Is your film industry internship illegal?

I know the college school year must be wrapping up because I’m starting to see an increased number of listings for summer internships.  First, let me say, I don’t have a problem with the idea of film industry internships.  One of the great things about going to film school is that it gives you access to internships that, in turn, can help you make industry connections, help you to build a resume, and give you a chance to ask questions and learn. I only did two internships in college, the first led to me being recommended for the second, and the second led to an assistant recommending me for a post PA job on a film (I had to pass, the job was 12 hours a day and started before I graduated).

Despite the potential benefits of industry internships, there is an internship problem in Hollywood…a BIG one.  Companies are hiring legions of unpaid interns to WORK FOR FREE, WORK being the important word here.  If you’re like me, you probably did a lot of WORK when you were interning (coffee runs, mailing/shipping, copying, filing, back up receptionist, back up assistant, reading scripts/books, writing coverage, etc.).  But, unpaid internships aren’t supposed to be JOBS, (that’s why they’re allowed to be unpaid).

The life of an intern.

And yet, look at these excerpts from recent listings I saw for UNPAID summer internships (these are for companies that have produced MAJOR movies, by the way):

Duties will include answering phones, reading scripts, writing coverage, running errands (driving will be necessary), filing, faxing, and other general office duties.  

General administrative duties include phones, filing, reading scripts, and writing coverage.

To compare, here are excerpts from recent UTA job list listings for assistant/PA/entry level jobs…PAID JOBS not UNPAID INTERNSHIPS:

Duties include administrative support (calls, filing, organizing, general office support, runs, research, etc). 

Responsibilities include phones, scheduling, research, follow up, and script coverage. 

Notice anything?  They’re…the same duties!  And that’s the problem.

According this NY Times article from last spring, states like California are cracking down on illegal internships (yeah, right) and fining companies that have illegal internships.  So, what makes an internship illegal?  That same article links to this document that outlines the six federal legal criteria an internship must possess to be unpaid (note a “trainee” is their terminology for an unpaid intern).  Here are those criteria:

1. The training, even though it includes actual operation of the facilities of the employer, is similar to what would be given in a vocational school or academic educational instruction; 

2. The training is for the benefit of the trainees; 

3. The trainees do not displace regular employees, but work under their close observation; 

4. The employer that provides the training derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the trainees, and on occasion the employer’s operations may actually be impeded;

5. The trainees are not necessarily entitled to a job at the conclusion of the training period; and 

6. The employer and the trainees understand that the trainees are not entitled to wages for the time spent in training.

So, is you film industry internship illegal?  I'm gonna guess, yes.

I can say for a fact that as nice as some of the people were at my internships, neither could be considered legal under these criteria (numbers 2, 3, and mostly 4 being violated).  Also, I’d venture to guess the internships I mentioned above won't be legal either (nor will the vast majority of other unpaid internships I’ve seen...don’t want to single out just these listings).

Now, I’m sure some people will say, “Every company does it, and that’s just the way things are” or “So what, that’s how I got my job, just suck it up” but it’s thinking like this that only adds to the problem.  Let’s face it, the only ones benefiting from illegal internships are the companies who save money by not paying their employees…er… interns fairly.  You also might say, “Well, the lower level assistants at companies ALSO benefit from having interns because they have more people to help them/do the work they don’t want to/have time to do” but I think the tide is turning on that.

We’re in an economic recession, some would say a depression, and I’ve heard stories from a few friends in recent weeks about their companies laying off paid assistants (and even people higher up than assistants) while simultaneously hiring a bunch of unpaid interns.  What does that say to me?  Uh…unpaid interns are being used to replace paid employees…and whether you are a paid employee in the industry now or an intern hoping to be a paid employee someday, that should scare the heck out of you.

A company’s answer to “I am swamped and need more help to do this job” should not be “Hire some unpaid interns to pick up the slack.”  If a company is SO busy they need another development assistant, they should HIRE AND PAY ONE, or PAY THEIR INTERNS.  Illegal internships are bad for the interns who are being exploited (no matter how much they are “learning”) and they are bad for people in the job force who don’t have job opportunities because of them, or who are slowly being squeezed out by this practice.