The Fair Labor Standards Act requires that employers pay every employee a minimum wage. Employers have been skirting this federal law for years by hiring unpaid interns. They do not receive any money – just job experience and a potential fulltime position. Companies have been illegally taking advantage of unpaid interns for too long. That is why the Sarelson Law Firm is filing an appeal on behalf of three unpaid interns who deserve compensation for their work.
“Unfortunately, the job market is so bad that many students and graduates are left with no choice but to work for free with the hope that it will lead to a paid position with the company,” said Matt Sarelson, founder of the Sarelson Law Firm. “But a bad labor market is not a basis for disregarding federal law.”
Many employers have used guidelines established by The Department of Labor regarding unpaid interns to take advantage of workers. However, the Supreme Court has never approved these guidelines, and they are not binding laws.
The appeal claims that three unpaid interns should have received minimum wage because they performed the same duties as employees. One of them worked for a company that would divide the work evenly between the unpaid intern and the rest of the staff, effectively doing everything the full time employees do without any of the wages. Another performed secretarial duties. Employers chided him for not staying after his designated hours. The third worked for a company that openly admitted to using unpaid interns because it made economic sense.
Their cases were dismissed, but the three clients have consolidated their cases into one appeal. Parties expect oral arguments to begin in late 2012 or early 2013.
Similar unpaid intern lawsuits are appearing across the country. Unpaid interns are finally joining together and telling employers that this unfair treatment needs to stop. Employees deserve to be rewarded for their work. Anything else is a violation of federal employment law.
The Sarelson Law Firm – Miami litigation attorneys.
Sarelson Law Firm is now representing “admission representatives” in unpaid wage and unpaid overtime lawsuits. Admission representatives are generally not exempt from overtime laws, but are frequently not paid overtime. If you or someone you know is or was an admission representative at any private, for profit college, feel free to contact our law firm to learn your legal rights.
Miami-based Sarelson Law Firm has expanded its practice into Key West and the Florida Keys. We represent employees in these types of cases: