Internships Abroad: Unpaid, with a $10,000 Price Tag

Post by jackmaney » Sat, Feb 07, 2015, 8:27 PM UTC

tomkinstinch wrote: post #30

jackmaney wrote: post #27

This should be criminal. Internships need to be paid positions. Period. Anything else is exploitation.

In most cases in the US, unpaid internships are illegal, unless they meet certain requirements of the Department of Labor[1]. It mostly boils down to a question of whether or not the employer is getting useful work out of the intern or not (though the rules are different for non-profits). I would guess that most EU countries have similar labor laws, but maybe someone with better knowledge can chime in. 1. http://www.…

Post by kszx » Sun, Feb 08, 2015, 5:34 PM UTC

jackmaney wrote: post #32

kszx wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are free to reject unpaid internships. You are also free to accept it. --> No coercion. --> No exploitation. In contrast, a law against unpaid internships restricts free choice.

I'll tell you what: assuming you're employed, why not just give up your salary and work for nothing? That's free choice, after all, right?