Workforce Bulletin

The lingering morning chill in the air (at least, here, in the Northeast) suggests that summer is not quite here, but as the daylight persists through the evening hours, businesses small and large are gearing up for yet another summer – intern – season.

In anticipation of the arrival of these ambitious and eager workers, companies’ human resources professionals and stakeholders are asking the age-old questions:

Should these interns be classified as “employees” of the company?

Must they be compensated?

Isn’t knowledge and real-world experience the appropriate reward (and maybe some academic credit)?

Is this a wage and hour violation?

The answer to this question is that, it depends, which is a dependably frustrating response from a management-side employment lawyer.

Hospitality remains at the forefront of demanding industries where employers must be ever vigilant in their efforts to ensure full compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws and regulations. We highlight below five new or upcoming areas on which employers should focus.

– Jeffrey H. Ruzal

Hospitality Employers May Soon Face a Compliance Challenge: The New Proposed DOL Salary Threshold for “White Collar” Exemptions

Michael S. Kun

The Department of Labor (“DOL”) has proposed a new rule that would increase the salary threshold for most “white collar” ...

Webinar – Spring/Summer 2019

Internship programs can help employers source and develop talent, but they do not come without their pitfalls. If you are an employer at a tech startup, a large financial institution, a fashion house, or something else entirely, and you plan on having interns this summer, this webinar is for you. Learn the steps for creating a legally compliant internship program.

For many years, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) used the “six-factor test” when determining whether an employee was legally considered an unpaid intern, such that the intern ...

Webinar – Spring/Summer 2019

Internship programs can help employers source and develop talent, but they do not come without their pitfalls. If you are an employer at a tech startup, a large financial institution, a fashion house, or something else entirely, and you plan on having interns this summer, this webinar is for you. Learn the steps for creating a legally compliant internship program.

For many years, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) used the “six-factor test” when determining whether an employee was legally considered an unpaid intern, such that the ...

Webinar - Spring/Summer 2019

Internship programs can help employers source and develop talent, but they do not come without their pitfalls. If you are an employer at a tech startup, a large financial institution, a fashion house, or something else entirely, and you plan on having interns this summer, this webinar is for you. Learn the steps for creating a legally compliant internship program.

For many years, the U.S. Department of Labor ("DOL") used the “six-factor test” when determining whether an employee was legally considered an unpaid intern, such that the intern would not ...

By Jennifer A. Goldman

As the summer internship season gets underway, unpaid interns are continuing to file a spate of lawsuits claiming violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and state wage and hour laws.  On May 29, 2013, fashion designer Norma Kamali was slapped with a lawsuit from a former apprentice filed in New York federal court.  This lawsuit continues a trend of unpaid interns suing employers including the Hearst Corporation, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Elite Model Management, and the Charlie Rose Show.

According to the Complaint, former apprentice ...