Check out this job posting… They are available all over the country, this one is merely an example. They have been ‘hiring’ for these unpaid positions for a bit over 2 years now. My question is, who the hell is agreeing to do this? A ‘Special’ Assistant US Attorney… I’m guessing the ‘special’ connotation is the right one to put in front of this. Lets briefly break down the job position. You don’t get paid. But you are supposedly required to work there full-time for a year (or possibly 18 months.. woo!) assuming responsibilities as if you do. Working there will not help you get a job there. In fact if a job opens up during the free year you have given them, they will not consider you for it even if you apply. And by the way, you aren’t allowed to work anywhere else either, plus you have to go take a random drug test for us to come work for free (I guess they also think you’d have to be on crack to consider this). There are also some implicit considerations for this position… no medical insurance. No malpractice insurance (even though you are working in a legal capacity for them as a lawyer). No actual status within the DOJ (so you cant even get a G rating to leverage yourself for later jobs). Oh, and since this isn’t a real Fed. position, your student loans will not be eligible for the forgiveness for working in a public sector position. Hope you enjoy clicking forbearance on your loans for the next 12-18 months (and have a spouse to keep you fed and housed).
So what is this? A hobby? A career path with less money and benefits than a hobo?
Lets consider this like we would an internship.
Federal Fair Labor Rules governing Internships (PDF) (web link)
The following six criteria must be applied when making this determination:
- The internship, even though it includes actual operation of the facilities of the employer, is similar to training which would be given in an educational environment;
- The internship experience is for the benefit of the intern;
- The intern does not displace regular employees, but works under close supervision of existing staff;
- The employer that provides the training derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the intern; and on occasion its operations may actually be impeded;
- The intern is not necessarily entitled to a job at the conclusion of the internship; and
- The employer and the intern understand that the intern is not entitled to wages for the time spent in the internship.
… If an employer uses interns as substitutes for regular workers or to augment its existing workforce during specific time periods, these interns should be paid at least the minimum wage and overtime compensation for hours worked over forty in a workweek. If the employer would have hired additional employees or required existing staff to work additional hours had the interns not performed the work, then the interns will be viewed as employees and entitled compensation under the FLSA.
It sounds pretty similar… right? Except for the fact that you are expected to work full time, not for an educational benefit, for somewhere that definitely receives a benefit, and you are effectively taking the place of a paid worker, and hold all the responsibilities of a US Atty with none of the benefits, protections, or money.
But this isn’t an internship is it… It’s not even a fellowship. Crap, most of the time both of those are paid positions (or potentially so). So why does this position exist? Well, what if instead we look at some of the full US Attorney job postings, you might find that a great many of them state this:
Who May Apply: Due to the Attorney General’s hiring freeze, only current permanent employees of the U. S. Attorney’s Office and EOUSA may be considered and selected
Ahh… so now we see what this is. The US Attorney’s office needs more people, but can’t pay for them. So instead they ‘hire’ free people. I guess because they can. No one else in the US could… they would get sued for violations of fair labor standards out the ass. I guess the US attorney’s office figures no enterprising employment attorney is going to sue them over this. I wonder how that’s going to work out for them.