Is it wrong to ask unpaid interns to pick up coffee?

• Author: Cohen, Randy
• Position: THE ETHICIST: Life's full of questions; he's got answers. - Brief article

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I work for a media company. We're quite busy lately, and I would like to send our interns, who are unpaid college students, on the occasional coffee run, but it seems wrong somehow. I know they wouldn't be learning anything, but isn't it better for the company to have an unpaid intern rather than a paid employee do this? Name Withheld, New York

IF ONLY "better for the company" were synonymous with "ethical," I would have an easier job. Many employers and colleges justify paying their interns little or nothing by reasoning that the students will earn college credit and their experience will be essentially educational Having made that bargain, both employer and college are bound by it. Interns should be assigned tasks that are at least potentially illuminating. If you want to hire people to run errands, do so but be candid about their duties.

Some flexibility is called for...