Now that a major publishing company has been sued by an unpaid intern, others may be reforming their own internship programs in the interest of avoiding a similar situation.

Specifically, we’ve heard from a few reliable sources–two of whom work at Condé Nast–that the the publishers of Vogue, W, GQ, etc. have recently implemented a series of new changes and regulations for interns. And from what we’re hearing, it sounds like Condé internships are going to be some of the most tightly regulated in the fashion industry.

The following changes, we are told, went into effect for this semester:*
• Interns aren’t allowed to stay at the company for more than one semester per calendar year unless granted special clearance by Human Resources.
• Interns are required to do an orientation with HR where they are told to contact them if they are working unreasonably long hours or are mistreated.
• Interns can only work until 7pm and their security badges will actually be modified so that they won’t work after 7pm–meaning they won’t be able to get back into the building after 7 (making any late-afternoon errands or pickups particularly stressful)
• Interns are given stipends (around $550 for the semester)
• Interns have to receive college credit to be eligible for an internship.
• Interns will have to have official mentors
• Interns are only allowed to work on tasks related to the job at hand and no personal errands

So why now? A source inside Condé said:

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