@chrisw but unpaid internships are legal, as long as they follow the six rules (http://smallbusiness.findlaw.com/employment-law-and-human-resources/unpaid-internship-rules.html). but i’m not going to get into a legal fight with them about that. Based on my judgment of her, I could see the HR person being either very stubborn and unyielding, or be too lazy to argue with me, and throw me some cash. But either way, how do I reply to a response such as “You should have known it was unpaid to begin with,” or “You’re only working a 30 hour work week, so you should have time to find a part-time job”?