Carla Wilson-484785 (6/8/2012)
I would guess that the unpaid intern scenario got a foothold a few years ago, when college grads just could not get a job when they graduated, and their choice was bus tables at minimum wage or work for free in their field and at least gain some experience and networking. Taking advantage of a person like that is pretty sleazy in my book.
There's too much of that in the UK (some of the worse offenders are allegedly in the top tiers of our government), but the interns are getting organised and starting to fight back, taking employers to court for minimum wage if the intern was working rather than being trained.