Stipends, which are typically paid to an individual to help cover housing and other living expenses, may only be paid to non-employees. Conversely, a wage may only be paid to employees. If your internship or fellowship satisfies the “primary beneficiary” test by primarily benefiting you, rather than the employer, you may receive a stipend. However, if the internship or fellowship provides more of a benefit to the employer, then you may be considered an employee who is entitled to minimum wage and overtime pay.
It depends. If you are an intern providing non-manual services to a charitable, religious, educational, or other such organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the IRS Tax Code, you are exempt from mandatory coverage. However, interns working for these organizations may still volunteer for coverage.
Generally, externships provide academic credit for their externs, while internships provide experience. However, the title of the experience is less relevant to courts than what the experience entails when courts are determining whether the internship/externship should be paid or not.
"An April 2020 survey of college students by College Reaction found more than one-third, 38%, saw their internships or post-graduate jobs canceled. Whatever the reasoning behind them, internship cancellations had a "super harmful" financial impact on those who graduated last spring."
–Ryan Golden | HR Dive
from Small Biz Genius