Not the right task for an intern.
An important step was made toward
breaking down the intern economy, with a federal district judge ruling that Fox Searchlight Pictures violated minimum wage laws by not paying interns on the movie
Black Swan:
Eric Glatt and Alexander Footman, production interns on “Black Swan,” sued Fox Searchlight in September 2011. In the suit, Mr. Glatt and Mr. Footman said they did basic chores, usually undertaken by paid employees. Like their counterparts in other industries, the interns took lunch orders, answered phones, arranged other employees’ travel plans, tracked purchase orders, took out the trash and assembled office furniture.
“I’m absolutely thrilled,” said Mr. Glatt, who has an M.B.A. from Case Western Reserve University. “I hope that this sends a very loud and clear message to employers and to students doing these internships, and to the colleges that are cooperating in creating this large pool of free labor — for most for-profit employers, this is illegal. It shouldn’t be up to the least powerful person in the arrangement to have to bring a lawsuit to stop this.”
Unpaid internships not only allow companies to avoid hiring paid workers, but provide a route into many desirable fields of work that's not available to young people who can't afford to work for free.
And more: