As discussed in this space just last week, there is an ongoing war regarding compensation of interns under the FLSA. In a victory for employers, last week, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled that individuals completing externships relating to their enrollment in MedVance Institute’s Medical Billing and Coding Specialist program
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New York Judge Rejects Interns’ Novel Argument That Paying School Tuition Is An Indirect Wage Deduction
In the latest chapter in the ongoing intern battles currently being waged in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge Harold Baer rejected plaintiffs’ novel assertion of unlawful wage deductions. Wang v. Hearst Corp., 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3768 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 9, 2013). The Wang litigation concerns the applicability…
New York Federal Court Holds Former Student Turned “Volunteer” Was Just That, Not Employee Under The FLSA
This blog has explained that the Fair Labor Standards Act does not expressly authorize unpaid interns, and the viability of unpaid internships is generally assessed through the FLSA’s definition of an unpaid “trainee.” Application of this trainee test to various interns and volunteers is often murky and inconsistent. In a new decision deftly navigating this difficult…
Second Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Bloggers’ Compensation Suit
Following appeal of a New York trial court decision issued last spring, the Second Circuit has rejected three Huffington Post (the “Post”) bloggers’ claims to recover $105 million allegedly owed to them and the Post’s other bloggers under theories of unjust enrichment and deceptive business practices. Tasini, et al. v. AOL, Inc., et al.…
Volunteer Firefighter Not “Employee” Under the FLSA
As litigation over the alleged “employee” status of unpaid interns continues, employers and courts continue to analyze whether other service providers are “employees” under the FLSA who must receive minimum wage and overtime for hours in excess of 40. Consistent with the Sixth Circuit’s employer-friendly ruling on a similar issue, the Court of Appeals…
Huffington Post Wins Victory In Bloggers’ Compensation Suit
The FLSA does not expressly contemplate unpaid volunteer work. And, as we have previously noted, the DOL accepts the non-payment of “interns” only when certain constraints are met. From time to time, providers of online content to web sites, whether paid or unpaid, bring claims that the form of payment provided to…
Reminder: The Perils of Interns
Since the Fair Labor Standards Act contains no provision contemplating the concept of the unpaid intern, employers often find themselves defending their decision to classify someone who provides services to the company as being outside the protections afforded “employees” under the statute. Such a defense can be challenging, although one vocational school in Tennessee succeeded…
California DLSE Modifies Its Standard For Legality of Unpaid Internships
Subsequent to our post of April 6, the California DLSE issued a lengthy new opinion letter regarding trainees, available here. In it, the Division upholds the uncompensated “intern” status of participants in the Year Up program, a program in which a not-for-profit places 18-24 year olds in underserved communities to develop marketable skills in…