Authored by Robert Whitman

Seyfarth Synopsis: The Department of Labor has scrapped its 2010 Fact Sheet on internship status and adopted the more flexible and employer-friendly test devised by Second Circuit.

In a decision that surprised no one who has followed the litigation of wage hour claims by interns, the US Department of Labor has abandoned its ill-fated six-part test
Continue Reading DOL Bids Adieu to Six-Factor Internship Test

Co-authored by Robert Whitman and Adam Smiley

Spring is around the corner, with summer not far behind, so thoughts naturally turn to the obvious topic: internships.

Although the volume of new lawsuits by unpaid interns challenging their status has abated significantly since the Second Circuit issued its decision in July 2015 announcing a new legal standard and rejecting the Department
Continue Reading Closure For Second Circuit Intern Case, But Risks Persist Nationally

Co-authored by Robert Whitman and Meredith-Anne Berger

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 whether interns were properly classified as such or should have been treated as full-fledged
Continue Reading Another Blow to DOL Position on Internships

Co-authored by Robert WhitmanAdam J. Smiley, and Meredith-Anne Berger

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 not entitled to wages or employees who must be paid—and stating that conditional and
Continue Reading Full Court Press for Interns at Second Circuit?

Co-authored by Robert Whitman, Adam Smiley, and Meredith-Anne Berger

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 employees or trainees. The court also held that this test requires highly individualized inquiries —
Continue Reading Second Circuit Teaches Unpaid Interns a Lesson

Co-authored by Robert S. Whitman and Adam J. Smiley

The Second Circuit heard arguments this morning in two cases that raise critical issues for the fate of internships in for-profit businesses: Fox Searchlight’s appeal of the decision granting summary judgment and class certification to interns who worked on film productions, and the appeal by former Hearst Corporation interns whose motion
Continue Reading Live From New York – It’s The Second Circuit (Unpaid Intern Case)!

Co-authored by Robert S. WhitmanNadia S. Bandukda, Adam J. Smiley, and Jade Wallace

The Super Bowl isn’t the only major showdown coming this weekend.

On Friday morning, a three-judge Second Circuit panel will hear argument in two cases raising critical issues for the fate of internships in for-profit businesses:  (1) Fox Searchlight’s appeal of the decision
Continue Reading Unpaid Internship Showdown at the Second Circuit