Because of the current state of the economy, many small businesses are hiring unpaid interns this summer.

Extra workers, whether experienced or new to the workforce, can offer a lot of help to a company that can't necessarily afford to hire a regular staff member. However, it's important that businesses don't hire interns only to save money. After all, internships are meant to be for the benefit of the intern, not the employer.

There are actually federal laws that govern internships. The Fair Labor standards Act details the criteria an internship must meet in order for an intern to be unpaid. In essence, the law looks at an unpaid internship as a training program.

The FLSA states that an intern must receive training similar to that offered in a vocational school, with the training to benefit the intern. Also, the intern is not able to displace, or do work of, a regular employee.

The law further states that an employer must receive no immediate advantage from the acts of an intern. That means many tasks that are typical of interns, like stuffing envelopes or performing other services that benefit the employer, are technically illegal.

The FSLA also states that unpaid interns are not necessarily entitled to an entry level job at the end of the internship period. It's also imperative that both the intern and the employer understand that the intern is not entitled to any wages.

Some students who partake in unpaid internships receive college credit in exchange for their experience. Those students are governed by the School-to-Work Opportunities Act, which requires an intern to be in a planned program of job training coordinated with school-based learning.

Interns receiving college credit are supposed to perform tasks and activities that build upon one another, increase in complexity and help the intern learn and master basic skills. The intern also should be exposed to all aspects of their chosen industry. As with the FLSA, these interns cannot displace a regular employee.