While internships have only come into vogue in the past 20 years, today there is an expectation for students to have experience in their field, even if their work is minimal.
This sometimes leads to fierce competition among 20-somethings for the opportunity to work for free. This mind set has sparked a recent debate about regulations regarding unpaid internships.
Anyone who meets the definition of employee must be compensated, according to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. However, in a 1947 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court decided a person whose work serves only his or her own interest does not meet this definition. In lieu of this decision, the Department of Labor released an administrative letter ruling in 1974, which outlined six criteria that must be met if an internship is to be unpaid.
Patrick Donahue, director of the Career Development Center, said these guidelines, which were created more than 30 years ago, are vague given the prevalence of internships today. He pointed to the National Association of Colleges and Employers’ stance on the issue.
“Ideally they think for-profit internships should be paid, but we understand there are lots of other issues that are involved there, and especially with the DOL rules, there needs to be a lot more discussion at the Department of Labor to fine tune them and say ‘Ok, how do you actually define this?’” he said.
While many internships do meet these standards, recent debates have surfaced in regard to the distinction between internship and part-time job. Donahue said a lot of times, businesses — particularly those in the communications and entertainment industries — will call what is actually a part-time job an internship.
Read the full story at the Indiana Daily Student.
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