On June 9, 2022, a divided panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit decided an unpaid intern who participated in a forensic photography training program was not entitled to wages under the Fair...more
A February 2020 jury verdict against county music star Martina McBride’s production company highlights – albeit indirectly – the perils of unpaid internship programs and the issues they can cause under the Fair Labor...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Courts across the country have frequently weighed in on the unpaid interns/ trainees versus paid employee debate. Now, the 10th Circuit has jumped into the fray with a decision affirming that a massage...more
Last month, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals became the fourth appellate circuit to reject the Department of Labor’s six-part test for determining whether internships at for-profit companies must be paid. The DOL test...more
Internships are often a great way for students and young people to get their foot in the door and land their first job. But employers must ask themselves: is your unpaid intern actually an intern, or is the “intern” really an...more
As summer approaches, many employers are considering “hiring” summer interns, as well as what to pay them, if anything. Some employers will consider engaging the services of unpaid interns, sometimes at the request of eager...more
On January 5, 2018, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) adopted a more lenient standard for assessing whether interns qualify as employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). Previously, in 2010, the DOL promulgated...more
Over the last few years, several federal courts—and, most recently last month, another appellate court—rejected the Obama administration’s mandatory six-prong test for whether someone can properly be classified as an unpaid...more
A federal judge has sided with Gawker in the media company’s legal battle with a former unpaid intern who claimed that he should have been compensated as an employee. On March 29th, Judge Alison Nathan in the Southern...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
As colleges and universities begin new terms, not all students are returning to the classroom. Some students are headed into the “real world,” to work alongside corporate titans, small-business owners, or moms and pops in...more
A recent decision by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals appears to reject the U.S. Department of Labor’s oft-recited six-factor test, which is used to determine whether interns are actually functioning as employees. In...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
With school about to start, students looking for internships will not be far behind. If your company has an internship program, you need to be award of the regulations governing the same....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
Over the past several years, employment lawyers have cautioned their clients with regard to legal risks involved with unpaid internships. As these internships rose in popularity, many of the arrangements failed to meet...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
On July 2, 2015, in a matter of first impression, the Second Circuit issued a ruling in Glatt v. Fox Searchlight Pictures, Inc., Nos. 13-4478, 13-4481 (2d Cir. July 2, 2015), and provided a new test for whether a worker can...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