From the US Department of Labor, an unpaid internship is legal only if all of these criteria are met (and I quote):
1. The internship, even though it includes actual operation of the facilities of the employer, is similar to training which would be given in an educational environment;
2. The internship experience is for the benefit of the intern;
3. The intern does not displace regular employees, but works under close supervision of existing staff;
4. The employer that provides the training derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the intern; and on occasion its operations may actually be impeded;
5. The intern is not necessarily entitled to a job at the conclusion of the internship; and
6. The employer and the intern understand that the intern is not entitled to wages for the time spent in the internship.
Labor laws in the United States were hard won, and we should not forget this. Along with minimum wage laws, they benefit all of us who must work to maintain our lives. So expecting someone to provide you free labor with no compensation for their efforts is not only immoral, it's illegal. If you work, you deserve to get paid. If you expect someone to work for you, you should be honored to be able to pay them reasonably for their time and effort.
The employer gets free labor. They're not going to report themselves. The unpaid intern gets resume padding. In order to stay competitive with other unpaid interns, they're not going to report the situation.
The people who are screwed the most are the ones that lose their competitive advantage because they can't afford unpaid internships.
I don't know for sure, but these rules may be different for non-profit and governmental entities because those organizations are in a bit of a different class.
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From the US Department of Labor, an unpaid internship is legal only if all of these criteria are met (and I quote):
1. The internship, even though it includes actual operation of the facilities of the employer, is similar to training which would be given in an educational environment;
2. The internship experience is for the benefit of the intern;
3. The intern does not displace regular employees, but works under close supervision of existing staff;
4. The employer that provides the training derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the intern; and on occasion its operations may actually be impeded;
5. The intern is not necessarily entitled to a job at the conclusion of the internship; and
6. The employer and the intern understand that the intern is not entitled to wages for the time spent in the internship.
(http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs71.htm)
Labor laws in the United States were hard won, and we should not forget this. Along with minimum wage laws, they benefit all of us who must work to maintain our lives. So expecting someone to provide you free labor with no compensation for their efforts is not only immoral, it's illegal. If you work, you deserve to get paid. If you expect someone to work for you, you should be honored to be able to pay them reasonably for their time and effort.
Why is this so difficult to understand?
The employer gets free labor. They're not going to report themselves. The unpaid intern gets resume padding. In order to stay competitive with other unpaid interns, they're not going to report the situation.
The people who are screwed the most are the ones that lose their competitive advantage because they can't afford unpaid internships.
Interesting none of these would apply to Congressional interns who are also unpaid, as well as those in the White House.
I wonder when the government will get around to investigating themselves?
I don't know for sure, but these rules may be different for non-profit and governmental entities because those organizations are in a bit of a different class.
Yes, and the internship referred to in the article above is for a non-profit.