New York Overtime Lawsuit Has Aspects of Hollywood

New York, NYA New York overtime lawsuit, which alleges violations of New York employment law, has Hollywood connections. The New York state labor law claim, filed on behalf of Fox Entertainment Group interns, alleges Fox routinely violated employment laws in how interns were treated.

According to The Hollywood Reporter (10/10/12), a New York federal judge has granted class-action status to the lawsuit, which was initially filed by two interns who worked on Black Swan. Those interns worked on the movie for Fox Searchlight, but lawyers allege practices at Searchlight are consistent with those across Fox's internship programs.

The lawsuit alleges Fox violated minimum wage and overtime laws in its running of the internship program. The lawsuit alleges interns were not paid for their work but were considered employees under workers' compensation laws and they were required to sign confidentiality agreements. In 2010, Fox reportedly began paying interns $8 an hour.

Meanwhile, a different New York overtime lawsuit will reportedly be settled. The lawsuit was filed against Family Dollar and alleges the company failed to pay 1,700 store managers overtime. Although the settlement has not been finalized it could cost up to $14 million, the Charlotte Observer (9/13/12) reports.

Plaintiffs allege that even though they were classified as managers, and thus exempt from overtime pay, they performed many non-managerial duties, including stocking shelves, unloading trucks and mopping bathrooms. Some managers say they worked more than 60 hours in a week.

A spokesperson for Family Dollar said it believes employees were properly compensated for all hours worked. Previously, Family Dollar paid more than $30 million to employees in Alabama who also claimed they were not properly compensated for overtime hours worked.

A settlement has also been reached in a lawsuit against Del Posto, a restaurant owned by Mario Batali. According to The Huffington Post, the lawsuit alleged workers were denied tips and overtime. There were also allegations of discrimination. As part of the settlement, plaintiffs will share $1.15 million and paid vacation and sick days.

Del Posto denied the allegations.