MOVIE STUDIO VIOLATED WAGE LAWS BY NOT PAYING INTERNS

Employment Law & Verdicts, Hiring, Interesting Reading, Lawsuits, Legislature

In the decision, Judge William H. Pauley III ruled that Fox Searchlight should have paid two interns on the movie “Black Swan,” because they were essentially regular employees.

The judge noted that these internships did not foster an educational environment and that the studio received the benefits of the work. The case could have broad implications. Young people have flocked to internships, especially against the backdrop of a weak job market.

Employment experts estimate that undergraduates work in more than one million internships a year, an estimated half of which are unpaid, according to Intern Bridge, a research firm.

“Employers have already started to take a hard look at their internship programs,” said Rachel Bien, a lawyer for the plaintiffs. “I think this decision will go far to discourage private companies from having unpaid internship programs.”

Chris Petrikin, a spokesman for 20th Century Fox, said: “We are very disappointed with the court’s rulings. We believe they are erroneous, and will seek to have them reversed.”

Eric Glatt and Alexander Footman, production interns on “Black Swan,” sued Fox Searchlight in September 2011. In the suit, Mr. Glatt and Mr. Footman said they did basic chores, usually undertaken by paid employees. Like their counterparts in other industries, the interns took lunch orders, answered phones, arranged other employees’ travel plans, tracked purchase orders, took out the trash and assembled office furniture.

“I’m absolutely thrilled,” said Mr. Glatt, who has an M.B.A. from Case Western Reserve University. “I hope that this sends a very loud and clear message to employers and to students doing these internships, and to the colleges that are cooperating in creating this large pool of free labor — for most for-profit employers, this is illegal. It shouldn’t be up to the least powerful person in the arrangement to have to bring a lawsuit to stop this.”

In the ruling, the judge said unpaid internships should be allowed only in very limited circumstances.”

NEW YORK FURTHER RESTRICTS EMPLOYER USE OF SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS

Background Checks, Employment Law & Verdicts

Unless an exception applies, New York General Business Law § 399-ddd, effective Dec. 12, 2012, mandates that most employers in New York refrain from requiring that employees disclose their full or partial social security numbers, and from denying to employees “any service, privilege or right” due to nondisclosure. Two statutory exceptions are potentially quite broad,…

SUPREME COURT ARGUES WHO COUNTS AS A SUPERVISOR UNDER FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION LAW

Discrimination, Employment Law & Verdicts, Interesting Reading

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court heard arguments on Monday about who counts as a supervisor under a federal employment discrimination law. The court also issued orders clearing the way for further challenges to aspects of President Obama’s health care law and rejecting an appeal concerning the insanity defense. EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION The employment case was brought…

NEWARK ORDINANCE RESTRICTS THE USE OF CRIMINAL HISTORY INFORMATION IN EMPLOYMENT

Announcements, Criminal Background Checks, Employment Law & Verdicts, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Legislature

-Article written by attorneys at Seyfarth Shaw LLP- The City of Newark, New Jersey recently passed an ordinance that will significantly impact employers’ and other entities’ ability to conduct criminal background checks or even ask about a candidate’s criminal background. The ordinance limits both when and the extent to which employers may ask about or…

CALIFORNIA AB 1450 WOULD PROHIBIT DISCRIMINATION AGAINST UNEMPLOYED JOBSEEKERS

Employment Law & Verdicts

To help prevent discrimination against unemployed Californians by employers or employment agencies only interested in hiring applicants who already have a job, newly proposed legislation in the state – California Assembly Bill No. 1450 (AB 1450) – would fine California employers and employment agencies that refuse to consider jobless applicants for job openings. Introduced by…