Although allowing a budding chef to “stage” in a restaurant is a long-standing tradition, using an unpaid stage in California is recipe for a wage-and-hour claim.  In this article we explore how even a short shift creates long exposure for California restauranteurs. 

Allowing an individual to stage whether under the guise of a trial shift, working interview, or unpaid internship—raises acute wage-and-hour and liability concerns. In short, an unpaid stage is permissible in California only if the arrangement qualifies as a bona fide internship under the state’s stringent interpretation of the federal “primary beneficiary” framework, which California applies narrowly. To be lawful, the arrangement must primarily benefit the intern, not the restaurant.