According to findings in the course of Glatt et al. v. Fox Searchlight Pictures, Inc. et. al., 2015 WL 4033018 (2d Cir. 2015), unpaid interns are not employees under the FLSA so long as they are the “primary beneficiaries” of the relationship.
In this case, plaintiffs Eric Glatt and Alexander Footman were taken on as unpaid interns at Fox Searchlight for the film Black Swan. The plaintiffs interned at Fox’s corporate offices in New York City. Both sued for unpaid wages (due to alleged violations of both minimum wage and overtime law) under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the New York Labor Law. Their representation moved to certify a class of unpaid interns both retained by New York locations and at various Fox corporate divisions
