Like interns, vocational students often provide some degree of service as part of their vocational program. For this reason, such arrangements are susceptible to the allegation that these services are compensable “work time” under the FLSA. While such allegations have been made in some recent cases, in the first handful of these to reach
vocational school
Pennsylvania Federal Court: Cosmetology Student Not An “Employee” Entitled To Minimum Wage
By Noel P. Tripp on
Last week, a Pennsylvania federal judge held that a former cosmetology school student was not entitled to minimum wage as an “employee” under the Fair Labor Standards Act or the Pennsylvania Wage Payment and Collection Law. Jochim v. Jean Madeline Educ. Ctr. of Cosmetology, Inc., 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 45663 (E.D. Pa. Apr. 8,…
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 …
Reminder: The Perils of Interns
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in Coverage
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…
Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Affirms Trial Ruling That Vocational Students Are Not “Employees” Under FLSA
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in Coverage
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…