Skip to content
ProPublica Donate
ProPublica Donate

Internships

Oversight and Legal Protections for Unpaid Interns

The number of internships in the United States has ballooned over the past few decades. But oversight and legal protection for unpaid interns hasn’t kept up.

27 stories published since 2013

What We Learned Investigating Unpaid Internships

by Blair Hickman,

Four Ways You Can Seek Back Pay for an Unpaid Internship

by Kara Brandeisky,

The Department of Labor’s Internships Investigations

by Kara Brandeisky, Eric Sagara and Jeremy B. Merrill,

How the Labor Department Has Let Companies Off the Hook for Unpaid Internships

by Kara Brandeisky and Jeremy B. Merrill,

Labor Department Intervenes on Behalf of Hearst Interns

by Kara Brandeisky,

Interns Are Now Protected Against Sexual Harassment in NYC

by Blair Hickman,

The Price of an Internship

by Blair Hickman, Mike Tigas and Sisi Wei,

One J-School Internship Coordinator Says Paid Positions Have Dropped by Nearly Half

by Blair Hickman,

New York University Ramps up Internship Oversight

by Kara Brandeisky,

2013: The Year of the Intern?

by Blair Hickman and Casey McDermott,

You Know Who Else Uses Unpaid Interns? Colleges and Universities

by Casey McDermott,

Calculating ‘The Price of an Internship’

by Mike Tigas and Blair Hickman,

Q&A: David Yamada on Condé Nast and Intern Rights

by Casey McDermott,

New York Councilmember, De Blasio Back Closing Harassment Loophole for Unpaid Interns

by Christie Thompson,

#ProjectIntern Hits the Road to Capture College Intern Stories

by Casey McDermott,

Northwestern’s Journalism Program Offers Students Internships with Prestige, But No Paycheck

by Kara Brandeisky,

Meet Our Kickstarter Intern!

by Blair Hickman,

How Unpaid Interns Aren’t Protected Against Sexual Harassment

by Blair Hickman and Christie Thompson,

Nation Institute to Pay Interns Minimum Wage

by Blair Hickman,

Tracking Intern Lawsuits

by Stephen Suen,

Thank You, From the Bottom of Our Hearts

by Blair Hickman,

To Cope with Sequester, Justice Department Staffs Unpaid Attorneys

by Christie Thompson,

Kickstarter Lessons for Journalists

by Blair Hickman,

What's Your Internship Story?

by Blair Hickman,

When Is It OK to Not Pay an Intern?

by Blair Hickman and Christie Thompson,

Unpaid Interns Win Major Ruling in 'Black Swan' Case — Now What?

by Blair Hickman and Jeremy B. Merrill,

Betting Against the Future: How Industry Loses When Interns Go Unpaid

by Hanna Trudo,

What We’re Watching

During Donald Trump’s second presidency, ProPublica will focus on the areas most in need of scrutiny. Here are some of the issues our reporters will be watching — and how to get in touch with them securely.

Learn more about our reporting team. We will continue to share our areas of interest as the news develops.

Photo of Sharon Lerner
Sharon Lerner

I cover health and the environment and the agencies that govern them, including the Environmental Protection Agency.

Photo of Andy Kroll
Andy Kroll

I cover justice and the rule of law, including the Justice Department, U.S. attorneys and the courts.

Photo of Melissa Sanchez
Melissa Sanchez

I report on immigration and labor, and I am based in Chicago.

Photo of Jesse Coburn
Jesse Coburn

I cover housing and transportation, including the companies working in those fields and the regulators overseeing them.

If you don’t have a specific tip or story in mind, we could still use your help. Sign up to be a member of our federal worker source network to stay in touch.

Most Read

    Kristi Noem Secretly Took a Cut of Political Donations

    A dark money group paid $80,000 to Noem’s personal company when she was governor of South Dakota. She did not include this income on her federal disclosure forms, a likely violation of ethics requirements, experts say.

    by Justin Elliott, Joshua Kaplan and Alex Mierjeski,

    A Doctor Challenged the Opinion of a Powerful Child Abuse Specialist. Then He Lost His Job.

    A Minneapolis pediatrician said he felt pressured to “fall in line” with child abuse specialist Dr. Nancy Harper and her team. Then he was given a choice: resign or be fired.

    by Jessica Lussenhop, and photography by Sarahbeth Maney,

    Broken Pathways

    Congress Is Pushing for a Medicaid Work Requirement. Here’s What Happened When Georgia Tried It.

    GOP lawmakers want to nationalize Medicaid work requirements to offset Trump’s proposed tax cuts. Yet Georgia’s example shows that this could threaten health care for nearly 16 million Americans and cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.

    by Margaret Coker, The Current,

    Local Reporting Network

    “The Intern in Charge”: Meet the 22-Year-Old Trump’s Team Picked to Lead Terrorism Prevention

    One year out of college and with no apparent national security expertise, Thomas Fugate is the Department of Homeland Security official tasked with overseeing the government’s main hub for combating violent extremism.

    by Hannah Allam,

    Senators Demand Investigation Into Canceled VA Contracts, Citing “Damning Reporting From ProPublica”

    The senators are calling for a federal watchdog to investigate the Trump administration’s killing of hundreds of VA contracts. Among their concerns: ProPublica revealed DOGE used artificial intelligence to mark contracts as “munchable.”

    by Eric Umansky and Vernal Coleman,