Payless jobs? I kid you not

A recent conversation with a career center counselor at an engineering school opened my eyes to the desperate lengths to which some tech companies will go. The counselor told me that the latest trend, although a somewhat controversial one, has companies scrambling to "hire" college engineering students and getting them to work for free.

That's right, free.

Not satisfied with using cheap, outsourced overseas engineering labor or bringing in low-cost workers on H-1B or L-1 visas, companies now want U.S. engineering students and even recent graduates to work for nothing.

The students are guaranteed great experience and training, as well as something impressive to put on their resumes. That's certainly nothing to sneeze at in a time when engineering grads face the worst job market in 20 years. But really.

Not so long ago, students with engineering, computer and software design knowledge earned a premium for their up-to-date skills. With such a large talent pool now available to employers, though, it seems that may no longer the case.

Of course, unpaid internships are not new. Still, I find it hard to believe for-profit companies in this industry can't afford to pay their youngest new hires a red cent.

Due to the terrible job market, I imagine some students and graduates may jump at the chance to work without pay just to have something to put on their curriculum vitae. In that case, students and universities need to be aware of the established rules and protections that exist for unpaid internships.

The National Association of Colleges and Employers requires of an un-paid internship that credit be obtained for the work, and says an employer must receive formal documentation from the college stating the educational relevance of the internship with the learning objectives clearly stated. In addition, no more than 50 percent of the work done by the intern can be the same as what other employees handle. Finally, the student must be supervised by a faculty member. If these criteria aren't met, the student must be paid.

In addition, the U.S. Labor Department requires that 1) the training offered in an unpaid internship be comparable to that a vocational school, 2) the internship benefit the student, 3) the intern not replace regular employees, 4) the employer not benefit immediately from the student's activities and 5) both employer and student understand that wages will not be given during the training period.

In short, companies cannot replace paid employees with unpaid interns or use interns to perform the same work done by paid workers. They also cannot promise a paying job to an intern as future "payment" for the internship.

There are other legal issues to consider, too, such as coverage by workers' compensation and accident insurance, and whether an unpaid intern has the same rights and protections as full-time workers.

Such arrangements pose a clear risk of exploitation. But for any students considering this route, my advice is to tread carefully and know your rights.

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