Confirm which of these facts are supported by documents and which still need witness or agency corroboration.
Routing Notes
Route based on the underlying right involved: FMLA, ADA, retaliation, whistleblower, OSHA, employee classification, or state-law protection. Use this resource for employment-claims intake, litigation screening, agency-preservation analysis, and dispute evaluation.
Primary Sources
These official sources support the employee-facing topic behind this intake brief. They do not determine the facts, coverage, deadlines, or law for a specific matter.
- U.S. Department of Labor Fact Sheet #71: Internship Programs Under the Fair Labor Standards ActAccessed November 12, 2026
- 29 U.S.C. 206: Minimum wageAccessed November 12, 2026
- 29 U.S.C. 216: Penalties and employee suits for unpaid wagesAccessed November 12, 2026
- 29 U.S.C. 255: Statute of limitations for wage claimsAccessed November 12, 2026
Intake Note
These briefs are operational resources for labor and employment intake. They are designed to help teams collect the right facts before matter evaluation.