Articles Discussing What Employees Are Covered By The FLSA.

Employers across the country are increasingly utilizing independent contractors to fill an ever-expanding array of positions. These jobs range from sophisticated, high-tech engineers and logistics professionals to doctors, nurses, construction workers, and food service providers. But employers who seek to classify workers as independent contractors to avoid the expenditures associated with payroll, taxes, benefits, and capital improvements, or feel further incentivized to do so by the Affordable Care Act, should take note: Courts are sending a clear message that such practices can be costly.

A federal trial court in Florida recently issued a significant decision on the issue of unpaid trainees under the FLSA, finding that 25 former students of Wolford College were not employees when they participated in a clinical training program as part of the college’s Masters of Nurse Anesthesia program.

With the summer drawing near and many high school and college students looking to bolster their resumes, a new set of eager-to-please interns will appear in offices around the country, bringing some youthful exuberance to the office. For most, the addition of interns roaming the halls will be a positive experience for all involved. For others, however, in particular employers who may view interns as little more than “free labor,” costly litigation could be lurking right around the corner.

In the most recent development in the wave of wage and hour class and collective actions by unpaid interns, two different federal judges in the New York District Court for the Southern District of New York recently decided whether to conditionally certify putative collective actions filed by unpaid interns who claimed they did work customarily performed by paid employees but were not classified as employees and were not paid minimum wage and overtime as required by the FLSA. The judges each reached a different conclusion.