With the job market still tight, prospective employees are resorting to accepting unpaid internships where interns are performing tasks that an employee would normally cover. Unfortunately, employers take advantage of the free labor from interns in violation of North Carolina wage and hour laws and the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. If you are an unpaid intern, or group of unpaid interns, who has not been compensated for the work that they’ve performed, contact the Raleigh employee wages attorneys of Maginnis Law, PLLC at 919.526.0450 or submit a new case inquiry here.
Employers typically have little understanding of wage and hour laws and use interns to perform entry-level work to reduce labor costs and increase efficiency. If the work benefits the company and saves the company money, this work must be compensated with a salary of at least minimum wage as well as overtime for work performed over forty hours. Overtime is calculated at 1.5 times your prevailing wage, or minimum wage if the interns are not receiving compensation.
If you are performing work that benefits the company while not being compensated with at least minimum wage or not being compensated for overtime hours worked, contact the Raleigh employment litigation attorneys of Maginnis Law. Maginnis Howard is a Raleigh civil litigation firm handling cases surrounding unpaid internships throughout the Research Triangle area including, Cary, Apex, Wake Forest, Pittsboro, Sanford, Durham and Chapel Hill. The firm takes certain wage and hour/overtime cases throughout North Carolina, particularly when groups of workers are involved. Contact the firm to discuss your unpaid internship claim today for a free consultation regarding your rights.
