Volume 126 Issue 33
kansan.com
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
UDK
the student voice since 1904
SAFETY
UNSALARIED AND UNCLEAR
State and national laws don't protect unpaid interns from sexual harassment in the workplace
ASHLEIGH TIDWELL atidwell@kansan.com
At the start of a new internship, one feels a sense of pride, accomplishment and hope that it will open new doors. It's the start of a grand new adventure that can lead to a successful career.
But for some they turn into nightmares of supervisors and coworkers taking advantage of their interns' willingness to work and eagerness to do well.
And for an unfortunate few, this exploitation becomes sexual harassment, from which unpaid interns are not protected.
For decades, sexual harassment claims from unpaid interns against the companies they work for have been thrown out because the interns don't receive pay and are therefore not protected under employment law.
Earlier this month, a New York court ruled that New York's human rights laws did not protect Lihuan Wang, an unpaid intern for Phoenix Satellite Television U.S., because the company did not pay her. The court dismissed her case saying Wang could not file a sexual harassment claim against the company because she was not an employee.
This hits close to home for some students at the University, as half of all internships posted through the University Career Center are unpaid, said Erin Wolfram, assistant director of the UCC.
"It may not be an ideal situation, but most students feel these internships are helpful to them in some way." Wolfram said.
ILLUSTRATION BY TREY CONRAD
The US Department of Labor defines the parameters of an unpaid intern in a for-profit company using six criteria the internship must meet. One of the criteria that must be met is that the intern does not displace regular employees, but works under close supervision of existing staff. A second important criterion listed is that the employer that provides the training derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the intern.
These two criteria protect the unpaid interns from being given the same workload as a regular employee without monetary compensation. However, the unpaid interns are not protected from sexual harassment through the Department of Labor or through state law.
In Kansas, the Act Against Discrimination covers all employees, but unpaid interns do not fall under that label and don't get the same protections. This gap in protection has left unpaid interns vulnerable and often exploited.
Upon learning of the case in New York, Megan Hazelwood, a junior from Baldwin City who did an unpaid internship for class credit over the summer, was shocked that she had been in a position for several months where she was completely unprotected.
"I wasn't even aware that, if you are doing an unpaid internship, you wouldn't be protected from
To Hazelwood, because the work done by unpaid interns is sometimes equivalent to that of a full-time employee, it seems unfair that they wouldn't be protected equally under law.
sexual harassment," Hazelwood said. "I don't really understand why people who aren't paid aren't protected."
unpaid," Hazelwood said.
Though no incidents have ever been reported in relation to internships posted by the University, it is important for students to be informed of their rights, or lack thereof, when entering into an unpaid internship.
Jane McQueeny, executive director of the Office of Institutional Opportunity and Access, says that students should be proactive in
avoiding situations where sexual harassment can occur.
"I think everyone should have protection from that, paid or
"Students need to recognize that the best thing they can do for themselves is to speak up," McQueeny said.
MeQueeny notes that though there may not be legal action available to students in this position, it is important for them to notify the University.
recourse, IOA would look at associating the University with the company," McQueeny said. "KU would always want to do what is morally right and not put our students in that kind of situation."
"Though there may be no legal
Edited by Sylas May
NATION
Supreme Court to hear affirmative action case
JOSE MEDRANO
jmedrano@kansan.com
Diversity comes in all colors, shapes, genders and creeds; it is present in universities across the United States. Affirmative action, which was enacted in the '60s, has been used as a deterrent of discrimination in workplace hiring and college admissions. But the Supreme Court will soon weigh in on a case concerning the University and colleges and universities nationwide, which
"What I tell my students is that it's a guide, an advantage to minorities to compensate for past grievances," said Cristina Bejarano, professor of political science. "It's a way for the government to step in and help groups that have had the same advantages as other people have."
may cause them to change admission policies concerning affirmative action.
In 2006, voters in Michigan banned affirmative action within the state through a referendum after the Supreme Court ruled and upheld the University of Michigan affirmative action policy. Since affirmative action influences both acceptance rates and job opportunities, voters in Michigan sought to change the state's policy by
SEE DIVERSITY PAGE 2
KU enrollment by race 2012-2013 (total enrollment percentage 27,135 total). Grad+Undergrad
American Indian or Alaskan Native: 0.6%
Asian: 3.8%
Black or African American: 3.7%
Hispanic/Latin: 5.9%
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander: 0.1%
White: 75.1%
Two or more races: 3.8%
Race/ethnicity unknown: 0.6%
Non-resident alien: 6.4%
KSU enrollment by race, total student 24,378 (2012-2013)
American Indian or Alaskan Native: 0.4%
Asian: 1.2%
Black or African American: 4.3%
Hispanic/Latino: 5.6%
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander: 0.1%
White: 77.3%
Two or more races: 2.6%
Race/ethnicity unknown: 1.9%
Non-resident alien: 6.6%
WSU enrollment by race, total students 14,716 (2012-2013)
American Indian or Alaskan Native: 1.0%
Asian: 6.6%
Black or African American: 6.4%
Hispanic/Latino: 8.2%
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander: 0.1%
White: 64.7%
Two or more races: 2.1%
Race/ethnicity unknown: 4.1%
Non-resident alien: 6.9%
Data provided by National Center for Education Statistics
GEORGE MULLINIX/KANSAN
Nyla Branscombe sits in her office. Branscombe has co-authored an article on economic inequality that will soon be published in the academic journal Philosophical Perspectives.
CLASSIFIEDS 7
CROSSWORD 5
Index
Professors to publish article on economic inequalities
ROB PYATT
rpvatt@kansan.com
CRYPTOQUIPS 5
OPINION 4
RESEARCH
SPORTS 8
SUDOKU 5
Two University of Kansas professors will soon have a new article published in Philosophical Perspectives, an academic journal which will appear feature their new article, Egalitarianism and Perceptions of Inequality, which details the professors' research in the causes, effects and perceptions of modern economic inequality.
All contents, unless stated otherwise. © 2013 The University Daily Kansan
The professors, Derrick Darby of the law and philosophy departments and Nyla Branscombe of the psychology department, have co-authored the new article in the hopes of offering some insight into how to address the issue of inequality in the United States, Professor Darby said.
issues about the way Americans view and understand inequality. Not only does it detail the causes of inequality in a broad sense, it also details the impact that social and economic inequality have on disadvantaged groups and minorities. "The topic of inequality has been a huge issue in recent years," Darby
The article, which explores the darker side of the modern American economic system, raises
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