As obtaining four-year bachelor’s degrees become a more ubiquitous precursor to entering today’s workforce, many employers are looking for new ways to distinguish among prospective employees: internships.

All internships typically contribute to an intern’s knowledge in his or her field of study and provide valuable “real-world” working experience, but not all pay. Not only has the issue of paying (or not paying) interns been the fulcrum of the intersection between higher education and the workforce, but it essentially sets one group of interns ahead of the other.

In June, a U.S. court declared that two unpaid interns working on the production of “Black Swan” must be financially compensated by 20th Century Fox for their work, which paralleled that of paid employees. In retrospect, the ruling was the first to blur the line between the entitlements of interns versus employees.  

And earlier this month, a New York federal district court ruled that an unpaid intern suing her employer for sexual harassment could not bring a lawsuit forth since she was not an employee and therefore not protected under the law.

The problem isn’t so much whether these interns are getting paid, but rather the legal ramifications of what being paid means for interns. The first example highlights that although unpaid interns may do the same work as paid employees, they are not legally employees and will not be compensated accordingly as employees. The second highlights that although unpaid interns may be working in the same environment as other paid employees, they are not treated as equals in the work environment under the law.

This is often the picturesque version of the exploited unpaid intern narrative: Do the same work as employees with little-to-no pay and none of the legal benefits. And while many employers see unpaid internships as the intern’s voluntary choice to learn the ins and outs of entry-level positions, it’s questionable whether losing the legal status as an employee is even worth the experience.

How can the phenomenon of unpaid internships persist when U.S. courts are telling interns that they can’t bring a case of sexual assault to court because they aren’t technically employees, despite breathing and working in the same environment as them? And how can it persist when interns are exploited for their work and stripped of their compensation by world-renowned, powerhouse companies such as 20th Century Fox?

It can’t. We can’t continue allowing an internship system once set on putting prospective employees ahead with the experience they need into a system that makes it so incredibly easy for employers to take advantage of their interns.

Instead, prospective unpaid interns should be aware of what separates them from paid employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act — that they aren’t necessarily entitled to a job at the end of the internship or entitled to wages. But employers considering bringing on unpaid interns should also be aware of the conditions of an unpaid internship — such as an intern taking the place of regular paid employees or the internship as a benefit for the intern and not necessarily the employer.

Some companies have decided to terminate their internship programs. Conde Nast, a magazine publisher, did so when allegations arose that the company was paying below minimum wage. However, other companies are keeping their doors wide open.

Research Park, for example, prides itself on and depends on the student workforce at the University. According to its website, more than one-third of employees and research assistants are undergraduate students, many of whom are paid. And the Park explicitly states on its website that wages for interns are “substantially lower than full-time hires” and that “interns are prepared for full-time employment through training.”

They lay the expectations out, define the rules and set the standards. If only all internship programs could steer away from the selfish intentions of the company and toward whom they really are meant to benefit — the interns.