Key Rulings Allows Unpaid Internships in Fox Entertainment Case

An appeals court reversed a lower court, ruling that unpaid internships are legal when they are closely tied to interns’ educations.  The Second Circuit Court of Appeals  said that if internships are designed chiefly to further young people’s knowledge in a particular field, the court said, interns do not have to be paid. "The purpose of a bona fide internship is to integrate classroom learning with practical skill development in a real-world setting," wrote Judge Walker.  The decision overturns a 2011 ruling that Fox's unpaid internship program violated minimum wage and overtime laws. Another loser here: The Department of Labor, which advises that most unpaid internships are unlawful. Glatt v. Fox Searchlight, Inc., here: http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/f80b21de-ca4e-466f-8706-f7b6622b2c6b/2/doc/13-4478_opn.pdf#xml=http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/f80b21de-ca4e-466f-8706-f7b6622b2c6b/2/hilite/