Hearst Magazine Unpaid Interns Win Class Certification

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A federal judge has conditionally certified a class action lawsuit covering unpaid Hearst Corp. interns who worked at 19 of the company’s magazines, including Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan and Good Housekeeping, since February 2009.

The Hearst unpaid intern class action lawsuit was filed in February 2012 by a former intern for Harper’s Bazaar, Xuedan “Diana” Wang, who claims Hearst violated federal and state labor laws by misclassifying her and other workers as unpaid or underpaid interns, rather than employees. Wang alleged she worked up to 55 hours per week, without pay, as an intern for the magazine last year.

According to her class action lawsuit, Hearst interns should have been paid like other employees under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) because if they weren’t doing the work, the company would have hired someone else to do it. Her argument is based on one of the guidelines used by the U.S. Department of Labor for determining whether an intern is considered an employee who must be paid at least minimum wage and overtime under the FLSA, which says:

“If the employer would have hired additional employees or required existing staff to work additional hours had the interns not performed the work, then the interns will be viewed as employees and entitled compensation.”

On July 5, 2012, U.S. District Judge Harold Baer granted class certification to all unpaid interns who worked for Hearst magazines within the past three years. Covered individuals will receive a Court-authorized notice of the class action lawsuit and information about how to join the case and potentially share in a class action settlement if one is reached.

Wang’s attorneys said they plan to ask the Court at a later phase in the litigation to certify a New York Labor Law class of unpaid interns who have worked for Hearst since February 2, 2006.

The Hearst Magazine Unpaid Intern Class Action Lawsuit case is Xuedan Wang v. The Hearst Corporation, Case No. 12-cv-793, Southern District of New York.