Unpaid Internships: Illegal Labor or Career Opportunity?
Millions of students and recent grads each year take on unpaid internships—but are all of them legal? In an increasingly competitive job market, unpaid internships have become a rite of passage across industries like media, fashion, politics, entertainment, and tech. But behind the promise of “real-world experience” lies a complex legal question: Are these internships lawful—or just a way for companies to get free labor?