Introduction to SWSU
UW School of Social Work Practicum Program
Department of Labor Standards for Unpaid
Internships
Administrative Response from SSW & CSWE
Student Testimony
Where do we go from here?
Jooree Ahn
2nd Year MSW, 1st Year MPH
Ali Ojanen-Goldsmith
Recent MSW grad, 2nd Year MPH
Who is SWSU?
Major Concerns
Practicum Program:
What You Should Know
Worker?
Submit resume and undergo Perform regular duties of
formal interview process
practicum site
Comply with all site policies Mandated hours and
and procedures
attendance; typically 9-5
Financial gain for agencies
Student?
Sites are assigned
Required academic credit
Practicum Instructor
Learning Contract
Student Burden
Discrimination
Student reports: dismissal based on mental health status,
reporting legal action against intimate partner violence,
taking sick days
Sexual Harassment
Unclear what legal and institutional protections are in place
Injury
Students assume all risks for injury at their practicum site
Must sign liability waiver
Lack of Protection
Grievance Process
1) The internship, even though it includes actual operation of the facilities of the
employer, is similar to training which would be given in an educational
environment;
2) The internship experience is for the benefit of the intern;
3) The intern does not displace regular employees, but works under close
supervision of existing staff;
4) The employer that provides the training derives no immediate advantage
from the activities of the intern; and on occasion its operations may actually
be impeded;
5) The intern is not necessarily entitled to a job at the conclusion of the
internship;
6) The employer and the intern understand that the intern is not entitled to
wages for the time spent in the internship.
On paper
1) The internship, even though it includes actual operation of the
facilities of the employer, is similar to training which would be
given in an educational environment.
Clarifying language from the DOL:
structured around a classroom or academic experience as opposed to
the employers actual operations
Student experiences
Learning happens at the practicum site, not in a classroom.
Learning is centered on the employers actual operations.
On paper
2) The internship experience is for the benefit of the intern;
4) The employer that provides the training derives no immediate
advantage from the activities of the intern; and on occasion its
operations may actually be impeded;
Clarifying language from the DOL:
if the interns are engaged in the operations of the employer or are
performing productive work, then the fact that they may be receiving
some benefits in the form of a new skill or improved work habits will
not exclude them from the FLSAs minimum wage and overtime
requirements
Student experiences
Many students feel that practicum sites and the UW receive the
most benefit.
Health coverage reimbursement and client payment
Awarded grants and other funding sources developed by
students
Research, publications and creation of agency documents and
manuals
Strategic partnerships with UW built and strengthened by
practicum student labor
On paper
3) The intern does not displace regular employees, but works
under close supervision of existing staff;
5) The intern is not necessarily entitled to a job at the conclusion
of the internship;
Clarifying language from the DOL:
If an employer uses interns as substitutes for regular workers or to
augment its existing workforce during specific time periods, these interns
should be paid at least the minimum wage and overtime compensation for
hours worked over forty in a workweek. If the employer would have hired
additional employees or required existing staff to work additional hours
had the interns not performed the work, then the interns will be viewed as
employees and entitled compensation under the FLSA
Student experiences
On paper
6) The employer and the intern understand that the intern is not
entitled to wages for the time spent in the internship.
Student experiences
Practicum sites voluntarily paying students hourly wages.
Practicum sites unclear about legal liability and labor laws.
Practicum sites recognize that students are performing work that
would be paid otherwise.
The SSW Administration and the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE):
The college or university exercises oversight over the internship program and provides
educational credit.
The field education experience is supervised by social work program personnel; there is an
agreement between the program and the field site as well as a learning contract between the
student and the site.
The Social Work Field Education program is meant to be solely educational and provide training
to prepare the professional social worker. It is not meant to supplant or replace existing
employees of social work within the field education program site.
The field placement is meant to provide an educational and training opportunity to the social
worker and is not meant to provide any immediate advantage to the employer or the field site.
-CSWE response as circulated by UW SSW Administration
Student Voices
and
Student Testimony
union:
Supporters
Sponsors
Solidarity