Labor laws and Internships

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The Regional Internship Center strives to clarify any misunderstandings associated with the labor laws and internships by providing resources from the Department of Labor and other labor experts.

While we cannot provide legal advice, we can help employers structure internship programs that comply with Department of Labor standards of employment.

Recently, thirteen university presidents sent a letter to U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis asking her to not to regulate internship programs. The letter stresses the important and increasingly vital role internship programs have on the career path of people looking to gain work experience. No one can disagree with the sentiment expressed by these universities. In the seven years the RIC has been in existence, we have witnessed the shift in the role of internships in kick-starting the careers of our upcoming workforce.

The Washington D.C. think tank, Economic Policy Institute‘s Vice President Ross Eisenbrey also wrote a letter to Honorable Hilda Solis reminding everyone that the Department of Labor has always regulated internships. In fact, Mr. Eisenbrey notes in his letter, “The Department [of Labor] has not proposed any change in its regulation but has merely sent a reminder to employers and employees that the law, the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, must be followed, along with guidance to help them comply.”

Department of Labor: Rules for ‘Educational’ Internships

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The RIC answers questions from employers and internship seekers about the legalities around internships. We act as a resource hub by collecting information on the topic of internships and workforce development.

Sara Lipka, staff writer for the Chronicle of Higher Education wrote an article outlining information released from the Department of Labor

Excerpt from Ms. Lipka’s article: “Amid increasing national attention to unpaid internships, the U.S. Department of Labor released a statement on Wednesday that clarifies employers’ and colleges’ roles under federal law”…Read the full article.

The Power of Informational Interviews – Learn from CDCP’s Danielle Robinson!

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Danielle Robinson - Development and Events Coordinator for Community Design Center of Pittsburgh (CDCP)

Searching for an internship but not finding what you’re looking for?

Well, you don’t have to wait.

Danielle Robinson is currently the Development and Events Coordinator for Community Design Center of Pittsburgh (CDCP). Danielle originally began working at CDCP as a volunteer, which eventually led to an internship, which has since turned into a full-time position.

How did she begin volunteering for CDCP in the first place?

Danielle said she first became interested in the organization after reading a newspaper article coauthored by CDCP’s CEO. Afterward, she simply picked up the phone, and asked if she could volunteer. By offering to volunteer her work, she let CDCP know who she was and created an opportunity to gain work experience and become part of the organization.

Then perhaps from being in the right place at the right time, CDCP was able to create an internship opportunity for her only a few short months later.

The Power of Your Ideals

When I asked her what she believed made her stand out and keep moving up through the ranks, she said she believes it was her initial volunteering that showed CDCP her sincere commitment to the organization. It was obvious she was there because she believed in the mission of the organization, and not to just fill an internship requirement or get a job.

This leads me to advise you to request informational interviews at the organizations you’re curious about. Perhaps you might be interested in seeing what a particular position is like, or want to know more about a company’s culture. I myself did this recently with two organizations.

Check out the following link if you want to know how to go about requesting an interview, what kind of questions to ask, how to write a thank you letter, etc: click here. You can also contact the RIC Team, we’re always happy to help in any way we can!

Who Can I Reach Out To?

I emailed my program director at my graduate school asking if he had any contacts at the organizations I wanted to learn more about, and sure enough he knew several people at each! (TIP: Ask staff and faculty from your school and place you volunteer, as well as friends, and family for possible connections!) I dropped his name when I requested the interviews via email, and I was amazed when both people responded back to me in less than an hour!

I may have been extremely lucky that the two organizations I had reached out to were so accommodating. (If the company or organization that you reach out to is not, perhaps that might tell you something about the company culture of that business, or they might just sincerely be too busy. Just don’t let it discourage you!) Either way, informational interviews are a great way to do some networking and who knows, the people you meet just might pass on your resume. Just make sure you do your homework. Don’t ask questions when you can easily look up the answer on their website.

Point is, sometimes you have to create your own internship opportunities. And remember, sincerity goes a long way!

The Community Design Center of Pittsburgh (CDCP) is a non-profit organization that improves quality of life through good design of the built environment.

The CDCP offers design assistance in the form of grants, technical assistance, and education through two core programs: Design Fund Grants & Technical Assistance and RenPlan® – and three educational events – Pedal Pittsburgh, Design Excellence Lecture Series and Pittsburgh Design Fair for House and Garden.

DHS & RIC Partnership – Mock Interview

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Vocational rehabilitation and supportive housing participants attend mock interview and job readiness workshop sponsored by The Regional Internship Center and DHS to gain experience.

The Regional Internship Center (RIC) and the Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS) partnered to offer mock interviewing and a job readiness workshop to supportive housing residents.

Sara Dix addresses Supportive Housing residents

Sara Dix addresses Supportive Housing Residents participating in a mock interview with RIC and DHS

The residents come from various backgrounds and skill sets. For some the mock interview will help them take a step toward obtaining a second chance at securing a meaningful career; for others, after time away from consistent employment, the opportunity to enter into the workforce anew.

A workshop was also given to provide participants with guidance to answer difficult interviewing questions such as gaps in employment and criminal records.

Many of the participants, with their own tenacity and the help of DHS programs, have overcome barriers such as job loss, domestic violence and health concerns and are ready to enter the workforce and/or establish careers to support themselves in moving on from transitional housing programs into independent living.

There are currently more than 800 men and women living in supportive housing programs in Allegheny County

Supportive Housing Residents learn to use the RIC website to search for internships

Supportive Housing Residents learn to use the RIC website to search for internships

The mock interview and job readiness workshop was conducted in preparation for an internship fair that will occur in late April between the participants and regional employers seeking to expand their talent pipeline.

The Regional Internship Center helps individuals that are seeking experiential training in the form of internships.

Often, when employers host interns, it is with the intention of creating a pipeline of talent from which to hire. For the supportive housing residents, internships are a perfect chance to begin to obtain experience, build a resume, learn new skills or refresh skills and expand networks. The time spent at an internship provides interns with more tools with which they cant move onto a more challenging internship to gain even further experience, and, in the best case, transition into full time employment.

A Supportive Housing Resident speaks with an employer at an internship fair hosted by RIC and DHS

A Supportive Housing resident speaks with an employer

Southwestern PA has many small-to-medium sized companies looking for qualified and well-trained employees to fill positions in our growing job clusters such as information technology and communications, life science and advanced manufacturing. The RIC sees internships as a viable step toward obtaining these careers. The RIC provides services to employers within all industries and sectors to help them create and maintain well-run internship programs, and acts as a hub for employers and internship seekers to find one another.

Young People in Pittsburgh: What Neighborhood Is Right For Me?

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The City of Pittsburgh, as many locals know, is a great place to live. You have seen The City of Pittsburgh listed on the top 20 lists of numerous magazines as “the most livable city” in Forbes Magazine and most currently one of “the most generous cities,” in Charity Navigator. It seems this city has a lot going for it, as photographer Clyde Hare once said, “Pittsburgh may be the last place east where people still smile at you…” This quote, to me, shows that Pittsburghers are friendly people.

The choices between neighborhoods within the City of Pittsburgh is vast, 90 neighborhoods in all. Yet each neighborhood is unique and has its own vibe. Let’s narrow this down to where the majority of young people are said to live.

In this blog series I will categorize several of the neighborhoods within the city and focus on what young people look for in a neighborhood. All of the neighborhoods highlighted in the articles are chosen for meeting some of the criteria many young people require: access to public transit, neighborhood business district, eclectic qualities, and (most important) affordable housing.

As for this article, we will dive into those neighborhoods defined by their great local commercial districts.

Lawrenceville

City of Pittsburgh: Lawrenceville

Some locals state the up and coming neighborhood of Lawrenceville is a great neighborhood. It has a vibrant arts center, growing business district with coffee shops, a bowling ally, and other eclectic places. Next to Lawrenceville is Bloomfield, a traditionally Italian neighborhood, Pittsburgh’s “Little Italy,” and has its share of young people as well.  It also has a strong neighborhood business district with plenty of Italian eateries and even one of the best (in my opinon) Thai restaurants in the city!

Bloomfield

City of Pittsburgh:Bloomfield

The communities to the east are some of the most well known neighborhoods in Pittsburgh. Other neighborhoods located east of the downtown triangle with great local commercial districts are: East Liberty, Shadyside, Squirrel Hill, and Greenfield.

To the south of the downtown triangle, lie the communities making up City South. Some of the most well known in this area are the South Side and South Side Slopes communities. The South Side has one of the most vibrant historically designated business districts in Pittsburgh. It has a mix use layout of row-houses (townhouses), apartments, condos, and single family homes. It is conveniently located near Oakland and downtown. This neighborhood has shown a growing influx of young professionals over the past decade and the trend does not look like it is stopping.

City of Pittsburgh: South Side

Other south neighborhoods that have a character all of their own is that of Brookline and the independent borough of Dormont. Both of these communities are tied together geographically. The communities boast historic housing stock, the advantage of the LRT (Light Rail Transit) near or directly running through the community and small local commercial districts.  Brookline is known for being home to a variety of different shops and eateries on Brookline Boulevard. Dormont is also known for its eateries, with the Pittsburgh original Tom’s Diner and the famous Dor-Stop Diner.

If you would like to view data on each neighborhood within the city, I would recommend a new site published by the Department of City Planning called SNAP. It has census data, maps, and transportation data for each of the city’s 90 neighborhoods. Please stay tuned for my next blog on those neighborhoods that boast great public transit!

Surviving with an Unpaid Internship – Making Sleek

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I know what you’re thinking – I don’t have time to sit down to eat, let alone cook! Neither do we here at The Regional Internship Center. However, my roommate and I wanted to see if we could cook a healthy and delicious meal for under $2 per serving. We decided showing you how to make sleek, a vegan dish that is easy, healthy, and sure to please.

INGREDIENTS:

- ½ cup Dried Black-Eyed Peas
- 2 ½ cup Water
- 1 ½ lb. of Kale (or spinach if you must)
- ½ c Bulgur Wheat
- 1 c Sliced Onion (sweet onion preferred)
- ½ c Olive Oil
- Salt and Pepper

Keep in mind you need to soak your black-eyed peas overnight. You can decide to do a “quick soak” that involves boiling the peas and then letting them stand for an hour.

Overnight Soak: rinse peas, add 6 – 8 cups water to 2 cups of peas. Cover. Allow to sit for 6 to 8 hours, rinse and drain.

DAY OF GROCERY SHOPPING>

We headed to the East End Food Co-Op near Penn and Braddock: 7516 Meade St Pittsburgh, PA 15208, 412-242-3598.

Prices will vary
Kale: $2.89 ea.
Sweet Onion: 1.89 per lb.
Olive Oil: $12.99 for 33.8 oz. SALE! (This will last me for at least the entire Spring semester.)

Everything else we already had at home. That’s the beauty of buying items like black-eyed peas and bulgur wheat in bulk. They have a long shelf life, so they’re always there when you need them.

DAY OF COOKING:

Cooking Bulgur Wheat:
Boil 1 ¼ cup of water, add ½ cup of bulgur, cover, remove from heat. Allow to sit for 30 minutes.

While you are waiting for the water to boil, rinse and chop your kale, and slice your onion.


While you’re waiting for the bulgur wheat to cool, rinse and drain your black-eyed peas.

Cooking Black-Eyed Peas:
Place black-eyed peas and water in saucepan. Cover and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes.

At the same time, begin browning your onions in olive oil over medium heat. Spread the onions in a single layer on your pan. If there are too many onions in the pan, the liquid will not evaporate quickly which means the onions will cook but not caramelize.

*If you cook the onions over low heat for a longer period of time, you will get sweeter onions which is more ideal for our sleek recipe.

Thoroughly drain the bulgur wheat and add this to your peas and kale mixture. Then thoroughly drain this entire mixture.

Add chopped kale to your black-eyed peas for 6 minutes.


Combine the kale and peas with the caramelized onions in the onion pan for the best results. Add salt and pepper. Cook uncovered over low heat for 5 minutes.

Serve with toasted pita bread, or just eat plain.

PREP TIME: 10 minutes

COOK TIME: 45 minutes.

Serves 8 – 10. Average Cost per Serving: Less than $2.00! (We also calculated the costs for black-eyed peas and bulgur wheat in case you didn’t already have these in bulk.) And we even bought organic.

SUCCESS! So my roommate and I now have enough food for our next two to three courses.

Check out the other parts of this series:


Surviving with an Unpaid Internship 101 (Introduction)

Surviving with an Unpaid Internship Part 1: 9 Ways to Stretch Your Budget

Surviving with an Unpaid Internship Part 2: Hungry? Don’t Starve!