I know some companies in Canada offer unpaid internships — they're particularly common in the media industry, where many outlets are struggling financially and there is an overabundance of qualified graduates looking to get their foot in the door somewhere. I wonder if these internships violate minimum wage laws here too.
I'm no labour lawyer, but I took a peek at Ontario's Employment Standards Act. It appears to be similar to U.S. laws. You're exempt from minimum wage laws only if you're part of a high school or post-secondary work experience program. Otherwise, unpaid interns have to meet all the following requirements:
- The training is similar to that which is given in a vocational school.
- The training is for the benefit of the individual.
- The person providing the training derives little, if any, benefit from the activity of the individual while he or she is being trained.
- The individual does not displace employees of the person providing the training.
- The individual is not accorded a right to become an employee of the person providing the training.
- The individual is advised that he or she will receive no remuneration for the time that he or she spends in training.
It's clear that many unpaid internships violate these rules and that the employees should be receiving minimum wages. I'm surprised we don't hear more from unions calling on governments to enforce these laws.
Doesn't an unpaid internship only violate (potentially) #3? Even that is pretty blurry (companies could argue the *net* benefit is little if any).
ReplyDeleteAlso, the ESA is not, actually, the final word on labour law in Ontario. It is regularly superceded by Ontario common law, and there is possibly a lot of case law dealing with it.
Interesting, I wasn't aware about the case law overriding the Employment Standards Act.
ReplyDeleteAt any rate, it is my understanding that there are many unpaid internships that would violate conditions 1 and 3, if not 4 as well. Very few internships provide school-style training that you'd get at a vocational school. Most are on-the-job experience.
I believe the argument around point #1 might amount to whether it has to be similar to a specific vocational school, or similar to that which a vocational school might offer. I imagine the intent of the law is the latter, as the former requires auditing of the offerings of current vocational schools.
ReplyDeleteEven the term "vocational school" could be subject to debate. School credit aside, if an internship is similar to a co-op placement (some of which are paid, som aren't), I think that would suffice.
Point #4 would have to be evaluated against a specific situation. However, my gut tells me that few current employees would be displaced by an internship, but a company might refrain from hiring additional staff.