A few months ago I blogged about the ethical concerns surrounding unpaid internships in the article, Unpaid Internship: Is It Worth It?. This article, on legality, covers the other half of the controversy. New York Times sparked the debate last year in their article, The Unpaid Intern: Legal or Not, and it’s been a hot topic nationwide ever since.
The focus of the debate revolves around unpaid internships at for-profit companies. The following 6 points must be met in order for unpaid internships at for-profit companies to be legal according to federal law:
- The training (internship), even though it includes actual operation of the facilities of the employer, is similar to what would be given in a vocational school or academic educational instruction
- The training (internship) is for the benefit of the trainees (interns)
- The trainees (interns) do not displace regular employees, but work under their close observation
- The employer that provides the training derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the trainees (interns), and on occasion the employer’s operations may actually be impeded
- The trainees (interns) are not necessarily entitled to a job at the conclusion of the training (internship) period
- The employer and the trainees (interns) understand that the trainees (interns) are not entitled to wages for the time spent in training (internship).
What this means in plain English is that virtually every unpaid internship at a for-profit company is illegal. Why? Because it would be almost impossible for a company not to derive at least some “immediate advantage” (#4 above) from intern activity. Organizations must produce goods and services (producing “immediate advantage”) for their survival. Therefore why would interns be separated from this essential role? Answer: they’re not separated.
If all unpaid internships at for-profit companies are illegal, what should students do if they wish to pursue this type of internship? First of all, it’s unrealistic for students to try changing deep-rooted systems like this. Getting good experience matters more, and sometimes it may require volunteering time as an investment. After all, some industries refuse to pay interns because they don’t have to; industry competition may be fierce and jobs rare. Film, fashion, music, sports and entertainment industries are known to be this way. These industries consider “payment” to be industry exposure, contacts, insider access, and a foot-in-the-door. The federal government has threatened fines on companies that violate these laws, but large scale enforcement is hard to imagine in our current (or future) economy.
Most people who have spent a decent amount of time in the work world probably recognize that their path took multiple turns, sometimes into lesser known areas. Investing time and personal resources are often necessary steps to pursuing dreams.
