Work for Duke basketball and get paid nothing.

[MysteryMen]

Not the unpaid internships.

I don't know this area of law well, but my understanding is that unpaid internships are basically only legal if they provide no benefit to the employer. In other words, if they don't replace any of the work that the employer would otherwise have had to hire someone to do and are merely an opportunity for the intern to gain experience.

In reality, these internships do not qualify under that.

 

[IamThunderbolt]

I don't know this area of law well, but my understanding is that unpaid internships are basically only legal if they provide no benefit to the employer. In other words, if they don't replace any of the work that the employer would otherwise have had to hire someone to do and are merely an opportunity for the intern to gain experience.

In reality, these internships do not qualify under that.

pretty good overview:

http://www.natlawreview.com/article/unpaid-interns-and-fair-labor-standards-act

 

[Complacent Deac]

So now that we've established that these are not unpaid internships...

 

[MysteryMen]

So now that we've established that these are not unpaid internships...

?

They are unpaid internships...they're just unpaid internships that might be illegal

 

[Wrangor]

First 6 months of coaching I worked for free. It happens. I worked for a golf tournament from 7am-noon. For the basketball program from 1-7. Valet Parker for the local country club from 8-11. Made ends meet and was able to land a paid position 6 months later. . It is extremely common. You are either blessed to be a household name because of your playing history or you have to earn your way in. Those 6 months taught me a lot and I am glad that I went through it.


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[tagsfan]

I don't know this area of law well, but my understanding is that unpaid internships are basically only legal if they provide no benefit to the employer. In other words, if they don't replace any of the work that the employer would otherwise have had to hire someone to do and are merely an opportunity for the intern to gain experience.

In reality, these internships do not qualify under that.

Minor League baseball was in the cross-hairs of the Obama Dept. of Labor for teams having unpaid interns for positions that had a minimal "educational component." That was a separate issue from the current move to require players in MiLB be paid overtime. Whether this second issue could cause some contraction of the minors in the future remains to be seen. Roster sizes will almost certainly be reduced.

 

[DistrictDeacon]

First 6 months of coaching I worked for free. It happens. I worked for a golf tournament from 7am-noon. For the basketball program from 1-7. Valet Parker for the local country club from 8-11. Made ends meet and was able to land a paid position 6 months later. . It is extremely common. You are either blessed to be a household name because of your playing history or you have to earn your way in. Those 6 months taught me a lot and I am glad that I went through it.


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You got exploited.

 

[MysteryMen]

First 6 months of coaching I worked for free. It happens. I worked for a golf tournament from 7am-noon. For the basketball program from 1-7. Valet Parker for the local country club from 8-11. Made ends meet and was able to land a paid position 6 months later. . It is extremely common. You are either blessed to be a household name because of your playing history or you have to earn your way in. Those 6 months taught me a lot and I am glad that I went through it.


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I also never would have worked in sports if I hadn't taken a job that paid well below the minimum wage. That doesn't mean that it was right or legal.

 

[PhDeac]

You got exploited.

Yay sports!

 

[guitardeac]

First 6 months of coaching I worked for free. It happens. I worked for a golf tournament from 7am-noon. For the basketball program from 1-7. Valet Parker for the local country club from 8-11. Made ends meet and was able to land a paid position 6 months later. . It is extremely common. You are either blessed to be a household name because of your playing history or you have to earn your way in. Those 6 months taught me a lot and I am glad that I went through it.


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To me, that's awesome.

 

[Wrangor]

You got exploited.

That's ridiculous. I knew what I was getting into and I knew the price. I could have taken a number of jobs during those hours of the day that paid me minimum wage. I received training that was much more valuable than money.


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[MysteryMen]

That's ridiculous. I knew what I was getting into and I knew the price. I could have taken a number of jobs during those hours of the day that paid me minimum wage. I received training that was much more valuable than money.


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You could say this about anyone who's willing to take a job that pays less than minimum wage.

 

[Wrangor]

Yep. I'm okay with that. We need more apprenticeship and not less. I wasn't worth paying when I started. If it was required that they pay me I most likely would have never received the opportunity.

Before the school year was done I was receiving a stipend and free classes. By the next year I was a full time D1 assistant coach. Opportunity is way more important than minimum wage.


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[MysteryMen]

Yep. I'm okay with that. We need more apprenticeship and not less. I wasn't worth paying when I started. If it was required that they pay me I most likely would have never received the opportunity.

Before the school year was done I was receiving a stipend and free classes. By the next year I was a full time D1 assistant coach. Opportunity is way more important than minimum wage.


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That's fine as a matter of philosophy, as long as you're willing to acknowledge that it's illegal under the current law

 

[tintinisahottie]

I like how often mystery admits something isn't his expertise in law and then demands someone to acknowledge his limited understanding of the law as the final say so on the same thread

 

[DeaconCav06]

That's fine as a matter of philosophy, as long as you're willing to acknowledge that it's illegal under the current law

I don't think that's true because of the educational component involved.

 

[MysteryMen]

I don't think that's true because of the educational component involved.

Eh, I'm reading that as he didn't start getting free classes until he'd already worked there for a year. Maybe I misread it.

It's ok if it's just educational for him without benefitting the team. But I'm very familiar with how the whole volunteer assistant coach works in a lot of other sports, and they are often called upon to take on crucial responsibilities.

 

[MysteryMen]

I like how often mystery admits something isn't his expertise in law and then demands someone to acknowledge his limited understanding of the law as the final say so on the same thread

I know for a fact that many athletic departments, including Wake Forest, use full-time unpaid interns to do things that would otherwise be done by paid employees. So if you're going to defend that as legal then do it. But if not, then don't try to cast doubt on what I'm saying.

 

[PhDeac]

I still think it's a ridiculous system because it excludes people who can't afford to work for free.

 

[MysteryMen]

I still think it's a ridiculous system because it excludes people who can't afford to work for free.

This also.

The whole "I didn't have the skills so nobody would have hired me" is a problem in and of itself. People have to get skills somewhere. And if they're not skills that you can get from school, then employers should expect to pay you while you acquire them in an entry level position

The unpaid internship system just takes the bottom rung of the employment ladder out of the federal wage requirements. That's not how the law is supposed to operate.