Intern vs. employee—When do you pay interns the minimum wage rate?

Q          Minimum wage is going up to $17.20 per hour for federal contractors on January 1, 2024. Does this require interns to be paid at the federal minimum wage rate, as well, or are they an exception?

As with most legal questions, it depends. By way of background, the $17.20 figure stems from the Department of Labor’s (DOL) annual minimum wage percentage increase required for federal contractors pursuant to Executive Order 14026. Executive Order 14026 required the DOL to determine annual percentage increases using the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers and rounding to the nearest multiple of $.05. Using this procedure, the DOL determined that 2024’s minimum wage would be $17.20 per hour.

Generally, employees who perform work with covered federal contracts and who are also entitled to the minimum wage under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) are entitled to the increased minimum wage under Executive Order 14026. Thus, the answer to your question largely depends on whether an intern is an employee and entitled to the minimum wage prescribed by the FLSA.