With the financial crisis still affecting job growth across the nation, unpaid internships are increasingly becoming college students’ guarantees for jobs after their studies are done. This isn’t news to colleges or businesses, some of which are offering the internships in response to an outpouring of interest. This has left many to question if employers are infringing on their employees’ labor rights. While it’s exploitative of businesses to take advantage of desperate students, it seems as if colleges are rarely blamed for their involvement.
An article in The New York Times on Sunday highlighted the tendency of American universities to promote unpaid internships through credit obtainment or even websites such as Boston University’s own CareerLink. At BU, students have to pay money to enroll in an internship credit hour.
Paying money for employment that has now become fundamental to the college experience places students in a difficult position: either they can refuse to pay or bite the bullet and get a head start on fellow competitors.
By collaborating with colleges, companies can get away with offering internships for credit and negating payment entirely. It’s a manipulative partnership that should be corrected while ensuring the prestigious nature of internships remains intact. While it’s good that these opportunities have been created for young people to explore their possible career choice, no organization or school should abuse their position.
Massachusetts officials should follow in the steps of state investigators in Oregon and California as they continue to contemplate the legality of unpaid work. As of now, unpaid internships are straddling the line between legal and unethical. Federal and state laws should be revised to establish a cohesive understanding of the conditions under which people can truly benefit from an apprenticeship without compensation.
It’s understandable that some businesses might not be in the financial position to hire interns and pay them well in this economic climate. But colleges such as BU have no excuse to contribute to their students’ debt under the guise of alluring internships.
If anything, universities should be warning against advantageous employers. Even BU’s one-credit program is indicative of the administrators’ poor understanding of the job market.
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