Recognizing the need to provide clarity to the business community in light of voluminous litigation, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently agreed to hear appeals in the Fox and Hearst intern cases. Glatt v. Fox Searchlight Pictures Inc., Case Number 13-2467, 11/26/13. The Court will examine the different
interns
More and More Interns Seeking Allegedly Unpaid Wages
Presumably buoyed by the district court ruling in Glatt v. Fox Searchlight Pictures Inc., 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 82079 (S.D.N.Y. June 11, 2013), a number of copy-cat lawsuits have been filed by former entertainment industry interns in recent weeks in the Southern District of New York’s Manhattan courthouse seeking unpaid wages. Salaam, et al. …
Manhattan Judge Analyzes Appropriate Standard for Intern Determination, Denies Class Certification
In a significant victory for employers in the series of hotly contested cases regarding the status of interns, the Hearst Corporation successfully defeated class certification under the New York Labor Law. Xuedan Wang v. Hearst Corp., 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 65869 (S.D.N.Y. May 8, 2013).
As important to wage/hour practitioners and employers as…
Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Affirms Trial Ruling That Vocational Students Are Not “Employees” Under FLSA
While it is understood that the FLSA applies to any “employee” employed by an “employer”, numerous courts have observed that this analysis does little to flesh who is an “employee”. In a recent appellate decision highlighting such difficulties, the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held students enrolled in a vocational training program at an…
We Don’t Have To Pay Our Interns – Do We?
For years, students and recent graduates have accepted internships with employers to gain work and practical experience. Many, if not most, employers have treated and continue to treat these internships as “unpaid.” What’s more, in many industries (including film and advertising) this practice is an institutional rite of passage – part of “dues paying”. Recent actions…