DOL provides guidance on home care workers and law firm internships

I remember back in the good old days, when law-firm internships meant private jets, caviar lunches and….toilet paper? As if!.

But now, times are tougher. Some firms find themselves forced to forego paying law students in lieu of offering volunteer pro bono opportunities to enable them to receive work experience. This recent advice letter from the Department of Labor sorts out the circumstances in which not paying these interns will pass muster on the Fair Labor Standards Act.

But the DOL wasn’t done there. Yesterday, it announced a final rule extending the Fair Labor Standards Act’s minimum wage and overtime protections to most of the nation’s workers who provide essential home care assistance to elderly people and people with illnesses, injuries or disabilities. There is also a new set of answer to Frequently Asked Questions here.