The Second Circuit's ruling provides employers with greater
leeway for unpaid internship programs and a stronger defense for
class-action lawsuits brought by unpaid interns.
In a long-awaited decision, the US Court of Appeals for the
Second Circuit established a new standard for determining whether
interns should be classified as "employees" eligible for
minimum and overtime wages, among other legal protections. In two
related cases, Glatt, et al. v. Fox Searchlight Pictures, Inc.,
et al. and Wang, et al., v. The Hearst Corp., the
Second Circuit adopted a new "primary beneficiary" test
and identified seven nonexclusive factors relevant to the
classification of unpaid interns. In so doing, the court rejected
strict application of the US Department of Labor's (DOL's)
six-factor test and confirmed that "courts may consider
relevant evidence beyond [their own] specified factors[.]" The
court further held that the question of an intern's employment
status is a "highly
