Update: Saturday, 10 a.m. The Bay City News reports that the San Francisco Giants released a statement today addressing the new investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor into its unpaid internship program:
"The Department of Labor has made an inquiry into our internship program. It is not entirely clear what prompted the inquiry or exactly what the Department may be concerned about," the statement said.
"The Giants have an established, highly sought-after internship program where students have the opportunity to gain real world experiences while earning school credit towards their degrees. In the past, interns were paid monthly stipends in addition to receiving school credit. Interns now are paid at or above minimum wage on top of receiving school credit," the statement said.
Original post: For the second time this year, the San Francisco Giants are under investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor.
At the end of August, the Giants agreed to pay 74 employees $544,715 in back wages after an investigation found some workers in the Giants' clubhouse and elsewhere in the organization were making far below the federal minimum wage of $7.25. The department said that some clubhouse attendants were getting paid $55 a day for working 12 to 15 hours a shift.
Yesterday Myron Levin and Stuart Silverstein of FairWarning.org reported that now the Labor Department is investigating the Giants' “possible improper use of unpaid interns.” (The department is also investigating the Miami Marlins for potential wage violations.)