Comments on: Intern wanted

By: Jason

Jason — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:20:41 +0000

I worked four internships in college, two paid and two unpaid, two for credit and two not. It was a pretty matrix so that I got all four possible combinations. I can’t say that either pay nor class credit received had any real effect on my level of enjoyment, amount learned, or quality of work done. My unpaid not-for-credit was with a for-profit company, and I’m quite certain I wasn’t violating any work laws, as it was with a law office that specialized in fair wages and working condition for migrant laborers.

By: Cate

Cate — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 19:59:59 +0000

Ugh. Chainfactor. It is a time sucker!! But I love it.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 21:51:06 +0000

Thank you for the link to Chainfactor.com.

By: Erin Doland

Erin Doland — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 22:35:38 +0000

@Jen — I called an employment lawyer. In journalism school, we learned to call lawyers when investigating issues of the law. It is not irresponsible to say that it is a legal obligation when that is the information given to me by an employment lawyer of the state in which our business is registered. We at Unclutterer stand firm in our commitment against slave labor.

I have no desire to be locked up in prison, heavily sanctioned, or even investigated for violating a labor law — so even if it was poor advice, I see no reason not to insist that our interns receive college credit for their hard work.

By: Jen

Jen — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 21:44:38 +0000

Erin: Thanks for your reply. In the interest of good journalism, it’s inaccurate to say, “legally, you have to receive course credit since this is an unpaid internship,” because that’s not the federal law, nor is it the law in most (any?) states. If you look at this…
http://career.uhh.hawaii.edu/D.....elines.php
…you’ll see the criteria that the Department of Labor outlines for unpaid internships. I understand your lawyer’s anxiousness over the issue. But as a journalist myself (and one who works in the legal profession), I think it’s important to strive for accuracy in reporting, even if it is a job posting! I’m sure you don’t want all of the prospective interns who read this–even the ones who don’t come to work for Unclutter–to mistakenly believe that internship providers are legally required to provide them with college credit.

By: Courtney I

Courtney I — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 21:18:42 +0000

Also, the Federal government is allowed to have unpaid interns. I did an internship for the International Export Agency (part of the Department of Commerce) for free and for no course credit. Sigh.

By: Erin Doland

Erin Doland — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 19:59:14 +0000

@Jen — Most (all?) states have laws on their books against unpaid labor practices. These laws, as it has been explained to me, came about at the end of the Civil War as legal barriers to slavery. Our lawyer assures us that having college students do work for free and without getting course credit is a very, very bad idea.

My assumption — and this is just a guess — is that the laws are different between profit and non-profit organizations. Therefore, non-profits would be able to have volunteers, and that is how they can get around these laws.

By: angela

angela — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 19:48:51 +0000

I am still waiting for the chainfactor obbsession to go away. I don’t even want to tell you how long its been going..

By: Jen

Jen — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 19:15:06 +0000

Just out of curiousity, what law requires that unpaid interns receive college credit for their work? I was an unpaid intern and never heard of such a thing, and for years I employed unpaid interns–some of whom got college credit, others who didn’t–and never heard of such a law.

By: heatherly

heatherly — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 18:03:00 +0000

I so did not need to know about Chain Factor. What a complete time sucker. Thanks a lot! (now back to my new obsession…)

By: Slopy Joe

Slopy Joe — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 17:45:25 +0000

Don’t tell me about things like Chainfactor.com while I’m at work!! Now I’m not gonna get anything done….