Since the financial crash, jobs have held a top spot in public discussion. But among all the employment talk, one sector of the workforce has consistently received relatively little attention: interns.

In the past few decades, the number of internships in the United States has ballooned. One recent study found that just over half of graduating college seniors had held some sort of internship. That’s more than double the rate another study found two decades ago.

But legal protection for interns, particularly those who are unpaid, hasn’t kept pace with this rapidly emerging workforce.

That’s why we’re turning our eyes to internships in the U.S.

In April 2010, the Department of Labor released a six-point test to help determine whether an internship in the for-profit sector qualifies to be unpaid under federal law. One of the key criteria is that the position must be of more benefit to the intern than of benefit to the company. Companies can’t just use interns to replace regular employees.

The Department of Labor may examine internships during investigations of an employer’s compliance with wage standards and record-keeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, according to a spokesperson.

But Dr. Philip Gardner, director of the Collegiate Employment Research Institute at Michigan State University, says the government’s enforcement efforts have been passive.

“You have to file a complaint for them to act,” he said. “The rules are there. But in the scheme of things, the [Department of Labor] wouldn’t spend a lot of time heading out to employers.”

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