A Shocking Number Of Unpaid Internships Could Be Illegal

[UrbScotty]

Legal experts are warning of a wave of unpaid intern lawsuits after a judge found that two Fox Searchlight production interns were not compensated legally.

It turns out it is really hard to meet all of the legal requirements for an unpaid internship.

...

"I highly recommend that students become familiar with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)," says Lauren Berger, founder and CEO of Intern Queen, an online resource for finding internships and author of "All Work, No Pay." "Do your homework. Go to the FLSA website and take the unpaid intern test."

Here are the six criteria from the Department of Labor, all of which an unpaid internship must pass in order to be legal.

http://www.businessinsider.com/is-my-unpaid-internship-illegal-2013-6#ixzz2X9sXYpi4

This is a good reference. Make sure to pass this on to everyone you know who is interning somewhere or who is young.

[KamaAina]

1. Unpaid internships prop up privilege

as do absurdly low-paying entry-level jobs.

Look in the NYT. There's an entire category for "college grads". Few of them pay as much as $30K. In NYC.

Who can afford to take them? Trust fund kids whose Mumsy and Daddy can co-sign for the apartment.

Who gets their foot in the door? Trust fund kids whose Mumsy and Daddy can co-sign for the apartment.

Who ends up dominating fields like media, publishing and advertising? Trust fund kids whose Mumsy and Daddy can co-sign for the apartment.

[NJCher]

2. yeah, and it doesn't help

that people like Jenna Bush and Chelsea Clinton get on-air special assignments on networks like NBC. Both these two get choice assignments.

It just speaks to the fact that media communication jobs are reserved for the privileged.


Cher

[HiPointDem]

4. +1. journalism departments closing, who needs them when elite progeny can fill those slots

without specialized training?

journalism = passe'

[HiPointDem]

3. +1