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 But lawsuits are mounting that claim the often unpaid
positions violate U.S. labor laws, prompting experts to call for
changes.
Actresses and fashion designers Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen were
the latest high-profile employers to be hit with a lawsuit when
a former intern at their company filed a case last week.
Shahista Lalani claims she worked 50 hours a week for Dualstar
Entertainment Group and was not paid. The company has said the
allegations are groundless.
Similar cases have been filed by disgruntled interns since 2011,
when Eric Glatt and Alexander Footman launched their lawsuit
against Fox Searchlight Pictures claiming it had violated
minimum wage laws.
In March, media and entertainment company Viacom Inc agreed to
pay $7.2 million to end a class action lawsuit by former
interns.
The U.S. Department of Labor has issued rules for private-sector
companies to meet when offering unpaid internships. It
stipulates the work must be educational, beneficial and
supervised and that the employer derives no advantage from it.
But Diana Furchtgott-Roth, an author and former chief economist
at the U.S. Department of Labor, said the rules are unfair and
need to be changed.
"It makes it practically impossible for a for-profit company to
get an unpaid intern without the risk of being sued," she said
in an interview, adding that Congress and the White House both
offer unpaid internships.
"If it is wrong to hire an unpaid intern at a for-profit, it
should be wrong to hire one at a non-profit too," she said.
GLAMOUR INDUSTRIES, UNFAIR ADVANTAGE
For many young people, internships are their only way to get
into the workforce.
Lisa Echenique, a 22 year-old New Yorker, completed three
internships in the fashion and retail industry. One was paid and
she received college credit for the other two.
"It gave me a good sense of what my future would look like," she
said, adding the experience was beneficial although she thinks
all interns should be paid.
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But Furchtgott-Roth said paying all interns would further limit the
number of internships available, which would hamper young people's
chances of getting their dream job.
She believes the Labor Department should issue new guidelines making
all internships - both in non-profits and the private sector -
unpaid. They should also be limited to three months to protect an
intern from being exploited.
"By the end of three months, you've learned what the workplace is
like and you've got some experience," she explained.
Opponents argue that unpaid internships foster class divisions and
an opportunity gap because lower-income students cannot afford to do
them.
Robert Shindell, vice president and chief learning officer at the
college recruiting, consulting and research firm Intern Bridge, said
the majority of unpaid internships are in so-called glamour
industries, such as fashion, music, television, media and
journalism, and not other sectors.
His solution would be for all employers to pay interns the minimum
wage.
"Why in our society would we not pay someone for work that they
do?," Shindell asked. "I think it is part of our moral fabric of who
we are as a society. You do work and with that work you get paid a
minimum wage."
John Balitis, a Arizona-based attorney at Fennemore Craig who has
advised companies about internships, suggests the Congress would be
best placed to address the uncertainty and controversy about
internships.
"If Congress took some action it would resolve the confusion about
the whole area," he added.
(Editing by G Crosse)
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