ProPublica

For the first time, the US Labor Department has gotten involved in a high-profile lawsuit brought by unpaid interns.

The federal agency filed an amicus brief in support of eight former interns suing Hearst Corporation for back wages.In the brief, the department urges the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals to adopt a narrower interpretation of the federal standard governing when for-profit employers may legally hire unpaid interns.

The Labor Department expresses particular concern that the sluggish economy has made "the promise of free labor...both tempting and available," allowing unpaid internships to proliferate.

"The department seeks to file amicus briefs when doing so can promote the department's interests (worker protection) and further its activities, such as enforcement of, in this case, wage and hour laws," a Labor Department spokesman wrote.

The former Hearst interns, led by Xuedan Wang, allege that they worked without pay for various Hearst magazines with little supervision or training. Wang said she worked between 40 and 55 hours a week for Harper's Bazaar, coordinating deliveries of accessories samples, doing clerical work such as expense reports and managing other unpaid interns.