Are Unpaid Internships Exploitative?

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Internships that offer no salary and involve any work benefiting the company are deemed illegal under Department of Labor regulations. The discussion highlights concerns about the exploitation of interns, particularly those working for college credit without compensation. Even minor tasks performed by unpaid interns can classify the internship as illegal. It is estimated that a significant percentage, possibly 40%, of internships may not comply with legal standards.
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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.
 
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gravenewworld said:
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.
 
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DrummingAtom said:
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.
 
Yup, I've read that probably 40% of all internships, at the least, are done illegally.
 

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