| You would be mistaken. You can be sued for back wages and be fined if you screw up there. Here is the applicable publication from the national department of labor. From:
http://www.dol.gov/elaws/esa/flsa/scope/er15.asp -- If all of the following criteria apply, the trainees or students are not employees within the meaning of the Act: The training, even though it includes actual operation of the facilities of the employer, is similar to that which would be given in a vocational school; The training is for the benefit of the trainees or students; The trainees or students do not displace regular employees, but work under close supervision; The employer that provides the training receives no immediate advantage from the activities of the trainees or students and, on occasion, his operations may even be impeded; The trainees or students are not necessarily entitled to a job at the conclusion of the training period; and The employer and the trainees or students understand that the trainees or students are not entitled to wages for the time spent in training. -- Very few internships in the US can satisfy all of these. |