First, pay the Interns. That's right – pay those starving college students who will do virtually anything for experience. If you choose not to pay them you are likely violating the Fair Labor Standards Act and you can look forward to paying them double plus their attorneys' fees.
If you choose not to pay the interns the experience must be primarily for the intern's benefit. Without a focus on the interns a class action against the Charlie Rose show cost the show $250,000. A class action against the Black Swan movie production has received nationwide attention as the photo copying, coffee fetching interns received little educational or work experience. With courts showing little tolerance for employers or educational institution's failure to insure that either the interns are being paid or are adequately being taught something useful, the result could be the same for your business as Sheryl Sandberg of Facebook and Lean In notoriety faces -- a lawsuit.
Done correctly internships are potentially beneficial to both employers and educators. Colleges tout the number of students receiving prestigious internships. That said, neither educators nor employers can exploit students as the underemployed attorneys have found a weak spot for class actions where attorney's fees are recoverable.
The back to school lesson -- While the current economy may tempt you to seek additional free workers and students willing to work for "experience," this combination is combustible -- likely to lead to a Black Swan type --unhappy ending.
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