Anglais :

U.S wants to stop firms from exploiting student's eagerness for experience

By steven greenhouse

With job openings scarce for young people, the number of unpaid internships in the United States has climbed in recent years, leading regulators to worry that more employers are illegally using such internships for free labor.
Convinced that many unpaid internships violate minium wage laws, officials in Oregon, California and other states have begun investigations and fined employers.
Last year, M. Patricia Smith, then New York State's labor commissioner, ordered investigations into several companies' interships. Now, as the U.S. Labor Departmen's top law enforcement official, she and the department's wage and hour division are stepping up enforcement nationwide.
Many regulators say that violations are widespread, but that it is unusually hard to mount a major enforcement effort because interns are often afraid to file complaints. Many fear they will be-come known as troublemakers in their chosen field, endangering their chances with a potential employer.
The labor Department says it is cracking down on companies that fail to pay interns properly and expanding efforts to educate companies, universities and students on the law regarding internships.
"If you're a for-profit employer or you want to pursue an internship whith a forprofit employer, there aren't going to be many circumstances where you can have an internship and not be paid and still be in compliance with the law, " said Nancy J. Leppink, acting director of the Labor Departement's wage and hour