|
 The settlement resolves claims that NBCUniversal, a unit of
Comcast Corp, violated the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and
state laws in New York, California and Connecticut by
classifying the plaintiffs improperly as "non-employee interns,"
exempt from applicable wage and hour requirements.
Court approval is required for the settlement, which was filed
Wednesday night in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan. The
average payout would be about $505, court papers show.
"It was probably a good idea for NBCUniversal to settle," said
Marcia McCormick, an employment law professor at Saint Louis
University School of Law. "NBCUniversal ran the risk that its
decision not to pay interns might be viewed by a court as
willful, which could result in much higher damages."
NBCUniversal denied wrongdoing in agreeing to settle. A
spokeswoman, Lauren Skowronski, declined to comment.
Justin Swartz, a partner at Outten & Golden representing the
plaintiffs, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The July 2013 lawsuit is one of dozens filed in the United
States challenging private companies' longstanding practices of
paying interns nothing, or less than minimum wage.
Many were filed after U.S. District Judge William Pauley's
groundbreaking June 2013 decision that Twenty-First Century Fox
Inc's Fox Searchlight Pictures should have paid two interns,
also represented by Outten & Golden, who worked on the 2010
movie "Black Swan."
Relying heavily on U.S. Department of Labor guidelines for
internships, the Manhattan judge said interns often supplant
paid employees, and typically deserve to be paid in part because
employers are the "primary beneficiaries" of their work.
[to top of second column] |
This is true, he said, even if interns get benefits such as
on-the-job experience, and the chance to build their resumes and
obtain references.
Among the other companies sued by interns are the publishing houses
Conde Nast and Hearst, and Warner Music Group.
Conde Nast ended its internship program last October, and according
to court papers "finalized" the main settlement agreement about two
weeks ago.
"The decision in the Fox Searchlight case really did change the
landscape," said David Yamada, an employment law professor at
Suffolk University Law School in Boston.
NBCUniversal's settlement "suggests that employers and their lawyers
are concluding that many unpaid internships in the private sector
would violate minimum wage laws," Yamada added. "A settlement of
this size indicates that this employer saw the handwriting on the
wall."
Outten & Golden is seeking $1.18 million in legal fees, plus costs
and expenses, in the NBCUniversal case.
The case is Eliastam et al v. NBCUniversal Media LLC, U.S. District
Court, Southern District of New York, No. 13-04634.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Marguerita
Choy)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
