For Disgruntled Young Workers, Lawsuits May Spark Intern Insurrection

[marmar]

(In These Times) You'd have to be pretty desperate to offer to work for free, right? Or you could be just an enthusiastic young student who believes that toiling for little more than free coffee and a line on your resume may boost your future career. But recent research shows that unpaid internships are not likely to lead a coveted job offer.

Now, some interns are taking legal action against bosses whom they say offered nothing in return for their labor. And the courts are listening. Earlier this month, a federal judge in Manhattan cast a legal shadow over unpaid internships by certifying a class-action lawsuit against Fox Searchlight and Fox Entertainment Group. Two unpaid interns filed suit accusing Fox of denying them proper wages for the weeks they spent performing essentially the same duties as regular employees.

The suit reveals how youthful aspirants can be seduced into a crap job gilded with glamorous IOUs. Eric Glatt and Alexander Footman allege that as Fox Searchlight interns, they "took lunch orders, answered phones, arranged other employees’ travel plans, tracked purchase orders, took out the trash and assembled office furniture," according to the New York Times.

The Department of Labor says that unpaid internships are supposed to balance educational experience for the intern and valuable labor for the employer. Paradoxically, under current legal guidelines, unpaid intern labor cannot include tasks that would warrant real pay, since any labor comparable to a regular job must be compensated as such. .................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/15190/for_disgruntled_young_workers_lawsuits_may_portend_intern_insurrection/