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LA Times

NBCU Agrees to Pay Millions to ‘Saturday Night Live’ Interns in Settlement

Oct 24, 2014  •  Post A Comment

A group of former “Saturday Night Live” interns and NBCUniversal have settled a class-action lawsuit that alleged the interns should have been paid, reports the Los Angeles Times’ Company Town.

The $6.4 million settlement will be shared with thousands of “SNL” interns who worked in both New York and California, with the agreement still subject to court approval, the story says.

“In documents filed with New York’s Southern District Court, lawyers for the plaintiffs said Comcast-owned NBCUniversal had agreed to special bonuses for the litigants who led the class-action lawsuit, first filed in July 2013,” the piece notes.

Those litigants could receive from $5,000 to $10,000 each, while other interns may receive amounts as small as $500 each, the article says.

The lawsuit alleged that the internships included work that would have otherwise been handled by paid workers, and that the work they were asked to do was appropriate for earning wages, the piece adds.

“The ‘SNL’ interns lawsuit is one of several that have roiled the entertainment industry in New York and Los Angeles, where unpaid internships have long been a cost-saver for TV networks, movie studios, production companies, music labels and talent agencies — and also a foot-in-the-door opportunity for ambitious Hollywood hopefuls,” the report notes.

NBC declined to comment.

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