Caveat emptor is the rule of thumb in any marketplace. But nowhere is this bit of wisdom more true than on Craigslist. You can get pretty much anything through Craig. And that’s the problem. One issue we have noticed is the rise of internship offerings. These jobs promise lots of intangibles:

"You are serious about pursuing a career in PR – that’s why you seek an internship. If you give us your all, we’ll guarantee you one of the most exciting experiences of your college years. We’ll also give you support to speed your post-college success in a number of ways, ranging from experience and skills development through introductions, references and referrals."

But the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) says not so much. It has developed the following internship guidelines. And they require that in order to be exempt from the wage and hour requirements of the IWC Orders, the intern’s training must be an essential part of an established course of an accredited school or of an institution approved by a public agency to provide training for licensure or to qualify for a skilled vocation or profession. Also, the program may primarily benefit the employer, a regular employee may not be displaced by the trainee, and the training must be supervised b y the school or a disinterested agency. Otherwise, any time spent interning (even time spent giving less than one’s all) will be considered “hours worked” notwithstanding any ancillary excitement, experience, or introductions that may be provided.