On July 2, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued two eagerly awaited decisions that may dampen the recent wave of collective and class actions filed by unpaid interns claiming they should be paid employees. In Glatt v. Fox Searchlight Pictures, Inc. et al., Nos. 13-4478 & 13?4481 (2d Cir. 2015) and Wang v. Hearst Corp., No. 13?4480?cv (2d Cir. 2015) (summary order), the court announced a new “primary beneficiary test,” identified seven non-exhaustive factors relevant to classifying interns as employees in the for-profit sector, and rejected strict application of the six factor test promulgated by the United States Department of Labor (DOL). Equally noteworthy, the court largely foreclosed collective and class certification in intern cases by emphasizing the highly individualized inquiry required by its new test.
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