The author means well be its clear he's part of a business culture that has ignored minimum wage laws for so long he no longer believes they even apply to internships. You can see this very clearly in his phrase: "While some nonprofits may be unable to pay their interns — even though they depend on their contributions of energy and know-ho". If an organization "depends on their contributions" then the intern must be paid at least minimum wage, there is no intern exception unless it is literally work that is useless to the organization - akin to a school project.
While enforcing these laws won't improve access, it will make it possible for the less affluent to be able to take these internships. Better enforcement is something the department of labor could do now, it has the law and the authority to do so already.
> While some nonprofits may be unable to pay their interns ...
> then the intern must be paid at least minimum wage, there is no intern exception unless it is literally work that is useless to the organization
What's the difference between an unpaid intern and a volunteer at a nonprofit?
Should nobody be allowed to volunteer skills at the Red Cross, or the Sierra Club, unless it is "useless to the organization" (which makes no sense, since you are... volunteering).
If you start enforcing this strictly, you're basically ruling that a whole class of NGOs does not have a right to exist powered by interest and volunteer labor.
> What's the difference between an unpaid intern and a volunteer at a nonprofit?
Broadly speaking, I see it like this: Your intern brings you coffee, whereas you bring your volunteers coffee.
An intern may start out doing low-skill, labor-intensive, and/or menial tasks with the expectation that they begin to learn the industry, gain skills and responsibilities, and possibly be offered a full time position.
A volunteer may also be doing low-skill, labor-intensive, and/or menial tasks, but without the explicit expectation of personal growth or career advancement. The volunteer is there because they want to help advance the cause of the organization (or because the judge let them off with community service...).
Of course in reality I have no doubt that there are situations that blur these lines.
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[ 1.9 ms ] story [ 22.6 ms ] threadWhile enforcing these laws won't improve access, it will make it possible for the less affluent to be able to take these internships. Better enforcement is something the department of labor could do now, it has the law and the authority to do so already.
> then the intern must be paid at least minimum wage, there is no intern exception unless it is literally work that is useless to the organization
What's the difference between an unpaid intern and a volunteer at a nonprofit?
Should nobody be allowed to volunteer skills at the Red Cross, or the Sierra Club, unless it is "useless to the organization" (which makes no sense, since you are... volunteering).
If you start enforcing this strictly, you're basically ruling that a whole class of NGOs does not have a right to exist powered by interest and volunteer labor.
Broadly speaking, I see it like this: Your intern brings you coffee, whereas you bring your volunteers coffee.
An intern may start out doing low-skill, labor-intensive, and/or menial tasks with the expectation that they begin to learn the industry, gain skills and responsibilities, and possibly be offered a full time position.
A volunteer may also be doing low-skill, labor-intensive, and/or menial tasks, but without the explicit expectation of personal growth or career advancement. The volunteer is there because they want to help advance the cause of the organization (or because the judge let them off with community service...).
Of course in reality I have no doubt that there are situations that blur these lines.