Another Blow To DOL Position On Internships

Blog readers who have been following the recent wave of wage and hour lawsuits by interns will recall that the Second Circuit, in a major decision issued in early July, held that the "primary beneficiary" test should govern whether interns were properly classified as such or should have been treated as full-fledged employees.

In the first appellate decision since then, the Eleventh Circuit agreed with the reasoning underlying that ruling. Rejecting the Department of Labor's six-factor test and adopting the Second Circuit's "non-exhaustive set of considerations," the Eleventh Circuit held that courts evaluating interns' claims should "focus on the benefits to the student while still considering whether the manner in which the employer implements the internship program takes unfair advantage of or is otherwise abusive towards the student."