Unpaid intern ranks growing

As the Associated Press reported, the idea of hiring unpaid interns this summer has become very appealing to small-business owners contending with a difficult economy. An extra worker, even an inexperienced one, can be a big help to a company that can’t afford to hire a regular staffer. But business owners must be sure they don’t take on interns only to save money. Federal labor laws say that internships should be for the benefit of the interns, not the employers. Summer interns are common at public relations firms. Interns who are in school want hands-on experience before they graduate, while recent grads are looking to build their résumés. Company owners often look at internships as tryouts for a permanent job. O’Connell & Goldberg, a PR firm in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., hasn’t been able to hire full-time staffers the past few months, so having two unpaid interns this summer will help fill the gap. Owners who take on unpaid interns should be familiar with the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, which details the criteria that an internship must meet for the intern to not be paid. Under the act, an intern must receive training similar to that offered in a vocational school. The training must be for the benefit of the intern. The intern must not displace, or do the work of, a regular employee. The law also states an employer must receive no immediate advantage from what an intern does. The labor law also says an unpaid intern is not necessarily entitled to a job at the end of the internship. And, finally, both the intern and the employer understand the intern is not entitled to wages. Interns who get college credit but not pay are covered by the School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994, which requires an intern be in a planned program of job training that’s coordinated with school-based learning. He or she should perform tasks and activities that build upon one another, increase in complexity and help the intern master basic skills and be exposed to all aspects of the industry.