As people across the U.S. are collecting petitions and lobbying for legislation that would outlaw unpaid internships, some locals are expressing mixed opinions about changing what has become a corporate norm.
Jeremiah Tattersall, of the Alachua County Wage Theft Task Force, said he disagrees with unpaid internships. In fact, he said, they can be filed as cases of wage theft. The 27-year-old UF alumnus is working to find local remedies to wage theft, which includes illegal withholding, underpayment or nonpayment of wages.
“The problem with internships is that most people don’t know what their rights are,” he said. “About half of college internships are not paid, and unless they follow a very strict guideline set up by the Department of Labor, they should be getting paid at least minimum wage.”
However, Chad Paris, the owner of local design and printing firm Parisleaf, said student interns are gaining experience for later down the road. Mandating a wage would dry up a lot of the opportunities for students get the experience expected of them while working at professional firms.
Paris has had about 20 interns since 2010. Three are currently employees. Although he said the company can’t afford to pay all of its interns, it is giving them opportunities to learn and create portfolios to help make money in the future.
“We would never exploit our interns — it’s not about how much sugar we like in our coffee,” Paris said. “We give them an amazing opportunity that will help them make life decisions. By paying them, we wouldn’t be able to help as many people.”
Tattersall said students should reap the benefits. To educate them, he is pushing to create a fact sheet for freshmen welcome packets with information about their rights.
“I’m hoping by the end of the semester or early next semester that we’ll actually have the Student Government behind us and the UF administration,” Tattersall said. “No one wants to send their kids to college unprepared.”
Zack Peterson, a 20-year-old UF journalism junior, spent the summer working at the Valley News in Vermont. Peterson said he wasn’t reimbursed for his labor, but he didn’t complain about the situation.
“I had a good experience,” he said, “but I had a scholarship.”
A version of this story ran on page 4 on 9/11/2013 under the headline "Locals debate unpaid internships"
This story has been updated to reflect a correction.
