Commentary: Unpaid Internships
By now, most BioJobBlog readers are aware that internships (paid or otherwise) have become a prerequisite at many companies to secure a full time employment. While I think internships are a great idea to jumpstart a career, not all internships are created equal or worth it. Put simply, it is up to the prospective intern to determine whether or not the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Nevertheless, according to a report by the College Employment Research Institute three-quarters of the 10 million American students enrolled at four year colleges and universities will work as an intern before graduating.
The increasing popularity of internships has been mainly promulgated by American colleges and universities who—according to Ross Perlin the author of “Unpaid Interns, Complicit Colleges”—have become “cheerleaders and enablers of the unpaid internship boom failing to inform young people of their rights or protect them from the miserly calculus of employers.” While Mr. Perlin’s comment may sound a little critical—especially to those who have either worked as unpaid interns or are slated to work as one this summer—he has a point both legally and morally. To wit, the United States Department of Labor says that an intern for a for-profit company may work without pay only when the program: 1) is similar to one offered in a vocational school; 2) benefits the student; 3) does not displace a regular employee and 4) does not entitle the student to a job. Further, the employer must derive “no immediate advantage” from the student’s work and both sides must agree that the student is not entitled to wages.
Interestingly, in an attempt get around the regulations, many fortune 500 firms and other companies have cut deals with some colleges and universities to offer its students equivalent college credit for the internship experience. “Not so fast” says the Labor Department; “academic credit alone does not guarantee that the employer is in compliance.” To overcome this objection, some colleges have actually asked interns to pay for the credits, thereby justifying an unpaid internship experience. While this may legitimate in some cases, Mr. Perlin laments:
“Charging tuition for students to work in unpaid positions might be justifiable in some cases—if the college plays a central role in securing the internship and making it a substantive academic experience. But more often, internships are a cheap way for universities to provide credit—cheaper than paying for faculty members, classrooms and equipment.”
In support of this, a recent survey of more than 700 colleges and universities found that 95 percent allowed the posting of unpaid internships in campus career centers and on college websites! And, only 30 percent required their students obtain credit for the unpaid internship experience. The remainder, according to Mr. Perlin: “evidently, were willing to overlook potential violations of US labor laws.”
An easy fix for the unpaid internship crisis would be for colleges not to publicize (or post) unpaid for-profit company internships. Further, many colleges and universities should eliminate the internship requirement for graduation. Finally, colleges and universities should stop charging students to work without pay—that is simply un-American!
Coincidentally, the unpaid internship trend coincides with other disturbing economic and labor trends like the growing numbers of adjunct professors, contract and temporary workers and freelancers who live paycheck to paycheck. Moreover, the growing push for unpaid internships eerily coincides with recent attempts by state governments to eliminate collective bargaining rights for public employee unions. Both are attempts to weaken organized labor and labor laws in this country. For those of you who may not know, it was the labor movement that abolished child labor, established a 40 hour work week, guaranteed overtime pay and provided workers with two weeks vacation each year.
Finally, colleges and universities and for-profit US companies that exploit college students as unpaid interns ought to be morally ashamed of themselves. College tuition is already expensive enough and most companies have the financial resources to pay their interns minimum wage. If a company can’t afford an intern’s nominal salary maybe that company shouldn’t be in business. To that I say, whatever happened to the quintessentially American ideal—“fair wages for honest work?”
Until next time...
Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!
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