Standards for Internships

For an employer to legally employ unpaid interns, the work that the interns do must meet all of the following criteria, according to the U.S. Department of Labor:

From an article in Photo District News:

Q&A: Alan Koral on Internships and Labor Law

1. 1. It must be educational in nature, similar to college or vocational courses.
2. 2. It must primarily benefit the intern.
3. 3. It must be done under close supervision of a manager, and cannot be work that would otherwise be done by a paid employee.
4. 4. The employer can derive no immediate advantage or profit from it.
5. 5. The employer cannot offer any promise of a paid job at the end of the internship, although employers are free to offer jobs afterward.
6. 6. The intern and employer must agree—preferably in writing—that no wages are to be paid.