For employers who rely on unpaid interns, it’s been the summer of reckoning.
Hundreds of interns have filed lawsuits or raised complaints over working long hours for free. But one group of former interns is sidestepping the courtroom and going straight to the White House to fight for fair compensation.
The Fair Pay Campaign, a grassroots lobby set to launch around Labor Day, is calling on President Obama to pay White House interns in order to set an example for other government agencies and private employers.
“We have a minimum wage law in this country, and just because you call someone an intern doesn’t mean you get out of it,” said Mikey Franklin, the leader of Fair Pay’s charge.
Opinion: Obama should pay his interns
According to the White House website, its internships are unpaid, housing isn’t provided, and interns should expect to work “at least Monday-Friday, 9 am-6 pm.”
The campaign’s focus has turned to President Obama as he has been stumping for raising the minimum wage all summer.
“We don’t believe the White House can, in good faith, go after minimum wage and at the same time have unpaid staff.”