Regulators Investigating Unpaid Internships

theodp writes "With job openings scarce for young people, the number of unpaid internships has climbed in recent years, leading federal and state regulators to worry that more employers are illegally using such internships for free labor. Convinced that many unpaid internships violate minimum wage laws, officials in Oregon, California, and other states have begun investigations and fined employers. 'If you're a for-profit employer or you want to pursue an internship with a for-profit employer, there aren't going to be many circumstances where you can have an internship and not be paid and still be in compliance with the law,' said the acting director of the US Deptartment of Labor's wage and hour division."

Comments

Internships should always be paid

[Skyshadow]

I believe that internships are important. I was an intern at SGI back in the late '90s, and I still frequently think back to the things I learned working there and applying those lessons to my current career.

That established, I can also say without hesitation that tech internships aren't like apprenticeships -- you're generally not learning the skills you need to do a given job, but rather applying the skills you've already amassed.

Really, the benefit of internships is twofold: You learn how to operate in an environment where you're not simply taking instructions (like you would working a job at Subway or mowing lawns or answering support calls, the typical menial jobs you can get before college) but rather participating in the job and dealing with peers, managers, HR twits, etc. Second, and related to this, you're doing it to get it on your resume, proving that you've already been through the learning curve.

So getting back to my initial point, while an intern obviously may not be as effective as a 'regular' employee, interns are still generally 'earning their keep' from Day 1 by producing value for the company.

A critical part of any internship, then, ought to be learning to value your skills, to get an idea of what your services are worth. And unpaid internship, while still better than nothing, skips this lesson, and it really is a key one -- I know people who are 15 years into their career and still unable to realize they're wasting their time in a given position or with a particular employer.

Re:Internships should always be paid

[FooAtWFU]

Yeah.... a minimum wage of $7.50/hr or whatever California charges these days should not be a big deal for a software-related company, especially next to what they have to pay full-time employees. Heck, IBM was paying me $18.75/hr for an internship right after my sophomore year of college.

Re:Internships should always be paid

[haruharaharu]

Ok, in all honesty, IBM won't be worth pissing on in 20 years - they're done. As Billy said, IBM is run by accountants, so don't really expect anything new out of them.

*never* understood this practice

[mgkimsal2]

Really... never understood it. I get the idea of working 'cheap' to gain experience, and I understand volunteering. I also have offered to work at some places for a short time (week or so) to get a feel for the place. But I've never understood applying to ask to be considered to be approved to then go spend months of my life working for a company which is in the business of making a profit. I guess I never travelled in those sorts of circles where unpaid internships led to high-paying positions of immense money and power, which is why so many people would be lining up to do them.

If anyone would care to engage in some unpaid internships for me, let me know.

Re:*never* understood this practice

[Rivalz]

Some people even go as far to pay for education. And the best education is on the job training. Not to mention rubbing elbows with other people in the field.

I think it is a horrible practice and that any work needs to be compensated but I at least see the reasoning behind it.

Class discrimination too

[Mark_in_Brazil]

Unpaid internships are also an easy wayo make sure that only "the right people" (i.e., people from wealthy families) have a chance to get into certain fields. In some fields, it's hard to get hired without experience, and the only way to get the initial experience is through an internship. But there are a lot of people who can't afford to work without any income, so if only unpaid internships are available, only those lucky enough to have been born into wealth can break into those fields.

Re:Class discrimination too

[fermion]

To a point I agree with you. A wealthy person can easily take an unpaid internship. A wealthy person can also sit around and work at Starbuck's living off their trust fund. Or can just live a modest life off their trust fund without working. Such things do happen.

Sometimes the only way in for a person that was not born into a situation is through an unpaid internship or a low paid contract position, both of which are being limited to corporate abuse. This does not mean that they are useless, or that such deal is bad for a person who is not upper class.

For instance I volunteered my software development services in high school. It gave me experience writing production code, and every week there was a list of bugs and new features. This lead to some low paid positions, which lead to higher paid positions. I would have more money working at fast food, but that would not have taught me the skills I now use. Did I have to give up a lot to make this happen? Sure. Did my family have to sacrifice? Absolutely. I look at kids with thier $400 tennis shoes and their $300 media players and their cars,and know that thye deserve it because they work 30 hours a week after school for it. But what are they learning? To maximize short term profit? That sacrifice is worthless? What ever happened to dream that if we work had and sacrifice now, and get our degrees in math or science or engineering, the world will open up to us in the future. Now it is like if I can't buy my pair of Nikes,or my iPod, or upgrade my hard drive, life just is not worth living.

Re:Los Angeles and its entertainment industry

[musicalmicah]

This is going to hit that city like a brick in the face.

I don't think it will. These interns are hard to find by regulators, and when you do find them, they generally don't want to step on any toes. In my experience, interns that are willing to stick up for themselves leave within the first few days. The ones that get suckered into doing menial labor for a year tend to avoid badmouthing their first "employer."