Unionized employers often enter into agreements with employees regarding compensation for particular hours or break periods. These agreements are reached through bargaining for the mutual benefit of the employer and union members. At times, such agreements can potentially be in tension with Department of Labor regulations regarding hours of work and break periods. The Wisconsin
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Supreme Court Declines Review of Intern Compensability Issue
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in Coverage, Minimum Wage
While the compensability of time spent in internship programs continues to be an hotly contested litigation issue, the United States Supreme Court has declined an opportunity to provide clarity in this area, denying certiorari to a Florida medical billing intern whose claim was rejected last year by the Eleventh Circuit. Kaplan v. Code Blue …
New York Judge Rejects Interns’ Novel Argument That Paying School Tuition Is An Indirect Wage Deduction
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in Minimum Wage, New York State
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…
Second Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Bloggers’ Compensation Suit
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in Coverage
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.…
Federal Court Finds Time Spent On-Premises On-Call During Lunch Breaks Non-Compensable
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in Hours of Work
The FLSA requires that employers pay employees for all work time, as well as for any time that the employee is “engaged to wait.” An employee is “engaged to wait” when the employee is idle, but is constrained with respect to engaging in personal activities. Thus, the employee’s time is deemed to be “for the benefit&rdquo…
We Don’t Have To Pay Our Interns – Do We?
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in Department of Labor, Minimum Wage
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…