Many companies, large and small, hire unpaid interns to perform various tasks. In many cases, the interns have a very positive experience, learning all about a particular industry from a front-row seat. In other cases, however, the interns are exploited, learn little or nothing, and perform menial jobs for free, or – in the alternative – they do the same work that regular employees do and allow the employer to save a salary by using an intern instead of a paid employee. In the last few years a growing number of unhappy interns have filed lawsuits, either as individuals or as lead plaintiffs in a class action, asserting that they were in truth employees – not interns – and they are owed back wages.
This paragraph from a lawsuit filed against Sirius XM radio by an intern on the “Howard Stern Show” typifies such claims: “While employed for Defendants, Plaintiff Tierney’s primary job duties included running errands, placing orders, obtaining breakfast orders, delivering food items to on-air personality and office staff, reviewing news clips, reporting to on-air personalities, compiling data, and obtaining signatures from guests, along with other tasks necessary to the maintenance of Defendants’ operation.” Tierney et al v. Sirius XM Radio Inc. (S.D.N.Y.)
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