Medical Insurance
Individuals who serve as unpaid interns or volunteers are not entitled to receive medical insurance. For-profit employers should ensure any individual treated as an unpaid intern satisfies all requirements that would allow an intern to be unpaid. The failure to offer required medical coverage due to improper classification as an unpaid intern may result in employer liability. Such liability may take the form of paying for the health care costs incurred by an eligible employee during the period that the employer failed to provide coverage, as well as fines for non-compliance with applicable law (Haw. Rev. Stat. §§ 393-24, 393-33 – 393-34).
Workers’ Compensation
Unpaid interns and volunteers may be covered by Hawaii’s workers’ compensation law. However, Hawaii law expressly states that “employment” for purposes of workers’ compensation law does not include service for a religious, charitable, educational, or nonprofit organization if performed in a voluntary or unpaid capacity. Specifically, while such individuals would not be entitled to monetary benefits because they don’t earn any wages from the company, they may nevertheless be entitled to benefits to cover medical treatment for a work-related injury.
Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI)
Unpaid interns and volunteers are not covered by TDI law.