Running Successful and Legally Compliant Internships
Primer for Nonprofits on Paid Employees, Volunteers, and Interns
II-28 – The New Relaxed Intern Standard and Implications for Employers
Employment Law This Week®: DOL’s Association Health Plan Proposal, NJLAD Includes Nursing Mothers, New Unpaid Intern Test, HHS’s Conscience-Based Protections
Student and Alumni Litigation
Polsinelli Podcast - To Pay or Not to Pay? The Rules for Summer Interns in 2014
Unpaid Internships: Are They Legal?
Failed Unpaid Intern Class Action Hints at Impact of Comcast v. Behrend
Our quarterly report discusses new developments in class action litigation and offers strategic guidance and tactical tips on how to defend such claims. This issue covers the following topics: - Are you my employer? A...more
An improper class still isn’t a class even if you settle - Here’s something you don’t see every day. A district court has rejected the settlement of a proposed class and collective action – not due to the usual reasons such...more
In yet another blow to Obama-era Department of Labor (DOL) precedent, the DOL recently eliminated its six-part test for determining whether interns can be deemed employees for purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA),...more
An overview of last Friday’s jobs report, which saw the US adding fewer jobs than expected but also tracked a welcomed increase in wages for the least-educated workers....more
Four years ago, a wave of cases involving unpaid internships looked to be the next “big thing.” As those cases sputtered, however, and employers reduced or eliminated internships, the flood of anticipated litigation never...more
Where's the line between an intern and an employee? If you think that's an easy question, consider this: the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) defines "employ" broadly as to "suffer or permit to work." So, who's to say that...more
Litigation Over Interns Dries Up Internship Opportunities - The natural and probable consequence of litigation over unpaid internships was that such opportunities would disappear because the risk of litigation for even...more
Class action lawsuits filed by interns who claim they should be classified as employees have proliferated over the last few years. In these types of cases, a large number of interns have argued that they were actually...more
Blog readers who have been following the recent wave of wage and hour lawsuits by interns will recall that the Second Circuit, in a major decision issued in early July, held that the “primary beneficiary” test should govern...more
The big news this quarter is the U.S. Supreme Court’s acceptance of Tyson Foods, Inc. v. Bouaphakeo, an employment case likely to have major ramifications across the whole spectrum of class action litigation. The Court is set...more
Earlier this month Sirius XM Radio Inc. settled a wage & hour class action with a class of 1,852 unpaid interns that claimed the company violated federal and state labor laws by failing to compensate them for the work they...more
As this blog previously reported, a three-judge panel of the Second Circuit ruled against two separate groups of interns in early July, applying the “primary beneficiary” test—to evaluate whether unpaid interns are trainees...more
On July 2, 2015, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals issued significant pro-employer decisions in Glatt v. Fox Searchlight Pictures (Nos. 13-4478-cv, 13-4481-cv) (“Fox”) and Wang v. Hearst Corp. (No. 13-4480-cv) (“Hearst”)...more
Second Circuit Reverses Class Certification Ruling in Fox Searchlight Unpaid Intern Case, Directing Trial Court to View Economic Benefit Factors Through New Lens - A federal appellate court in New York handed an apparent...more
The July 2015 edition of Employment Flash covers a number of developments, including: the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that job applicants need only show that a religious accommodation was a factor in denying employment to...more
Employee's Inability To Work For A Particular Supervisor Does Not Constitute A "Disability" - Higgins-Williams v. Sutter Med. Found., 237 Cal. App. 4th 78 (2015) - Michaelin Higgins-Williams worked as a clinical...more
On July 2, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued two eagerly awaited decisions that may dampen the recent wave of collective and class actions filed by unpaid interns claiming they should be paid...more
Can businesses use unpaid interns? Over the past few years, this is a frequent question from corporate clients and a mainstay subject in the legal blogosphere (including right here). The heightened interest stemmed from a...more
On July 2, 2015, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision regarding the employment status of unpaid interns that should prove helpful to employers. In Glatt v. Fox Searchlight Pictures, Inc., Nos. 13-4478 and...more
Many of us spent summers working as interns, getting access to the industry of our choice, making contacts, learning – and yes running errands and filing and stuffing envelopes and doing other “grunt” work. Most young people...more
In a pair of closely watched decisions, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a federal trial court decision that granted class and conditional collective action certification to claims brought by a former unpaid...more
The Second Circuit’s ruling provides employers with greater leeway for unpaid internship programs and a stronger defense for class-action lawsuits brought by unpaid interns. In a long-awaited decision, the US Court of...more
In a closely watched case affecting the viability of unpaid internship programs at for-profit employers, the Second Circuit held that the “primary beneficiary” test should be used to decide whether interns should be deemed...more
The Second Circuit struck a blow today to individuals pursuing collective/class actions alleging that unpaid interns should be classified as employees. The Court announced an employer-friendly test that asks who benefits...more
Back in March we wrote about the group of former unpaid interns from Gawker Media’s Manhattan office suing to recover back pay under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and their desire to use social media to...more