Paid and Unpaid PR Internships: PRSA Professional Standards Advisory PS-17 (Feb 2011)

The Public Relations Society of America’s Educators Academy Forum is currently engaged in an interesting discussion of the public relations industry’s use of internships for academic credit versus internships for pay. The discussion was prompted by a Feb. 10, 2011, post on PRSA’s blog, PRSAY, entitled, “Paid or Unpaid, Time to Evaluate PR’s Use of Interns,” by Dr. Francis McDonald, a public relations professional and assistant professor at Hampton University’s School of Journalism and Communications.

Dr. McDonald’s PRSAY post pointed out that the current economy, unemployment rate, and stiff competition for jobs has prompted many young college communication students and graduates to settle for unpaid internships while seeking paid positions. This situation led the PRSA to issue “Professional Standards Advisory PS-17” earlier this month.

The advisory leads off with some background on the issue, including:

"Employers value work experience when hiring. Job candidates who wish to be competitive willingly accept unpaid positions to gain work experience. This raises questions for both the employer and vulnerable job seekers. The question for employers is, 'Does the position being offered meet the legal standard set by federal law for an unpaid internship?' For the student, the question is, 'Can the internship be a significant career builder as opposed to just a mindless activity that provides little or no immediate academic or work experience?' For both parties, there are ethical questions to consider."


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The U.S. Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) provides employers with standards they must follow for compensating employees with minimum wage and overtime pay. (See DOL Fact Sheet #71: Internship Programs Under the Fair Labor Standards Act.) The FLSA also explains exemptions to these standards. In conjunction with the FSLA, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued six guidelines that can help an employer (or employee) determine if an intern must be paid for his or her work:

1. The internship, even though it includes actual operations of the employer’s facilities, is similar to that which would be given in an educational environment.

2. The internship is for the benefit of the intern.

3. The intern does not displace a regular employee, but works under the close supervision of existing staff.

4. The employer that provides the training derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the intern and, on occasion, its operations may be impeded.

5. The intern is not necessarily entitled to a job at the conclusion of the internship.

6. The employer and the intern understand that the intern is not entitled to wages for the time spent in the internship.

The PRSA’s PS-17 provides additional state and federal guidelines for PR internships, ethical standards, examples of improper internship practices, and recommended best practices.

The current discussion in the Educator Academy’s Forum about this topic reveals a variety of opinions. For instance, Dr. Lisa Fall, University of Tennessee, wrote:

"Since 2001, I have served as the Public Relations internship supervisor for our majors. During the past 3-4 years, there has been a definite increase in organizations that are requiring our students to enroll for academic credit in order to participate in their internships - yet the organizations are NOT paying the students a dime! In my humble opinion, I find this to be unethical, financially unbalanced and disheartening."

Dr. Dennis Wilcox, professor emeritus of public relations and prominent author of public relations textbooks, argued:

"It's encouraging that younger public relations educators such as Lisa Fall are speaking out about unpaid internships. It's about time that we have some sessions at the PRSA Educator's Academy about this, and that AEJMC goes on record as opposing unpaid internships…. The reason that many organizations require students to receive academic credit for internships is that they have the mistaken impression that this lets them off the hook in terms of paying interns."

Other public relations practitioners and scholars, citing a variety of news articles and professional standards, have called for action by individual schools and professional organizations to challenge the practice of organizations that employ interns without pay. However, other practitioners and faculty members have called for caution and considerate debate before condemning the practice of employing interns who receive academic credit for their work.

Dr. Dean Kazoleas, associate professor at Illinois State University, remarked:

"While I philosophically agree with the position that interns should be paid, especially if they are doing the work of a paid employee, we cannot forget that these positions are often supposed to (I stress supposed to) be part of a supervised experiential learning program. To that extent to require payment for all internships would most likely lead to a large reduction in the number of such opportunities for our students. This would leave many students without such an opportunity, and could lead to the elimination of internships as a requirement for many programs simply because the level of demand would greatly outstrip the supply of available positions. All in all … the learning opportunity for many of these students is more than adequate compensation, especially when they do so under the careful guidance of an experienced and talented professional."

Regardless of the position you take on paid versus unpaid internships, one this is clear to me: Know the law and adhere to professional guidelines before advertising or accepting an internship position. Faculty, students, alumni, practitioners, and employers: What do you have to say on this issue? Please add your comments and start our own forum discussion on this important topic.

Regards,

Mark