"Intern(Al) Affairs": Managing Unpaid Internships In British Columbia

With the end of another school year comes the annual insurgence of students and new graduates into the marketplace, all of whom are eager to build their resumes by gaining practical experience in their chosen fields, even if that experience comes in the form of an internship. "Intern" is a word that conjures up the image of a young hopeful feverishly working away at a business in a junior position for little or no pay (except, of course, a wealth of practical experience).

While most employers are aware of their obligations to employees under British Columbia's Employment Standards Act (the "ESA"), when the phraseology shifts from "employment" to "internship," some employers assume their legal obligations to "interns" differ from their legal obligations to "employees," as evidenced by the Internship Inspection Blitz Report released by the Ontario Ministry of Labour.