In other blog posts, I have commented on a number of lawsuits, class action suits, filed on behalf of individuals who were hired as “interns” but who then claim that they were actually “employees” under the FLSA and should have been compensated.  There are definite criteria that have to be met for someone to be deemed an intern, rather than an employee, and if the putative employer does not comply with all of the factors, the person is not an intern.

Charlie Rose, the TV personality/interviewer and his production company have recently settled a class action filed by interns who charged that they were, in fact, statutory employees and were not even paid the minimum wage.  The case is entitled Bickerton et al. v. Charles Rose et al. and was filed in state court in New York

The theory was that the interns were being used as “substitutes” for paid employees.  The plaintiffs’ counsel took some joy in noting that “if the court approves the settlement, it will be the first class action settlement of a wage-and-hour case brought by unpaid interns.”  The lawyers for the Company pooh-poohed the action, asserting that cost of defending the suit would be onerous, indeed, more than the settlement value.  Thus, it would certainly appear that, from a pure business perspective, the settlement was the proper decision to make.

The Company issued a statement that observed that “many past interns have gone on to very successful careers.”  [The show’s] interns are not employees; they did not perform ‘work’ for the program, and none of them ever expected to be paid for their internship."

From the settlement, each intern will receive $110 for every week they worked at the show, to a ceiling of ten weeks.  The Company secured the standard (and highly prized) non-admissions language.  The suit had been lodged under the theory that the Company intentionally misclassified these individuals as interns to reduce labor costs.  The plaintiffs maintained that since they were performing productive work, they could not be interns, where the emphasis on education, rather than production.For

This is one of a number of similar lawsuits, filed as class actions on behalf of interns allegedly misclassified (and allegedly misused).  The key here is that when you see a virus has started to spread, you (i.e. employers) should take heed and vaccinate yourselves.  In this case, that “vaccination” would be accomplished by measuring the activities and functions of any interns against the strict criteria under the Fair Labor Standards Act (and corresponding state laws), all of which must be met in order for the individual to truly be an “intern.”