>>The employer derives no immediate advantage from the intern;
If the intern is doing work for free that the employer would have to have a paid employee perform, they are gaining an advantage and therefore are violating the law.
Can you honestly give an example of an unpaid internship where the employer is not gaining an advantage? If so, then it is fine to not pay them. But those are very, very rare. My opinion, obviously, but I can't think of a non-contrived example.
If the intern is doing work for free that the employer would have to have a paid employee perform, they are gaining an advantage and therefore are violating the law.
Can you honestly give an example of an unpaid internship where the employer is not gaining an advantage? If so, then it is fine to not pay them. But those are very, very rare. My opinion, obviously, but I can't think of a non-contrived example.