Didn't they rules these illegal earlier this year? Or does that only apply to CA, since it was a federal appeals court? I have to imagine that the Supreme Court will weigh in on this in the near future. I'm conflicted. I think it's bullshit to have an intern doing menial work that a janitor or copy boy should be doing. In that sense, they aren't interns at all. However, I always have students that want to volunteer in my lab every summer, and I usually accept one or two. They don't generally get paid, but they seem happy to have the work. On the other hand, they are learning lab skills and how to conduct everyday science. It is inescapable sometimes that they do what probably wouldn't be classified as "learning". To have to separate the learning from the mundane, and pay them for one and not the other, would be incredibly difficult.
As far as I can tell, from a quick google, they haven't been ruled illegal yet. http://www.lawyersmutualnc.com/blog/floodgates-open-on-unpai... I think it comes down to choice. I think the reason a lot of people take these unpaid internships is because they think they can get their foot in the door, even if they are just doing menial labor. At some point people need to recognize when an internship is going to be beneficial for them, and when it is just beneficial for the employer. When you are actually in a position to be taken seriously unpaid internships can be a great way to network and get to know people (I took one working for a downtown planner working on a town counsel once for this reason). But if you are just running coffee, just being around people isn't going to help the people you are trying to network with don't take you seriously.