Labor & Employment Developments Blog

Now that summer is here, many companies have brought in the annual crop of summer interns.  It is likely that at least some of these interns are unpaid, working for the privilege of gaining experience or a foot in the door that might lead to a paying position.  A Federal District Court in Manhattan ruled this week that Fox Searchlight Pictures violated federal and New York minimum wage laws by not paying production interns. What does this mean for employers?  

In my last post, I discussed the Sixth Circuit’s recent decision in Lewis v. Humboldt Acquisition Corp., which upheld the current Sixth Circuit standard that a plaintiff must show that his or her disability was the “sole reason” for the adverse employment action; sometimes referred to as the “solely” standard.  Of the ten circuits to consider the issue, eight apply a “motivating factor” (or “substantial cause”) test, under which a plaintiff must only show that a disability was a motivating factor of the adverse employment action.