Conde Nast, the worldwide publisher of fashion, culture, food and home magazines, illegally employs interns in violation of federal and state labor laws, Outten & Golden LLP alleged today in New York federal court.
The class action complaint, filed on behalf of two former interns who worked at W Magazine and The New Yorker, accuses Advance Magazine Publishers, Inc., which does business as CondeNast Publications, of failing to pay interns proper wages for the work they perform in violation of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the New York Labor Law (NYLL).
The lawsuit contends the interns are covered by the FLSA and NYLL, which require that interns engaged in the operations of the employer or performing productive work benefit the employer and must be paid the minimum wage even if they receive some benefits in the form of a new skill or improved work habits.
As an intern at CondeNast, Ms. Ballinger worked in W Magazine's accessories and fine jewelry departments in 2009, packing and unpacking accessories and jewelry, sorting through and organizing accessories and jewelry, running errands, filling out insurance forms, and doing other productive work. Mr. Leib worked for Conde Nast at The New Yorker in 2009 and 2010, reviewing submissions and passing on those that he recommended to his supervisors, responding to readers' emails, proofreading, line editing, and relaying pieces between writers, cartoonists, and editors.
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