As this blog previously reported, a three-judge panel of the Second
Circuit ruled against two separate groups of interns in early July,
applying the "primary beneficiary" test—to evaluate
whether unpaid interns are trainees not entitled to wages or
employees who must be paid—and stating that conditional and
class certification in internship lawsuits could be exceedingly
difficult for plaintiffs to achieve.
On August 14, the interns in Glatt v. Fox Searchlight
and Wang v. Hearst Corp. asked the Second Circuit for reconsideration
of the July ruling or, alternatively, for review en banc
by the full court. They argue that categorizing unpaid interns
differently than other employees is contrary to Supreme Court and
Second Circuit precedent and creates a category of "quasi
work" that would allow private employers to receive free
labor. They urge the court to adopt a test that allows unpaid
internships only where employers receive no 'immediate
advantage' from any work done
