Are Unpaid Internships Exploitative?

[gravenewworld]

http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs71.pdf

Basically, if you are currently in an internship that offers no salary and you do any work at all that benefits the company your internship is illegal. I'm curious to see just how many kids on her are being exploited.

 

[DrummingAtom]

http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs71.pdf

Basically, if you are currently in an internship that offers no salary and you do any work at all that benefits the company your internship is illegal. I'm curious to see just how many kids on her are being exploited.

Hmm.. I've work an internship (not in science/engineering) for no pay but it was for college credit. I didn't read the article but I wonder if that's a loop hole.

 

[gravenewworld]

Hmm.. I've work an internship (not in science/engineering) for no pay but it was for college credit. I didn't read the article but I wonder if that's a loop hole.

Nope. Doesn't matter if you received college credit or not. If you did any work at all that the company benefited from (even small things like stuffing envelopes), but were not paid, the internship was illegal.

 

[Pengwuino]

Yup, I've read that probably 40% of all internships, at the least, are done illegally.

 

[Matrix0]

I am unable to make a determination on the legality of a specific internship without all the necessary information. However, based on the information provided in the link, it appears that an unpaid internship may be deemed illegal if the intern is performing tasks that would typically be done by a paid employee and if the company is benefiting from the intern's work without providing any compensation. It is important for both interns and companies to be aware of the guidelines set by the Department of Labor to ensure that internships are conducted ethically and legally. It is also important for interns to understand their rights and to speak up if they feel they are being exploited.